THE UNIVERSITY
OF ILLINOIS
LIBRARY
97OJ
Ab3s
\lUHCi.
SURVEY
\,
The Slaveholding Indians
1 i ) As Slaveholder and Secessionist
(2) As Participants in the Civil War
(3) Under Reconstruction
Vol. Ill
The American Indian
under Reconstruction
BY
ANNIE HELOISE ABEL, PH.D.
(Mrs. George Cockburn Henderson)
atque ub'i solitudinem faciunt, pacem ap-
pellant. Tacitus, Agricola, cap. 30.
THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY
CLEVELAND: 1925
COPYRIGHT, 1925, BY
ANNIE ABEL HENDERSON
CEDAR RAPIDS
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THE MEMORY OF MY MOTHER
CONTENTS
PREFACE 9
I OVERTURES OF PEACE AND RECONCILIATION . . n
II THE RETURN OF THE REFUGEES .... 35
III CATTLE-DRIVING IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY . . 73
IV THE MUSTER OUT OF THE INDIAN HOME GUARDS 99
V THE SURRENDER OF THE SECESSIONIST INDIANS . 127
VI THE PEACE COUNCIL AT FORT SMITH, SEPTEMBER,
1865 173
VII THE HARLAN BILL . . . . . . . 219
VIII THE FREEDMEN OF INDIAN TERRITORY . . . 269
IX THE EARLIER OF THE RECONSTRUCTION TREATIES
OF 1866 301
X NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CHEROKEES . . . 345
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 365
INDEX 379
PREFACE
The present is the concluding volume of the Slave-
holding Indians series. Its title may be thought some-
what misleading since the time limits of the period
covered by no means coincide with those commonly
understood as signifying the Reconstruction Period of
United States History. In that history, the word,
reconstruction, which ought, etymologically, to imply
the process of re-building and restoring, has attained,
most unfortunately, a meaning all its own, a meaning
now technical, nothing more nor less, in fact, than
political re-adjustment. It is in the light of that mean-
ing, definite and technical, that the limits of this book
have been determined.
The treaties made with the great southern tribes in
1866 were reconstruction treaties pure and simple and
this volume, therefore, finds its conclusion in their
negotiation. They marked the establishment of a new
relationship with the United States government; but
their serious and far-reaching effects would constitute
too long and too painful a story for narration here. Its
chapters would include an account of tribal dissensions
without number or cessation, of the pitiful racial dete-
rioration of the Creeks due to unchecked mixture with
the negroes, of the influx of a white population out-
numbering and over-reaching the red, and, finally, of
great tragedies that had for their theme the compulsory
removal of such tribes as the inoffensive Nez Perces,
the aggressive Poncas, and the noble Cheyennes.
IO The Indian Under Reconstruction
In recent years, an increasing interest has been
aroused in the course of the westward movement so-
called and, little by little, the full significance of Amer-
ican expansion is being appreciated. In less than a
century of time, the United States has extended itself
over the vast reaches of this continent from the Atlantic
to the Pacific and its territorial growth has necessarily
involved the displacement of the aborigines. Its treat-
ment of them is bound to concern very greatly the
historian of the future, whose mental grasp will be im-
measurably greater than is that of the men, who now
write and teach American history in the old conven-
tional way with a halo around New England and the
garb of aristocracy enveloping Virginia. It is in Amer-
ican History rightly proportioned that the present
study will have its place.
ANNIE HELOISE ABEL
Washington, D.C., March, 1920
I. OVERTURES OF PEACE AND
RECONCILIATION
The failure of the United States government to afford
to the southern Indians the protection solemnly guar-
anteed by treaty stipulations had been the great cause
of their entering into an alliance with the Confederacy
and it was also the primary cause of their persisting in
their adherence to its fortunes. From first to last mil-
itary conditions and events determined political and it
is certainly no exaggeration to say that had a time ever
come after the opening twelvemonth of war when the
Federals could have shown themselves in unquestioned
possession of the Indian country the treaties with the
South would, one and all, have been immediately ab-
rogated even by such initial and arch offenders as the
Choctaws and Chickasaws who, alone of all the slave-
holding tribes, had attached themselves, originally and
in a national way, to the Secessionists because of a
frankly avowed sympathy with the "peculiar institu-
tion." Success wins support everywhere, at all times
and under all circumstances. Occasionally a very little
of it is necessary, the glamor of the mere name being
all-sufficient. It had taken next to nothing to call back
the Cherokees to their allegiance to the North, the em-
bodiment of the power with which all their other
treaties had been made, and, just as the Confederate
victory of Wilson's Creek, or Oak Hills, had ter-
minated the neutrality that they had hoped, Kentucky-
like, to maintain, so the penetration of their country
12 The Indian Under Reconstruction
by a Union force in the summer of sixty-two saw the
last of their inclusion as a tribe within the southern
league.
During 1863 the example set by the Cherokees was
frequently followed, never by tribes, it is true, but by
groups of Indians only, large or small. Individuals,
families, clans could pass with impunity within the
Federal territory whenever such passing appeared to
promise a fair degree of personal security. It was
contrariwise with nations, the Unionist fortunes of war
being as yet too fluctuating for nations to care to take
additional risks. None the less the time seemed rea-
sonably opportune for friendly advances to be made
to repentant tribes and so thought several of the gen-
erals in the field, among them Schofield and McNeil. 1
In November, the former emphatically asserted that
terms of peace might with propriety now be offered and
the latter, having already reached the same conclusion,
proposed the appointment of a special agent, clothed
with plenary power to treat. 2 For reasons difficult to
enumerate at this juncture no really serious attention
was given to the matter by Washington officials until
a new year had dawned. Confessedly, the main rea-
son was, the continued inability of the Federals to
prove military occupancy of the Indian country.
Without military occupancy it was worse than useless
to make promises of protection. So firmly convinced
1 For an estimate of McNeil's understanding of and sympathy with
frontier conditions, see A.G.O., Old Files Section, Personal Papers of John
McNeil. McNeil had asked for service in the frontier [S. H. Boyd, Benjamin
F. Loan, Joseph W. McClurg to Stanton, March n, 1864, ibid]. He had
strong political backing and men like John W. Gamble, J. B. Henderson
and J. R. Winchell found justification for even his summary execution of
guerrillas at Palmyra. [ibid.]
2 Schofield to Halleck, November 12, 1863, A.G.O., Old Files Section,
B 1013, F.S. 1863, Jacket 2 of /5; Usher to Stanton, February 19, 1864, ibid.
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 13
of this was Commissioner Dole that, in January, he
quite scouted the idea of its being feasible to do much
towards reorganization before something more than
forts and posts was in Federal possession. 3
While taking this stand, as caution dictated it was
only right he should, Dole was willing to admit that
the facts as alleged by Schofield and McNeil were cor-
rect and that Union sentiment among the Indians was
very perceptibly on the increase. So excellent an op-
portunity, however, for recalling to the minds of con-
gressmen and cabinet officials the remissness of the War
Department and of the army from the very outset of
the war was not to be lost. It was a case, if there ever
was one, where reiteration, bold and constant, did no
harm. The time was approaching and would soon be
here when the United States government and all in
authority under it would do well to remember where
the blame for Indian defection really lay. Shirkers of
responsibility have proverbially short memories.
Yes, Unionist sentiment among the Indians was on
the increase * and it was on the increase because the
spectre of eventual Confederate failure was looming
up ever larger and larger in the distance. The Choc-
taws, stanchest of allies once, were now 5 wavering in
their devotion to the South but not many of them were
as yet fully ready to unite with Abolitionists and Black
3 Dole addressed himself, under date of January 25, 1864, to Congress-
man Boyd of Missouri who, from his position on the House Committee of
Indian Affairs, had recommended (O.I.A., General Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1863-1864) a man named Sullivan as an eminently fit person
to negotiate with the slaveholding Indians (O.I.A., Letter Book, no. 73,
PP- 54-55-)
4 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1863, pp. 26, 182, 208, 209.
5 The first signs of their wavering had appeared long since (Abel, The
Indian as a Participant in the American Civil War, p. 220) and were subject
for detailed comment by Dole in his annual report the preceding year
(Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1863, p. 26).
14 The Indian Under Reconstruction
Republicans. Their interests were still, as Commis-
sioner Scott had defined them, all southern. 6 Their
laws were largely derived from the statutes of Missis-
sippi, 7 whence most of them had come. They were a
wealthy people, and largely of the planter class. Race
prejudice was strong among them as was also repug-
nance to any race mixture that entailed their own as-
similation with inferior blood. In this characteristic
they resembled the haughty Anglo-Saxon and differed
radically from the Gallic Frenchman and, strange to
relate, from their own kith and kin, the Creeks, who
mingled Indian blood with African freely. All but
about three hundred 8 of the Choctaws had gone over
to the Secessionists and the tribe had numbered ap-
proximately eighteen thousand before the war. 9
The first stage in the Choctaw re-tracing of steps
would seem to have been marked by the desire for in-
activity, the convenient pose of a neutral, and the sec-
ond, by a plan to organize an independent Indian con-
federacy. 10 The principle of self-determination, not
christened yet, was dominant throughout the South. It
lay back of all secessionist action and ought logically,
reasoned the Choctaws, to work as well for red men
as for white. Its reductio ad absurdum as the prin-
ciple of anarchy par excellence naturally never sug-
gested itself to anyone. Possibly, all cogitation was
6 See Address to the Choctaws and others, quoted in Dole's Report for
1863, p. 226.
7 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1859, p. 160.
s lbid, 1863, p. 25.
9 August Wattles to Secretary Smith, March 4, 1862, O.I.A., General
Files, Central Superintendency, W 528 of 1862; I. D., Register of Letters
Received, "Indians," no. 4, p. 517; Wm. P. Dole to Smith, March 17, 1862,
O.I.A., Report Book, no. 12, p. 335.
10 Report of Colonel W. A. Phillips, February 16, 1864, Official Records,
first series, volume xxxiv, part i, p. 107; Phillips to Dole, February 24, 1864,
O.I.A., General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1863-1864, p. 143.
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 15
time-serving in character. The discouraged and dis-
gusted Indians dallied with ideas of independent
sovereignty because it was altogether too early yet for
leading Choctaws, prominent half-breeds mostly, to
join forces with the detested North. Besides, the In-
dian was loath to abandon his erstwhile friend; for the
Indian is fundamentally loyal. He keeps faith so long
as and often longer than faith is kept with him. Let
the Confederates give some evidence of disinterested-
ness of motive, of genuine concern for Indian welfare
and all might yet be well. Their martial prowess was
undoubted, their star of fortune seemed occasionally
still in the ascendant; but rally their forces they must.
There could be no surer way to a restoration of con-
fidence.
The general Indian council that had been regularly
meeting at Armstrong Academy was the political body
before which to propound the independent confederacy
project and it was while that body was holding a session
in February 11 of 1864 with the object of assisting the
11 The inception of the movement was much earlier and is indicated in
the following letter addressed by Jackson McCurtain to General McNeil,
December 16, 1863. McNeil had suggested that McCurtain come in person
to Van Buren, his headquarters, and discuss the situation in the Choctaw
country. McCurtain's absence would have aroused suspicion and he offered
as his substitute, "Mr. Thomas Edwards, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation
and of Sugar Loaf Co.," where unionist sentiment was slowly germinating.
The letter reveals how timorously men like McCurtain were advancing on
the return journey to their allegiance to the United States government. It
reads as follows:
"We had a meeting on last Saturday, when I proposed to the people
that was now camped in the mountains to return to their former homes
and not molest or take up arms against the U. S. forces upon con-
dition that they would not molest our lives or property. I told the
people that I would try and make some arrangement for them to
remain at home and be protected, and that no man or citizen of this
County to go into the Bush for the purpose of bushwhacking the
U.S. forces as they pass through this Nation, and moreover I told
them that it was of no use of us following the Confederate States
1 6 The Indian Under Reconstruction
Army any longer. For they have left us to fight for ourselves and I
thought it quite time that we ought to come to some terms of agree-
ment with the Federals . . . and that I had not the least doubt,
but the Gen 1 at Fort Smith would reply to our wishes, and it was the
wish of the people to form themselves into a home Guard to protect
their homes and property against Jay Hawkers and marauding parries
who is now in our Country. If this wish meets your approbation and
Gen 1 it is for you to form your own judgement in regard to a treaty
with our Government, as it is out of our power to do anything with
a treaty.
"Though I firmly believe as soon as the U. S. forces begin to march
through our Country that the Choctaws from all the other Counties
will follow the example of this County, and by so doing it will be the
means of stiring our Government up to come to terms of a treaty. As
we dont wish to be divided like other Nations if we can be saved any
other way. As we all come out together and we should all like to
come in together. As it never was the wish of the Choctaws at the
commencement of this war to take up arms and fight against the U. S.
forces, but we were compelled to do so being surrounded by Seceded
States and our lives and property taken from us which was threatened.
But so long as the Southern forces is in the nation it is impossible
for the Choctaws to turn over at the same time, but by working the
thing slowly it will succeed in time for it is well known with the
people that we can not sustain ourselves without the aid of some other
power. Gen 1 I wish for you to give me a protection paper and from
that paper I can issue to the people of this County or any other
County that may submit to my views a ticket with the words (Home
.Guards) and (Home Protection) upon so that your forces will know
who is soldiers. For every man that belongs to this Guard will have
his ticket to show and those that has not is a Enemy to our cause, or
any other mode that you might suggest, and Gen 1 if it is necessary that
you might want to see me, I will try and come out to see you, but as
they have got a suspicion upon us in this County, and watching us it
is almost impossible to come out at present.
"And Gen 1 I am sorry to have to inform you that your last scouting
parties plundered a deal of property from our people which they was
greatly enraged against, and I hope Gen 1 that after these remarks
that you will not allow it to proceed but if so we will have to bear it.
For it is the means of men turning Bushwhackers and that is a thing
I greatly opposed." (A.G.O., Old Files Section, Consolidated Indian
Home Guards Papers, B 1013, V. S., 1863).
If Jackson McCurtain was the same as Jock McCurtain, it would seem
from the following letter that he was one of those Cooper counted upon.
His own guilty conscience must have made him feel that he was under
suspicion. He was still on the Confederate side in 1865.
"Col.
"I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the i8th inst.
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 17
Confederates in the rallying of forces 12 that certain
Choctaws, who had irretrievably lost confidence in the
South and despaired of any course being practicable
that did not presuppose the resumption of old-time
relations with the United States, attempted to organize
an opposition element and to secure an expression
of opinion favorable to the immediate repudiation
of the Confederate alliance. Calling themselves
the Choctaw Nation, de facto and de jure, they met
in mass-meeting at Doaksville; but dispersed again
on realizing that they were there too near the enemy
forces. They re-convened betimes at "Skullyville,
twenty miles from Fort Smith," where the Federals
were now holding sway. 13 Not far from Skullyville
was New Hope Academy, a female seminary, which,
in the late fifties, had been successfully conducted un-
der the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church
and enclose special order, No ( ?) from these Hd. Qrs ordering an
election for Brigadier Gen. of ( ?) Indian Brigade.
"I always knew you would be firm & true. The Grand Council of
the Allied Indian Nations has been ordered to assemble on the loth
day of June at Armstrong Academy & until they determine what
must be done we must keep the Federals out of the country. You can
make requisitions on Col. Walker and draw ammunition for your
command.
"The Delegates to the Wild Indian will report to the Grand Council
on June xoth.
"It would be well to notify the Federals to keep their troops out
of the country until the Grand Council can determine what course to
pursue. We do not want any fight with them, under existing circum-
stances, but if they disturb any one of the Indian Nations, all will
unite in war against them." (D. H. Cooper to Col. Jock McCurtain,
May 24, 1865, A.G.O., Confederate Archives, chap. 2, no. 258, p. 36.
See also a reference to McCurtain in Cooper to Scott, May 14, 1865,
Official Records, vol. xlviii, part 2, p. 1303).
12 Abel, Indian as a Participant in the American Civil War, p. 323.
13 Perkins to Dole, April 18, 1864, O.I. A., General Files, Choctavu, 1859-
1866, P 166; Perkins to Usher, April 18, 1864, I. D. Files, Bundle no. 52
(1864) ; Abel, The Indians in the Civil War, American Historical Review,
vol. xv, p. 295, note.
1 8 The Indian Under Reconstruction
South. It now presented itself as a convenient and
safe meeting-place and at New Hope, on March four-
teenth, a convention of disgruntled Choctaws took
drastic action indicative of their weariness of the war
and of all that it involved. The following resolu-
tions " were unanimously adopted :
Whereas, In entering upon the reconstruction of our Govern-
ment in this Nation, we believe that the government of the
United States has been an infinite blessing to all parts of this
country, and especially to our own Nation, and,
Whereas, Certain portions of the United States have set up
their individual rights in opposition to the Federal Government,
Be it resolved,
First, That we the citizens of the Choctaw Nation, as well
as of the United States, knowing that the Government of the
United States must be maintained supreme over the so-called
rights of any portion of this country, do, on the part of the
Choctaw Nation, utterly disclaim any pretensions to any so-
called rights which may be subversive of the rights of the Fed-
eral Government, and hold that our primary allegiance is due
to the Government of the United States.
Second, Resolved, That we, Citizens of the Choctaw Na-
tion, desire the authority of the United States to be vindicated,
and the people brought back to their allegiance.
Third, Resolved, That the following named citizens be ap-
pointed a committee to select proper men for Provisional Gov-
ernor of the Nation, Sec. of State, pro tern., subject to the future
vote of the people of the Nation, and a Delegate to represent
our Nation at Washington,
(Committee) Jeremiah H. Ward 15
J. G. Ainsworth
John Hanaway
William P. Merryman
J. H. Jacobs
14 O.I.A., Land Files, Choctaw, 1846-1873, Box 38, E 48.
15 The prominence of Jeremiah Ward as a repentant Choctaw and the
effect of the Red River disaster upon his tribesmen are indicated in a com-
munication from Agent Colman, September i, 1864 [Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, Report, 1864, pp. 313-314].
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 19
Fourth, Resolved, That the thanks of the Convention be and
hereby are tendered to Lt. Lindsay and the escort under his
command.
WM. F. STEPHENS, Pres't of Convention
THOMAS EDWARDS, Sec*.
The nominating committee retired and later offered
the name of Thomas Edwards for governor, of George
W. Boyd for secretary of state, pro tern., and of Edward
P. Perkins for delegate. Its report was accepted and
the nominations confirmed by the convention. 17 Where-
upon, the men selected began without further ado to
exercise the functions of their respective offices. Ten
days subsequently Governor Edwards issued a proc-
lamation 18 outlining the new policy.
PROCLAMATION
To the Choctaws, and the Citizens of the Choctaw Nation :
At a Convention held at New Hope, C.N., on March the
1 4th, 1864, by the loyal citizens of your Nation, a preamble of
Resolutions were adopted to secure to you the rights and suf-
frages which you are entitled to from the Government of the
United States.
The last Treaty between the United States and your Nation,
which was ratified in 1855, guaranteed to you on the part of
the United States Government "protection from domestic strife
and hostile aggression," 19 (Treaty 1855, Article xiv) is the
only agreement in that treaty wherein the United States has
failed to fulfill for the time being her part of the compact ; and
though three years have elapsed since the "stars and stripes" was
struck down in the Garrison, erected for your defence, by a
rebellious and misguided people, that flag again waves in tri-
umph over your fortress, and the Government which it repre-
16 Edwards was the man that McCurtain had sent as his substitute to
McNeil. See McCurtain to McNeil, December 16, 1863, op. cit.
17 O.I. A., Land Files, Choctaio, 1846-1873, Box 38, E 48.
18 The proclamation as here given is copied verbatim from a printed
hand-bill found with Perkins's letter of April 18, 1864.
19 Kappler, Treaties, p. 710.
2O The Indian Under Reconstruction
sents is HERE in full force and power to keep her word and
offer you its protection.
The Government of the United States is well aware of the
sophistry and eloquence brought to bear upon the minds of
your people, by such men as Douglass H. Cooper and Albert
Pike to delude you into a treaty with the rebellious confederacy,
of which they were the agents ; and can excuse you to a certain
extent for an alliance formed when despotism and treason were
in your midst. But now that the Government holds indis-
putable possession of near four-fifths of your country, it calls
upon you to return with truthful allegiance to your natural
protector.
The same rights offered to the rebellious subjects of the States
by the late Proclamation 20 of the President is guaranteed to
you. Three years of strife, misery and want, should at least
convince you that the unnatural alliance which you have formed
with the enemies of the United States has been one of the heav-
iest calamities that ever befel your Nation. They made you
brilliant promises, but never fulfilled them. What is your con-
dition to-day? The enemy after having swept ruin through
your entire land, brought starvation to your very doors, and
spread a scene of utter degradation and suffering in your fam-
ilies ; have been lying for months on the extreme southern border
of your Nation, listening to the first roar of Federal artillery,
to flee away and leave you alone. A delegate has been ap-
pointed by the Convention to represent your Nation at Wash-
ington. Every effort is being made to secure for you your
ancient privileges and customs. Citizens of the Choctaw Na-
tion, it now devolves upon you to do your part. You were once
possessed of the most beautiful country between the Arkansas
and Red River. - It can again be yours. Not only your present
generation, but your posterity demands that you make a quick
and speedy return to that Government which has protected you
for over half a century, and secure in the future for yourselves
and children what you have lost in the past three years for as-
20 It was not surprising that the Indians readily conceived their case
as covered by the amnesty provisions of President Lincoln since neither the
original proclamation of December eighth, 1863 nor that of March twenty-
sixth, 1864, supplementary and interpretative in character, expressly con-
fined those provisions to white men.
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 21
sociating with one of the most accursed foes that ever polluted
your country.
Citizens, not only your fertile valleys and beautiful hills
invite you to the homes which you have deserted, but the Gov-
ernment from which you must ever after look to for succor,
bids you come. I take this method, in this, my first proclama-
tion, to say to all of you who are desirous of possessing the
homes which you have abandoned, and re-uniting your alle-
giance to the Government, that has ever been your friend, now
is your time. You have nothing to fear and the former bless-
ing which you have derived through a friendly intercourse with
the United States Government, will again be renewed.
THOMAS EDWARDS, Provisional Governor Choctaw Nation
FORT SMITH, ARK., March 24, 1864
The governor's proclamation merits no word of
praise. Its spirit is the spirit of the self-seeking, of
the abjectly craven, and calls, not for commendation,
but for execration. By virtue of its issue, Edwards and
his associates put themselves into the position of rats
that leave the sinking ship. General Thayer presum-
ably sympathised with them and condoned their act
since he appears, in the following December, to have
honored the governor's requisition for transportation
needed for the refugees, who were about to be removed
to Fort Gibson ; 21 but not so Colonel Phillips. It was
not that the doughty Scotchman was averse to what,
from his Republican point of view, might be regarded
as the political regeneration of the Indians. None had
worked harder to reclaim them than had Phillips. He
had personally distributed 22 among the rebellious
tribes copies of President Lincoln's amnesty proclama-
tion, 23 notwithstanding that he seriously doubted its
21 Special Orders, no. 225, issued at Fort Smith, December 27, 1864. Ap-
parently, the restored Choctaw and Chickasaw refugees were consolidated
with the New Hope conventionalists.
22 Official Records, vol. xxxiv, part i, pp. 109, no, in.
23 Richardson, Messages and Papers of the Presidents, vol. vi, pp. 213-215.
22 The Indian Under Reconstruction
strict applicability to the Indian country. Pioneer and
hardy frontiersman though he was, the ex-newspaper
correspondent was usually found to be magnanimous
where Indians were concerned. Maugre that, he hes-
itated not to disparage the work of the New Hope con-
vention, contemptuously disposed of Delegate Perkins,
protested against the acceptance of his credentials, and
ridiculed the authority from which they emanated. In
his opinion, the Choctaw Nation was yet de facto rebel
and deserving of severest chastisement. 24 The minority
at New Hope had no official status and were nothing
but politic opportunists. 25
Anticipated chastisement was the open sesame, the
cue to all that had transpired. Because of the prompt
and wholesale character of their defection, the Choc-
taw had been a tribe especially singled out for condign
punishment. It was its funds more particularly that
had been those diverted to other uses by act of the
United States congress. Recognized as a powerful foe
and by many denounced as a treacherous enemy, the
Choctaws had virtually none to state their case except
traducers. Few there were among western politicians
and army men that had the slightest inclination to deal
mercifully with them and Colonel Phillips was not of
24 Phillips to Dole, March 22, 1864, O.I.A., General Files, Choctaw,
1859-1866, p. 154. The same letter, with some slight verbal inaccuracies, is
to be found in Commissioner of Indian Affairs Report, 1864, p. 328. Mrs.
Eaton seems to find in this letter of Colonel Phillips the origin of the
sequestration policy of the government (John Ross and the Cherokee Indians,
p. 199, note). Her opinion is scarcely warranted by the facts. In April,
Phillips reported to Curtis that the Confederate Indians were determined
"to try the effect of resistance once more." [Official Records, vol. xxxiv,
part 3, p. 53].
25 The United States Senate, however, took cognizance of their action.
See Doolittle to Usher, April 28, 1864, enclosing a copy of Senate Resolution,
April 20, 1864, relative to the return of the Choctaws to the protection of
the Federal government (O.I. A., Choctaiv, D 407 in I. D. Files, Bundle,
no. 52 (1864).
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 23
that few. His animosity expressed itself in no uncer-
tain terms in connection with his denunciation of the
New Hope convention; but, perhaps, that was account-
able to a sort of irritation caused by the fact that, as he
himself reported, the Choctaw was the only Indian
nation yet refractory. For the Creek, the Seminole,
and the Chickasaw, the war was to all intents and pur-
poses over. 26 Governor Colbert of the tribe last-named
was in Texas. He had fled there "on learning of the
defeat at Camp Kansas." 27 Into Texas, by the way,
there was now going on "a general stampede." "That
a handful of men about Scullyville would like to be
the 'Choctaw Nation' " was very "probable and that a
portion" who had "not fled from the northern section
might be willing to accept an assurance of Choctaw
nationality, and pay for acting as militia to expel all
invaders" was "also probable;" but, all the same a
much larger element, meeting in council above Fort
Towson, had not even, so far as Phillips could learn,
"made up their minds to accept peace." 28
All plans for the chastisement of recalcitrant Indians
took one direction, the direction pointed out by eco-
nomic necessity, by political expediency, call it what
one will, land confiscation. This was the direction
most natural and most thoroughly in accord with his-
torical development; but, none the less, it had some
special causes. Kansas wanted to divest herself of her
Indian encumbrance, from the viewpoint of her politi-
cians the reservation system having most signally failed.
Never in all history, so it would appear, has the in-
satiable land-hunger of the white man been better illus-
26 Report of Colonel W. A. Phillips, dated Fort Gibson, February 24,
1864, Official Records, first series, vol. xxxiv, part i, p. 108.
27 Phillips to Curtis, February 14, 1864, ibid, p. 330.
28 Phillips to Dole, March 22, 1864, op. cit.
24 The Indian Under Reconstruction
trated than in the case of the beginnings of the sun-
flower state. The practical effect of the Kansas-
Nebraska Act had been to lift an entail, a huge acreage
had been alienated that before had been sacred to In-
dian claims; white men had swarmed upon the ceded
lands; and the Indians had retired, perforce, to dimin-
ished reserves. A few short years had passed and now
those selfsame diminished reserves were similarly
wanted for the white man's use; but the question was,
Where next was the Indian to go? South of the thirty-
seventh parallel the southern tribes were in possession
and they were in possession of a glorious expanse as
hermetically sealed to other Indians as it had proved to
be to southern projectors, railway and other, before the
war. Originally conferred by the United States gov-
ernment upon the Five Great Tribes as a sort of in-
demnity for the outrageous treatment accorded them
east of the Mississippi, it had been conveyed by patent
in fee simple and was now held under the most solemn
of Federal guarantees. It was to be so held exclusively
and inviolably forever.
Prior to the formation of the Indian alliance with
the Confederacy, that Federal guarantee of exclusive
and inviolable possession had been an insuperable ob-
stacle to outside aggression but now all might be
changed if only the United States government could be
convinced that the great slaveholding tribes had legally
forfeited their rights in the premises. In and out of
Congress middle-western politicians harped upon the
theme but were suspiciously silent on the concomitant
theme of Federal responsibility in the matter of render-
ing to the Indians the protection against domestic and
foreign foes, pledged by treaties. Strange as it may
seem they never undertook to consider the question of
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 25
Indian culpability in the light of that rather interesting
and additional fact.
It was a fact, indisputable, however, and one that
Commissioner Dole liked to insist upon, although even
he finally succumbed to the arguments in favor of forc-
ing the southern tribes to receive other Indians within
their choice domain. Dole's change of front came sub-
sequent to his visit to Kansas in 1863. On the occasion
of that visit it was doubtless borne in upon him that
Kansas was determined to accomplish her purpose, 29
willy-nilly, and would never rest until she had forced
the northern tribes across the interdicted line. Their
aversion to removal was somewhat of an impediment;
but that she might overcome by persecution. Persecute
them she accordingly did and chiefly in the old familiar
southern way, by the taxing of their lands, notwith-
standing that it was a procedure contrary to the terms
of her own organic law.
In his annual report for that year of his western visit,
the Commissioner of Indian Affairs advised a concen-
tration of the Indians since they seemed not to flourish
on small reserves. For the man who had always here-
tofore apologised for the conduct of the Indians this
was a sort of opening wedge to a complete change of
view. By April of 1864 the change had come and
Dole had then the conscience to say that he was "un-
willing to renew the treaties with those people (the
rebellious tribes) especially the Choctaws and Chicka-
saws without first securing to the Government a por-
tion of their country for the settlement of other Indian
29 In all fairness it should be said that Dole claimed to have seen much
to make removal of the Indians advisable on their own account. Proximity
to the whites was proving, as always, exceedingly detrimental to their
morals. For particulars, as pointed out by the Commissioner, see his
Report, for 1863, p. 6, and for 1864, p. 5.
26 The Indian Under Reconstruction
tribes which we are compelled to remove from the
States and Territory north of them." The confession
was made to Phillips, a Kansas settler, a Kansas politi-
cian, if you please, who, in his letter of March 22, had
invited it. 31 Upon Schofield's ideas 32 of identical
30 Dole to Phillips, April 6, 1864, O.I.A., Letter Book, no. 73, p. 434.
31 Phillips had written, "Of course the government understands its
necessities and purposes here. The Indian nation being really the
Key to the southwest makes me respectfully urge that guarantees be
not given that we may have to break. Our necessities here are not of
a character to force us to steps that may be prejudicial."
and again
"Having a clear view of what seems to me the government neces-
sities I have been cautious about promising these rebels anything save
what the mercy or generosity of the government might give them. I
have thought that to sweep out the Choctaw country of rebels would
leave very little, and that fragments, and that these countries south of
the river might, if it was desired, be open for settlement. This would
leave the Cherokee and Creek - weak as they are - almost in the shape
of Reserves, and I have always felt that a proper policy could make a
majority of these vote for a more secure organisation and com-
munity. . ." (Extracts of letter from Phillips to Dole, March 22,
1864, op. cit.)
32 Schofield's letter has wider application than the present discussion
calls for and is worth quoting almost entire. Its tone is sane throughout. -
"The hostile Indians in southwestern Arkansas and the Indian
Country are manifesting a strong disposition to treat with the Govern-
ment and General McNeil suggests that full powers should be given
to some person to settle with them the terms of peace. There are
some important facts connected with this matter which should not be
lost sight of. The wealthy Indians, landholders mostly, nearly all
joined the rebels, and are now among those suing for peace. The
feeling of hostility on the part of the loyal Indians towards these
rebels is intense. I believe the feud between them is of longer stand-
ing than the present rebellion.
"It will, I believe, be practically impossible for the disloyal Indians
to return and occupy their lands. They would all be murdered by the
loyal, or "poor," Indians. It is an important question whether the
lands owned by the disloyal Indians should not be all declared for-
feited to the Government. Also, if forfeited, whether they should be
given to the loyal Indians or be held by the Government with a view
to the ultimate extinction of the Indian title to a portion of territory
which must before many years be required for the use of white men.
"I presume the question of forfeiture is the only one which need be
decided soon. My present information leads me to believe the lands
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 27
tenor and better-reasoned basis, made some months
earlier and referred to him, 33 Dole had not seen fit to
so much as lightly comment and he had repeatedly dis-
couraged congressional action looking to the same end.
The mistrust of the Choctaws manifested by Colonel
Phillips was fully warranted. The papers, inclusive
of President Lincoln's amnesty proclamation, which he
had caused to be distributed among the southern tribes,
had had their effect and were the direct occasion for
the calling of a general council to meet at Tishomingo,
March 16 and therefore almost simultaneously with the
convention at New Hope. "Seven delegates," reported
Superintendent Coffin, "from each of the following
rebel tribes," Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Cherokee,
Caddo, and Osage, were summoned. 34 Presumably all
attended. 35 Full and fierce discussion of all points in-
volved was inevitable for the times were critical. Some
of the delegates argued for immediate submission, some
for continued loyalty to the South. Finally, the in-
owned by the hostile Indians should be declared forfeited and that
they should not be permitted to return among the loyal. Their future
peace seems to require that they be kept separate. This will of
course embarrass very much any negotiations for peace. Yet I see
no way of securing peace among the Indians on any other terms.
"My personal knowledge of these matters is too limited to justify
the expression of a very decided opinion as to what policy should be
adopted. I desire simply to call your attention to what seem to be
important questions to be decided and to ask for instructions.
"I believe there is no civil officer of the Government now in that
Territory, empowered to treat with the Indians." (Schofield to Hal-
leek, November 12, 1863, op. cit.)
33 Halleck to War Department, November 18, 1863, ibid; Usher to Stan-
ton, February 19, 1864, op. cit.
34 Coffin to Dole, March 16, 1864, O.I.A., General Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1863-1864, C 824; Cox to Coffin, March 16, 1864, Commissioner
of Indian Affairs, Report, 1864, pp. 331-332.
35 Phillips, in reporting the meeting, omitted mention of the Cherokees
(Phillips to Curtis, March 17, 1864, O.I. A., Land Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1855-1870, W 412; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report,
1864, p. 329).
28 The Indian Under Reconstruction
fluence of Generals Maxey and Cooper, exerted from
the outside, prevailed for the Confederacy and the
ultimate resolution was, to make one more stand on
Red River. Beyond that the council refused positively
to commit its constituents ; for the sight of the distress-
ful body of refugees stretching all across the country
was enough to shake the fortitude of the strongest.
Near the eastern boundary line, under the shelter of
the garrison at Fort Smith, were those Choctaws, most-
ly refugees, 36 who had gathered at the New Hope con-
vention, now dissolved; but other refugees, fearfully
impoverished, were "clustered in great numbers from
Washita River up Red River and on Washita below
Fort Washita." Even the Indians of the least depleted
resources and of the most pronounced secessionist per-
suasion were discouraged. Many were running their
slaves, their only remaining tangible wealth, to the
Brazos for safety.
The summer of '64 brought no return of good for-
tune to the Trans-Mississippi Department. Much had
36 A letter written to the Indian Office, February 22, 1865, by a man who
signed himself Wm. T. (F. ?) Stephens and who was present at the con-
vention, throws light upon its personnel, also incidentally upon the tribal
status of Delegate Perkins and his notion of discharging his duties. It
reads as follows:
"A part of our people are in a state of rebellion against the U. S.
but the other part are loyal and are refugees at this post, and are in
a destitute condition having left their homes and property in con-
sequence of their political sentiments. The Choctaws that are at this
place held a convention (or rather a Mass meeting) at New Hope,
Choctaw Nation, on the i4th day of March 1864, and appointed E. P.
Perkins to act as a delegate and represent their interest at Washington
City, D.C. Said delegate is a white man who recently married a
member of the Choctaw tribe of Indians; he is also an officer of the
U.S. army. Said delegate proceeded to Washington City as I sup-
pose but on his return did not give any satisfaction concerning the
business upon which he was sent. Please inform me whether E. P.
Perkins was recognized by the department . . ." (O.I.A., Gen-
eral Files, Choctaw 1859-1866}.
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 29
been hoped for but little realized and, as a consequence,
the distress and dissatisfaction of the Indians had
grown apace. Apparently, they had given up all
thought of making their peace with the North. In an
excess of recovered zeal for a doomed cause, they had
allowed the moment for a possible reconciliation to
pass and the Federals had made no new overtures.
The Indian alliance was now a desperate case, yet there
was no talk of abandoning it. Desperate remedies had
to be applied and foremost among them was a reversion
to savagery. Irregular warfare of the most deplorable
and destructive kind was now the ordinary thing,
particularly where the Cherokee champion, Stand
Watie, led. For such as he, there could be no sur-
render. For him, utter despair was out of the question.
Ready he was to risk everything, at any moment, in one
last throw.
Another possible remedy, involving, perhaps, the
essentials of the first, was an alliance with tribes that
in happier days the highly-civilized southern would
have scorned. This was something more than the In-
dian confederacy that the Choctaws had earlier pro-
jected. To consider its possibilities a general council
was arranged for and invitations extended to all of
their own group, to the indigenous and emigrant tribes
of Kansas, 37 and to the wild tribes of the plains. At the
37 Agent H. W. Martin reported upon this to Dole, September n, 1864,
as follows:
"Through Keokuk, Che-kus-kuk, and Pah-teck-quaw, chiefs of the
Sacs and Foxes of Mississippi and the most reliable men connected
with the tribe, I learn that messengers from the Rebel Indians have
been sent to many of the Indian tribes in Kansas, inviting them to
meet in a grand council to be held in the Creek Country in or near
the rebel lines the last of October next. These messengers are sent
from the Comanches, Creeks, and other rebel tribes in the southwest.
I am informed that the "Tobacco," as they term it, has been sent
to the Big Hill Osages, Little Osages, Black Dog's Band of Osages,
30 The Indian Under Reconstruction
moment not much success attended the movement, ow-
ing to the promptness with which Superintendent Cof-
fin and others organized a counter one. They assem-
bled representatives of all the tribes 38 they could reach
Sacs and Foxes, and, I have no doubt, to the Pottawatomies, Kaws,
Kickapoos and all other tribes that they can reach.
"They proclaim that they will kill, clean out, all the whites to the
Missouri River and occupy the country themselves. Now while I
believe that the Sacs and Foxes, as a tribe, are as loyal to the Govern-
ment of the United States as any other Indian tribe in Kansas, yet
I have good reason to doubt the loyalty of two or three former
leaders of what we call the Wild, or Prairie Band. For the good
of the country and the Sac and Fox tribe, I would respectfully sug-
gest the propriety of arresting and confining at Fort Leavenworth
the parties referred to until the close of the war.
"The evidence that led me to this conclusion, I received from the
above named chiefs, whom I have had watching this matter for the
last six weeks. I can not give you the details so as to make it satis-
factory. If I could see you, I think I could satisfy you that a grand
effort is being made to involve all the Kansas Indians in this outbreak.
"If the proposition to confine two or three of the doubtful Indians
referred to meets your approbation, telegraph me Leavenworth, care
of Carney & Stevens. . . " (O.I.A., General Files, Sac and Fox
2862-1866, M 371).
38 Among the Indians present at the Council were, Chickasaws, Creeks,
Seminoles, Senecas, Quapaws, Shawnees, Osages, Western Miamies, Pot-
tawatomies, Weas, Peorias, Kaskaskias, Piankeshaws, and Sacs and Foxes
of Mississippi. The Kaws were not able to appear ; but their trustworthiness
was not to be doubted. Their chiefs empowered Agent Farnsworth to
attach their names to the declaration of loyalty (Farnsworth to Dole, Jan-
uary 9, 1865, O.I.A., Land Files, Kansas 1863-1865, Box 80, F 204). Some
slight aspersions had, indeed, been cast upon the Kaws; but their agent
thought he could easily establish their innocence. His report sounds
plausible,
"As soon as the annual payment was made, I obtained protection
papers from the general commanding this District and all this tribe,
with very few exceptions, left for the buffalo country. Last month I
heard from different sources that the Kaws were not behaving well
and were having friendly intercourse with tribes hostile to the U.
States. In December I made a visit to all their camps on the Smoky
Hill river, Sharps Creek, Little Arkansas, and Big Turkey. The Kaws
have lost a few men and some stock, taken from them by hostile
tribes, but I could not get the slightest evidence of any friendly feeling
existing between these tribes. On the contrary, when I was among
them, a large war party was absent after the Cheyennes to avenge
their losses. The conduct of the Kaws towards the Whites has in-
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 31
in a "Grand Council" 39 at the Sac and Fox Agency
between the fifth and ninth of October and secured
from them an expression of unswerving loyalty to the
government of the United States. 40 Meanwhile the
southern tribes, desperately in earnest, so continued
and redoubled their own efforts that constant vigilance
was necessary in order to circumvent them.
Towards the close of the year, the best plan of all
for defeating the purpose of the secessionists was
devised by the Cherokees. Had it been put into opera-
tion, it might, not only have counteracted what Coffin
called "the infamous machinations of the rebel hordes
in the southwest," 41 but likewise have prevented the
depredations on the Colorado line that, unchecked,
grew to such astounding proportions in the decade after
the war had closed. It might, moreover, have recalled,
though tardily, the secessionists to their allegiance and
ended the tribal estrangements that were to result so
disastrously in the adjustments at the peace council.
The plan was outlined in a memorandum, addressed to
President Lincoln by Lewis Downing, Acting Princi-
pal Chief of the Cherokees. It bore date, December
20, i864- 42 It is here given : -
variably been friendly, and upon examination, all unfavorable reports
were found to be without good foundation . . ." (Farnsworth to
Dole, January 9, 1865, O.I.A., General Files, Kansas 1863-1868,
F 202).
39 Of the council, Agent Martin had much that was interesting to say.
See particularly Martin to Dole, October 10, 1864, O.I.A., Land Files,
Indian Talks, Council, etc., Box 3, 1856-1864, M388: Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, Report, 1864, p. 362.
40 The formal declaration of loyalty accompanied Agent Martin's letter
and is on file with it. Its receipt was duly acknowledged by Dole in terms
that revealed how much importance he, like others, was disposed to attach
to the action of the council (Dole to Martin, November 7, 1864, O.I. A.,
Letter Book, no. 75, p. 397; Dole to Coffin, same date, ibid, p. 396).
41 Coffin to Mix, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February i,
1865, O.I.A., General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1865, C 1209.
42 Ibid.', Interior Department Files.
32 The Indian Under Reconstruction
We, the undersigned for ourselves and as the representatives
of the Cherokee People, feeling an intense interest in maintain-
ing perpetual harmony and good will among the various tribes
of Indians mutually, as well as between these and the people and
government of the United States, beg leave, very respectfully,
to lay before your Excellency a few facts and suggestions relat-
ing to this important subject.
We deem it a matter of vast moment to the Cherokees,
Creeks and Seminoles, and to the State of Kansas and to
Nebraska, as well as to the Whole Union, that the perfect
friendship of the wild tribes be secured and maintained, while
our friendship is of paramount importance to the said tribes;
and it is with the deepest regret that we hear of and observe
acts of hostility on the part of any Indians. It is our firm con-
viction that southern rebels are, and have been, instigating the
wild tribes to take part in the present rebellion against the
Federal Government. The depredations recently committed by
portions of some of these tribes on emigrants crossing the west-
ern plains, we are forced to regard as the result of such instiga-
tions on the part of the rebels.
There are also indications that these tribes are forming into
predatory bands and are engaged in stealing stock in connection
with wicked white men who are first loyal and then rebel as
best suits their purposes of stealing and robbery.
As the war progresses and the rebel armies are broken into
fragments, the rebels will doubtless scatter among these tribes
and will make every effort to organize them into banditti .
Then, when the strength of the rebellion is broken and peace
is formally declared and we are off our guard, they will fall
upon defenseless neighborhoods of loyal Indians, or whites, and
plunder and kill unrestrained.
The highways to the Pacific States and to the gold regions
of the West, they will infest, to harass emigrants and merchants
and endanger their property and lives. To keep down such
depredations by force of arms will require many men and a vast
expense.
In our opinion no pains should be spared to gain the friend-
ship of these people by peaceful means and thus secure their
help against the rebels and in favor of the public peace.
Overtures of Peace and Reconciliation 33
In the year 18 , a general convention of Indian Tribes was
held at Tahlequah in the Cherokee Nation which convened at
the call of the Cherokee National Council. Representatives
from the Cherokees, Creeks, Seminoles, Chickasaws, Delawares,
Shawnees, Osages, Senecas, and twelve other nations attended
this convention and participated in its deliberations. It was a
harmonious, pleasant and profitable meeting of Red men of the
West. Friendship and good will were established and a league
was entered into by which the most friendly relations were
maintained among the various tribes for many years. Arrange-
ments were made for the punishment of crimes committed by
the citizens of any nation on those of any other.
Many years have passed away since the said convention of
tribes. Men who were then young now occupy prominent posi-
tions and are the rulers of their respective nations, yet they
know but little of the harmonious feeling and the amity estab-
lished among their fathers.
The long continuation of the present war, together with the
lies and machinations of the rebels, operating on these ignorant
tribes, have shaken the confidence of some of them in the gov-
ernment of the United States and, to some extent, made the
impression that the Cherokees, Creeks, and other nations who
are in alliance with the Federal Government, are the enemies
of these wild tribes and that the enemies of the Government are
their friends.
In view of this state of things we propose that the nations,
who are righting under the banner of the Union, invite all the
tribes of the Southwest and as many others as possible to meet in
general convention and re-establish their league of amity and
re-assert, in solemn council, their loyalty to the Federal Gov-
ernment. Let them there, in the presence of the Great Spirit,
give mutual pledges to maintain the peace among themselves and
with their white brethren, to abstain from all acts of theft,
robbery, murder or violence, and to do all in their power to
bring to justice any persons, either Indians or whites, who may
be guilty of such acts, or may incite others to commit them un-
der any pretex whatever.
Let them there league together to crush out the rebellion and
put an end to the war throughout the country.
34 The Indian Under Reconstruction
We propose that the said convention of tribes be held near
Claremore's Mound, on the Verdigris River, in the Cherokee
Nation and that it convene in the early part of next June.
We all desire very respectfully to request President Lincoln
to send a talk signed with his own hand and sealed with the
great seal of the United States to this convention. Let him
also send a white pipe, and with tobacco and a white flag and
the Book of God containing the talk of the Great Spirit to men.
Let all be wrapped in the flag of Union and let him send some
suitable person to deliver this talk, and on behalf of the Pres-
ident to smoke the pipe of peace with these nations of Indians
beneath the waves of these flags.
We would also ask that the President give to military com-
manders orders to afford proper protection to such convention
and to the delegates both in going to and returning from said
convention.
In view of the fact that the war has so desolated our country
that the Cherokees cannot, as in former times, provide for the
feeding of such a council, we, very relucktantly, ask that such
provision be made by the United States.
II. THE RETURN OF THE REFUGEES
The existence of Indian refugees was the best indica-
tion that all projects, made while the Civil War was
still in progress, for the removal southward of Kansas
tribes and for the organization of Indian Territory
were decidedly premature and altogether out of place.
For a season, indeed, they were almost presumptuous.
Disaster followed disaster and it seemed wellnigh im-
possible for the Federals ever to regain what they had
so lightly thrown aside in 1861. At the very moment
when the removal policy was being re-enacted there
were upwards of fifteen thousand Indians living as
exiles and outcasts solely because the United States
government was not able to give them protection in
their own homes. Nevertheless, with strange incon-
sistency and the total ignoring of most patent facts, its
law-makers discussed in all seriousness, as is the habit
of politicians, the re-populating with new northern
tribes the very country that the army had abandoned
and had not yet recovered. Meanwhile, as if to add
to the incongruity of the whole matter, three full regi-
ments of Indian Home Guards, composed largely of
the legitimate owners of the territory in question, were
fighting on the Union side.
The earlier misfortunes of the Indian refugees have
been described with fullness of detail in the preceding
volume of this work. A large proportion of the first
Indians, who had fled for safety across the border, had
been conducted, at vast expense, with much murmur-
36 The Indian Under Reconstruction
ing, and some show of resistance, to the Sac and Fox
Agency. There they were yet, the old men, women,
and children, that is; for the braves were away fight-
ing. They included Creeks 43 who had accompanied
Opoethleyohola in his flight, a few Euchees, Kickapoos,
and Choctaws, about two hundred and twenty-five
Chickasaws, 44 and about three hundred Cherokees. 45
At Neosho Falls, were the refugee Seminoles, some
seven hundred and sixty, not counting the enlisted war-
riors. 46 On the Ottawa Reservation, were the non-
fighting Quapaws and the Senecas and Shawnees, 47
while, encamped on the Verdigris and Fall rivers, in
the neighborhood of Belmont, were almost two thou-
sand Indian refugees from the Leased District. 48 They
had come there following the outbreak that had re-
sulted in the brutal murder of Agent Leeper. Beyond
them and beyond the reach of aid, as it proved, at the
Big Bend of the Arkansas, were Comanches, one band,
and scattering elements of other wild tribes.
At the opening of 1863, the great bulk of the Cher-
okees were in southwestern Missouri, exposed to every
conceivable kind of danger incident to a state of war.
They were the larger part of those who, when the Con-
43 Perry Fuller asserted that the Creeks at the Sac and Fox Agency
exceeded five thousand in number. It was doubtless an outside estimate,
which had taken account of the braves, absent with the Home Guards, as
well as of the more helpless members of the tribe. It was at this time that
Fuller succeeded in having himself made attorney for the Creeks (Fuller
to Dole, March 21, 1863, O.I.A., .General Files, Creek, 1860-1869) and
likewise for the Chickasaws, Choctaws, Quapaws, and Leased District In-
dians (Same to same, April 15, 1863, ibid., Southern Superintendency, 1863-
1864, F 35; Same to same, April 18, 1863, ibid., F 37).
44 Coleman to Coffin, September 2, 1863, Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1863, p. 184.
45 Harlan to Coffin, September 2, 1863, ibid., p. 179.
46 Snow to Coffin, September 4, 1863, ibid., p. 185.
47 Coffin to Dole, September 24, 1863, ibid., p. 174.
48 Ibid., p. 177.
Return of the Refugees 37
federates successfully invaded and occupied the Na-
tion, had escaped to the Neutral Lands, a portion of
their own tribal domain but within the limits of Kan-
sas, and had been discovered, in October of 1862, set-
tled upon Drywood Creek, about twelve miles south of
Fort Scott. The Indian Office field employees had
ministered to their needs promptly, 49 if not efficiently;
but, towards the close of the year, to the great sur-
prise 50 and financial embarrassment of Superintendent
Coffin and under pretext of restoring them immediately
to their homes, 51 the army, ordered thereto by General
Blunt, had removed them, bag and baggage, to Ne-
osho. 52 There they had remained, their position in-
49 Coffin to Dole, September 24, 1863, Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1863, p. 175; Coffin to B. T. Henning, December 28, 1863, ibid.,
pp. 192-193.
60 Coffin to Mix, August 31, 1863, O.I.A., General Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1863-1864, C 466.
51 Blunt entertained grave suspicions of the probity of Coffin and his
subordinates and he feared that unless something were soon done to remove
the refugees beyond the reach of their graft the service would be eternally
disgraced. Moreover, it was high time some attempt were being made to
keep the promises to the Indian Home Guard. A letter of Blunt's, written
after his first indignation had exhausted itself, and he had been reconciled
to Coffin may here be quoted in part.
". . . it was a military necessity that something should be done
immediately to save the Indian regiments from demoralization and
quiet the apprehensions of the other refugees. I had to act and act
promptly. Certain parties who were interested in keeping the Indians
in Kansas complained that I was interfering with that which was not
pertinent to me and no doubt made representations to Col. Coffin
relative to my acts that were false and which led to the writing of the
letter by Coffin to me -which I thought was impertinent and uncalled
for -Language that I made use of in that report -and which I learn
has been construed into specific charges against Col. Coffin -was
not so intended but was intended to apply more particularly to the
cormorants & peculators who hang around every Dept. of the Govern-
ment. . . " (Blunt to Secretary of the Interior, January 25, 1863,
I. D. Files, Bundle, no. 51 (1863) ; O.I.A., Southern Superintendency,
B 61).
52 The southern superintendency continued to supply them with neces-
saries as best it could (Coffin to Harlan, December 29, 1862, Commissioner
38 The Indian Under Reconstruction
creasingly precarious and their condition, because of
the desolateness of the region and its inaccessibility to
adequate supplies, increasingly miserable, until March,
i86 3 . 53
By that time, General Blunt had made his peace with
Superintendent Coffin 54 although he had failed to keep
his promises to the Indians, who, as a result of un-
realized hopes, were becoming daily more fractious,
both the refugees and their kin in the Indian Brigade.
Colonel Phillips of the Third Indian Regiment, which
was wholly Cherokee, sympathised with them ; for only
too well he knew the lack of consideration shown the
loyal Indian and the secondary place he was forced to
occupy in the public estimation. Despised, disap-
pointed, discouraged, the Indian Home Guards were
getting mutinous. Moreover, southwestern Missouri,
if not "a perfect den of rebels," as Coffin, in his chagrin
and indignation had described it, was no fit place for
helpless women and children.
With the first indication of the breaking up of win-
ter, Colonel Phillips recommended, in strong terms, the
resumption of the task of refugee restoration 55 and
solicited, for it, the assistance of the southern su-
perintendent, heretofore ignored. Coffin responded
with secret elation; for, by appealing to him, the mil-
itary authorities had tacitly acknowledged the inepti-
tude of which he constantly accused them. Agents
of Indian Affairs, Report, 1863, PP> I 93' I 945 Harlan to Coffin, September 2,
1863, ibid., p. 179). Its efforts to relieve their distress were supplemented
by those of the military.
53 Coffin to Dole, January 5, 1863, ibid., p. 192.
54 Blunt to Secretary of the Interior, January 25, 1863, I. D. Files, Bun-
dle, no. 51 (1863) ; Register of Letters Received, Jan. 2, 1862 to Dec. 27,
1865, "Indians," no. 4, p. 175.
55 In the opinion of Phillips, it was imperative that the removal should
take place in March " and not impracticable" (Phillips to Proctor, February
17, 1863, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1863, pp. 196-197).
Return of the Refugees 39
Justin Harlan and A. G. Proctor were detailed to con-
duct the expedition and early in April the majority of
the Cherokee refugees were again in their own country.
Before departing from Neosho, Harlan had come to
an understanding with Phillips by which the two had
agreed that the reconstruction work should begin on
the Tahlequah side of the Arkansas, where beeves and
milch cows were yet to be had. Seeds had been pro-
vided by the Department of Agriculture 56 and garden-
ing implements by that of the Interior, so all was in
readiness; but Phillips with the vacillation, which
seems to have been his crowning fault, changed the
plan at the last moment and without seeking further
advice from his fellow in authority. He crossed the
line at about the same time Harlan's company did and
at once issued an order for the establishment of six
different posts, or points of distribution. 57 As a result,
the refugees scattered in all directions. The problem
of protecting them became a serious one. The Con-
federates were still lingering in the country. No at-
tempt had been made to oust them before undertaking
the return of the refugees. No expected accretion
came to swell Phillips's command. Indeed, before
very long he was in danger of having to fall back into
Kansas ; for Blunt's troops were nearly all being drawn
off "for the purpose of re-enforcing General Herron in
Missouri." 58 The Indian Brigade, Phillips in com-
mand, intrenched itself at Fort Gibson 59 and there,
58 This is inferred from Dole's letter to Phillips, February 25, 1865
(O.I.A., Letter Book, no. 70, p. 97). Phillips had made an early applica-
tion for the same (I. D., Register of Letters Received, "Indians," no. 4, p.
421, January 23, 1863).
57 Harlan to Coffin, May, 26, 1863, Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1863, p. 204.
58 Coffin to Dole, May 2, 1863, ibid., p. 199.
59 A. G. Proctor to Coffin, July 31, 1863, O.I. A., General Files, Southern
Superintendency, 1863-1864, C 466; Same to same, August 9, 1863, ibid.
40 The Indian Under Reconstruction
too, the now doubly disappointed refugees eventually
huddled so as to profit by the protection of its garrison,
their range limited, scarcely any farming possible. It
was most vexatious, since, if the original plan had been
carried out, a force of about two hundred men might
have been ample to protect Tahlequah. 60 Harlan was
beside himself with indignation and especially so
when its own meagre resources exhausted, the brigade
had to borrow 61 from the produce intended for the sub-
sistence of the refugees. The replenishment of sup-
plies was something no one dared count upon with any
certainty. There was nothing to be obtained south of
Fort Scott; for the country intervening between that
place and Fort Gibson was totally uncultivated. It
had been devastated over and over again and was now
practically denuded of everything upon which to sup-
port life. Moreover, it was infested with bush-
whackers, who roamed hither and thither, raiding
when they could, terrorizing, murdering. And then,
not one of them but like unto them, there was Stand
Watie, Cherokee chief of the Ridge faction, staunch
Confederate, who, insatiably bent upon vengeance,
harrowed the country right and left or lay in wait, with
his secessionist tribesmen, for any chance supply train
that might be wending its way towards Gibson. 62
As the summer advanced, the wants of the restored
refugees grew apace and proportionately their despair.
So pitiable was their state, mentally and physically,
with no prospect of amelioration that the most hard-
60 Henry Smith to Coffin, July 16, 1863, Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1863, p. 212.
61 Borrowing was not invariably the mode of procedure; for the military
authorities, complained Coffin, sometimes forcibly seized the supplies meant
for Indians. (Letter to Mix, August 31, 1863, ibid., pp. 216-218).
62 Coffin to Dole, September 24, 1863, Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1863, pp. 175-176.
Return of the Refugees 41
hearted of the onlookers was moved to compassion.
Rumors were afloat that they were to be sent back to
Kansas, 63 since military protection, poor as it was,
might at any moment have to be withdrawn. Such
a confession of failure was unavoidable under the cir-
cumstances. The situation was most perplexing. As
late as June, Blunt was not able to furnish large enough
escorts for supply trains, so depleted was his army, and
recruits had to be sought for from among the refugees
at Belmont. 64 The turn in the tide came, fortunately,
soon afterwards and Phillips received his long-looked-
for re-enforcements. Local conditions were not much
improved, however, and stories about the necessity of
forcing another exodus still continued to circulate.
They had their foundation in fact and Coffin was in
agreement with Phillips that return across the border
might be advisable for the winter months. 65 In south-
ern Kansas, provisions were plentiful and cheap, while
supply trains were a costly experiment and a provoca-
tion to the enemy. 66
63 Ibid., pp. 203, 211, 213.
64 Coffin to Dole, July ti, 1863, ibid., p. 210.
65 Report, Coffin to Dole, September 24, 1863, ibid., p. 176.
66 Published with Dole's annual report for 1863, are various letters that
show, in one way or another, how difficult it was to get the supply trains
through. There were dangers besetting them from start to finish. When
one train, for instance, was about to leave Emporia, in May, the country all
around was excited over the presence of jayhawkers (Coffin to Dole, May
26, 1863, ibid., p. 201). The following gives some illustration of the variety
of difficulties attending transit:
"Mr. Dole leaves today for Kansas and I improve the opportunity to
communicate to you.
"I arrived safely at Fort Gibson on Friday the 24th and crossed
the train on the ferry next day. I received no reinforcements from
Gibson . . . All but eight or ten of our Indians had left us as
soon as there was danger of our being molested.
"We were ordered by messenger from Gen 1 Blunt to cross at Ross'
ford and move on to Tahlequah, as the families were to be moved
there. Grand River was however impassable so I moved the train
42 The Indian Under Reconstruction
Superintendent Coffin expressed exasperation at the
whole proceeding. "The contrariness and interference
manifested by the military authorities" 67 had annoyed
him exceedingly and he rated restoration under their
auspices as at the maximum in impudence and at the
minimum in accomplishment. If they would but do
their rightful part, clear the country of Confederates
and render it safe for occupancy by the defenceless
wards of the nation, the remaining refugees, those liv-
ing miscellaneously in Kansas, might be returned.
With effective military protection as a prerequisite,
he accordingly recommended their return. That was
in September, when he made his annual report. 68 His
prerequisite was a large order; for it was most unlikely
that the War Department would arrange its affairs with
reference to Indian comfort and safety as matters for
primary concern. It had never thus far been overzeal-
ous to co-operate with the Indian Office. As compared
with the great needs of the nation, in times so critical,
the welfare of aborigines was a mere bagatelle. It
might be thrown to the winds ; they, in fact, annihilated
and no thought taken.
The reasons for expediting refugee restoration were
many and more than balanced, in importance at all
events, the elements of previous failure. They were
chiefly of two kinds, financial and personal. The cost
of maintenance had been a heavy charge upon tribal
funds, both regular and diverted. The expenditure of
relief money had given satisfaction to nobody unless,
down to Gibson and crossed there to save time. Moved from Ft.
Gibson Sunday & train started for Kans. Tues. accompanied by Judge
Harlan." (Proctor to Dole, July 31, 1863, Southern Superintendency,
C 466 of 1863).
67 Coffin to Mix, August 31, 1863, O.I.A., General Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1863-1864, C 466.
68 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1863, p. 178.
Return of the Refugees 43
possibly, to contractors. The estimates had mounted
every quarter. To Coffin, Dole had conceded a large
discretion. He probably knew his man and his own
conduct may not have been impeccable. 69 At any rate,
from the official point of view, Coffin greatly abused
the trust reposed in him and, even if not guilty of pos-
itive dishonesty as charged by his enemies, 70 was not
always wise in his decisions. To Dole's disgust, he
spent refugee relief money for resident Kansas tribes,
temporarily embarrassed, although they had large tri-
bal funds of their own and, in individual cases, were
really well to do. 71 At the same time, he grumbled
because he was forced to stint the true refugees, his
allowance not being nearly enough, and he begrudged
any portion of it to the Cherokees in Indian Territory, 72
who, though ostensibly restored, were in a most dis-
tressful state, wretchedly poor.
69 Dole's participation in the bidding for the sale of the Sac and Fox
trust lands, while not exactly criminal, transgressed the ethics of the public
position which he filled (Abel, Indian Reservations in Kansas and the
Extinguishment of Their Titles, Kansas Historical Society Collections, vol.
viii, p. 101).
70 Blunt's suspicions returned in force. How strong they were may be
inferred from his request, August i, 1863, that "if a special agent be sent
to investigate Indian affairs in Kansas," "an honest man be selected who
is not engaged in Indian contracts." (I. D., Register of Letters Received,
"Indians," no. 4, p. 178). Acting Secretary Otto instructed Dole, September
2, 1863, to have the "matters referred to by General Blunt" investigated
(ibid., Letter Press Book, "Indian Affairs," no. 5, p. 140). See also J. W.
Wright to Usher, September 6, 1863, ibid, Files.
71 Dole to Coffin, June 18, 1863, O.I. A., Letter Book, no. 71, pp. 50-51;
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1863, p. 206. The Neosho Files
of the Indian Office reveal a state of destitution among the New York
Indians in 1862 and 1863. They were Kansas immigrants. Coffin distrib-
uted relief to them, nevertheless. The Wyandotts, whom he likewise as-
sisted, were immigrants and, in normal times, wealthy.
72 The suggestion that the Cherokees be disconnected, in a fiscal way,
from the other refugees and subsisted "from the appropriation accruing to
them from their trust fund interest" came originally from Dole, it would
seem (Coffin to Dole, June 8, 1863, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report,
1863, p. 205).
44 The Indian Under Reconstruction
The Indians in all localities were dissatisfied. They
were tired of privation, tired of changed habits of life,
and they were homesick. "The strange attachment of
these Indians," wrote P.P. Elder, "to their country and
homes from which they were driven, and their great
desire to return thither, continue unabated." 73 Elder
wrote thus of the insignificant Neosho Agency tribes;
but what he said might have applied to any. The
Seminoles, who at Neosho Falls were more comfort-
able than most of the refugees, suffering less, 74 put up
a pitiful plea. Their old chief, Billy Bowlegs, well-
known to the government because of his exploits in
Florida, was away with the army at Camp Bentonville ;
but he wrote sadly of his own hope of return to the
country that he had not set foot in since the war began. 75
That country was endeared to him, not because it held
the bones of his ancestors but simply because it was
home. Home recovered would mean re-union with his
family. He envied the Cherokee soldiers, who were
now in close touch with their women and children.
He admitted there was great confusion in the Indian
Territory; but he had noticed empty houses there,
deserted, in which he was childishly confident his peo-
ple might find shelter. 76 His communications fired the
73 Elder to Coffin, September 20, 1863, Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1863, p. 187.
74 Snow to Coffin, September 4, 1863, ibid., p. 185.
75 Billy Bowlegs to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, March 2, 1863, O.I.A.,
General Files, Seminole, 1858-1869, B 131. A copy of this letter was for-
warded to Coffin, March 24, 1863 (ibid., Letter Book, no. 70, p. 208). On
the thirteenth of May, Bowlegs wrote to Dole again (ibid., General Files,
Seminole, B 317 of 1863), expressive of his confidence that the United States
power could, if it would, clear the Indian country of Confederates. The
Seminole part of it was being held by disloyal Seminoles and Texans. Bow-
legs signed himself, "King of the Seminoles and Captain of Co. 'F', ist. Ind.
H. G.," and he asked for the replacement of a gun which he had lost in
a tussel with a bushwhacker, who had run away with his horse.
76 Billy Bowlegs, Fos-huchee-ha-jo, No-ko-so-lo-chee, Koch-e-me-ko to
Return of the Refugees 45
enthusiasm of those same people and they begged their
Great Father to send them back. They would go, no
matter what impediments athwart their way and they
would go that very fall. 77 Agent Snow doubted their
being able to maintain themselves in their devastated
country during the winter; 78 but the thought did not
deter them. They had known a scarcity of food in
Kansas the preceding year and might fare better far-
ther south. Anyhow, they could burn green wood as
they pleased, which they had not been allowed to do
on the white man's land. They had taken everything
into consideration and where the Great Father's energy
ended theirs would begin.
The homesickness of the refugees was due to a vari-
ety of causes and not of least consequence was the en-
Oak-to-ha and Pas-co-fa, dated Ft. Blunt, C.N., September 4, 1863, O.I.A.,
General Files, Southern Superiniendency, 1863-1864.
77 "We have got a letter from Billy Bowlegs and others . . . and
from what we hear in this letter we think we can go home with safety.
We know it will be impossible for the Government to haul provisions
all the way down there for us. We have taken all this into considera-
tion. We know that we will live hard this winter, but we want to
go home on our own land. We must be there this fall if we expect to
plant in the spring. Corn must be put in there in March. Fences
must be built, houses repaired, farms improved and this must all be
done before we can expect to raise a crop . . .
"We are here on the white man's land - we cannot cut green wood
to burn and when we got word from Billy Bowlegs that we can get
in our own country, we are anxious to go where we can burn green
wood as we please. And we would ask you to help us to move down
before cold weather sets in. Our dear Father, if you can only get
wagons, we want you to get all you can to help us back to our
homes . . . And if you can't help us then we will try what we can
do in moving ourselves. We expect that the rebels have destroyed
all of our property, but we think if we can get to our Brothers the
Cherokees we could get enough of them to live on, untill we could
raise something for ourselves ..." (Pas-ko-fa, Seminole, Tus-
ta-nuk-e-mantha, Creek, Robert Smith, Cherokee, Lewis, Chickasaw,
to Wm. P. Dole, dated Neosho Falls, Kansas, September 14, 1863,
ibid.).
78 Snow to Dole, September 14, 1863, ibid.
46 The Indian Under Reconstruction
forced change in their habits of living. Let it be
remembered that they had come from homes of com-
fort and plenty. In Indian Territory, they had lived
in up-to-date houses and had fed upon fruit and vegeta-
bles and abundantly upon meat. In Kansas, cast-off
army tents were their portion and frequently damaged
grain their diet. The tents had not been enough to
protect them from the inclemency of the weather, their
clothes were threadbare, 79 their bodies under-nourished.
The mortality among them had been appalling and
only very recently on the decline. Moreover, they
were apprehensive of what was being charged against
their account; for they, from long experience, had no
illusions as to the white man's generosity. The whis-
perings of graft and peculation were not unheeded by
them and their mutterings echoed political recrimina-
tions. They were conscious that they had outstayed
their welcome in Kansas, that citizens, who were not
profiting from the expenditure of the relief money,
were clamoring for them to be gone. On the Ottawa
Reservation, and to some extent on the Sac and Fox,
their red hosts had ceased to be sympathetic.
Practically, all of the agents in the southern su-
perintendency with the exception of Harlan 80 advised
the return of the refugees to Indian Territory and they
advised that it be undertaken early. Coleman appar-
ently seconded the urgent appeal of his charges that
they be sent home "the earliest practicable moment."
79 The clothing distributed among the refugees at the Sac and Fox
Agency allowed a part of a suit only to each individual (Cutler to Coffin,
September 5, 1863, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1863, p. 181).
It must have been of extraordinarily poor quality; for, within ten months,
it was almost worn out.
80 The plight of those already removed constituted a warning against
being over-sanguine and Harlan refrained from endorsing the advice given
by his fellow-agents (Harlan to Coffin, December 7, 1863).
Return of the Refugees 47
A return in the autumn or the winter would permit
them to "gather cattle and hogs sufficient to furnish
meat, and at the same time prepare their fields for a
spring crop, thereby obviating the obligation of the
government to subsist and clothe them." 81 The Creeks
were, however, afraid to venture before assurance was
forthcoming that their enemies had certainly been
cleaned out. Were that assurance to come, it would
bring conviction of another thing, that secessionist In-
dians, now despondent, had returned to their allegiance
to the United States government. There were many
indications that they were wavering in their adherence
to the Confederacy. 82 For their return, as for refugee
restoration, military protection would have to be a pre-
liminary provision and it would have to extend beyond
the confines of Fort Gibson and southward as well as
northward of the Arkansas River. That river ought
to be opened to navigation. Were transit once ren-
dered safe, the Indians would haul their own supplies;
but they wanted more than the Cherokee country
cleared and protected. 83 The Chickasaws, for instance,
could not go back until such time as Forts Washita and
Arbuckle had been seized and garrisoned. A small
incompetent force in Indian Territory was worse than
none at all. It simply invited attack and, if not aug-
mented, should be withdrawn. 8 *
The wheels of governmental action turn slowly and
81 Coleman to Coffin, September 2, 1863, Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1863, p. 184.
82 A "strong Union element" was reported existing among the Chickasaws
and Choctaws. Union leagues were forming and the secessionists waiting
for a Federal force to appear before breaking away from their alliance with
the South (Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1863, p. 26). Secession-
ist Creeks were resorting to Fort Gibson and enlisting with the Home
Guards (ibid., p. 182).
* 3 Ibid., p. 184.
84 Harlan to Coffin, September 2, 1863, ibid., p. 180.
The Indian Under Reconstruction
the winter months of 1863 came and went with no for-
ward movement for refugee restoration. In January
of the next year, the agitation for it reached Congress
and, on the twenty-seventh, the Senate Indian com-
mittee, through its chairman, called upon Usher for
his opinion as to whether "the state of affairs" would
not allow a return to Indian Territory in time for the
raising of a crop. 85 On the fifth of February, Dole
consulted with General Blunt, 86 who was then in Wash-
ington and who might be presumed to possess some
expert knowledge of the subject. Blunt replied 8T to
the effect that the refugees ought most assuredly to be
reinstated in their own country to prevent demoraliza-
tion among them ; but that the serious obstacle to the
carrying out of so desirable a policy was the lack of
military protection. "Since the creation of the Depart-
ment of Kansas all the troops heretofore serving in the
District of the Frontier, except three Regiments of
Indian Home Guards at Fort Gibson (very much
decimated) are reporting to General Steele in the
Department of Missouri." The Indian country was
somewhat removed from all convenient sources of sup-
88 Doolittle to Usher, January 27, 1864, I. D., Files, Bundle, no. 52 (1864).
86 "Knowing that you have lately been in command of our forces in
the vicinity of Forts Smith and Gibson and are familiar with the
condition of the Indian Country south of Kansas, I respectfully re-
quest you to furnish me with a statement of your views as to the
propriety of an immediate return of the Refugee Indians now in
Kansas to their homes, and, especially as to whether the military
forces now in the Indian Country and vicinity are adequate to afford
such protection to these Indian Refugees as would enable them to
remain at, and cultivate their farms in that Country, without constant
danger of being driven therefrom, their growing crops destroyed,
and they compelled to seek the protection of the Forts, and further
as to the practicability and means of subsisting them in that country
while raising a crop." (Dole to Blunt, February 5, 1864).
87 Blunt to Dole, February 5, 1864, O.I.A., General Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1863-1864, B 656; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report,
1864, pp. 322-323.
Return of the Refugees 49
ply, the Arkansas was closed to navigation, and stores
had to be transported long distances over interior lines.
It "required a large portion of the small military force
there to protect the trains." The difficulties in the way
of obtaining supplies were the main reasons why the
Federals were occupying so small a section of the
Indian country. Blunt's recommendation was, a re-
organization of the western departments so as to give
to General Curtis, in command of the Department of
Kansas, the control of the "two western tiers of the
counties of Arkansas" and most certainly of Fort
Smith, the supply depot of Indian Territory. 88 Suffi-
cient troops must be furnished to permit of "successful
operations both defensive and offensive."
Possessed of this additional information, the Senate
carried its inquiries to the War Department and ascer-
tained from its secretary that no reason was known
there why the refugees should not return. Accord-
ingly, on the third of March, James H. Lane intro-
duced a joint resolution calling for their removal from
Kansas. 89 He gave their number as ninety-two hun-
dred and the monthly cost of their maintenance as sixty
thousand dollars. The resolution was referred to the
Committee on Indian Affairs. On the twenty-second,
he sent to Dole a paper, 90 signed by members of the
Indian committee of each house, earnestly recommend-
88 Blunt pointed out that Fort Smith, captured by the Federals, Septem-
ber ist, 1863, had been peculiarly placed by the departmental reorganization.
In the Department of Kansas, was "the military post . . . through
which (the garrison) runs the line dividing the state from the Choctaw
Nation, and separated from the city by a single street, the city being in
the Department of Missouri." The arrangement was exceedingly dis-
advantageous since Fort Smith was necessarily "the Depot and base of all
military operations in the Indian country and also the Depot for supplying
the Indians ..."
89 Cong. Globe, 38th cong., ist sess., p. 921.
90 General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1863-1864.
50 The Indian Under Reconstruction
ing an immediate return to Indian Territory so as to
make the putting in of a crop that season possible. 91
Congress appropriated the requisite funds. 92
How Secretary Stanton, with all the facts before
him, the facts alleged by General Blunt and true, could
have conscientiously conveyed the impression that he
did convey to the Senate Indian committee is a mystery.
The restored Cherokees had not been sent back to Kan-
sas as at one time proposed. Their own feelings would
have been against such a move had it ever been serious-
ly contemplated ; but for reasons, military and econom-
ic, not to say political, they had been retained in Indian
Territory. More and more their numbers were in one
way added to and in another taken from. Malnutri-
tion, overcrowding and bad hygienic conditions gen-
erally offered fertile soil for diseases. Small-pox alone
carried the refugees off by hundreds. Medical aid,
reported by Agent Cox as "indispensably necessary,"
was not to be had and military protection was even
less of a factor in the alleviation of misery than it had
been. Guerrillas raided and robbed at will. It was
91 It was scarcely necessary to urge this upon Dole ; for earlier, on
February 25th, he had himself informed Usher that immediate action must
be taken if the refugees were to be removed to their homes the coming
spring (O.I.A., Report Book, no. 13, pp. 316-317).
92 On March 25, 1864, Senator Doolittle introduced a bill (S 198) to aid
the refugees in returning home. It was referred to his committee (Cong.
Globe, 38th cong., ist sess., p. 1274). It passed the House of Representatives
in due course (ibid., pp. 2016, 2050) and became law, May 3rd.
93 Cox to Coffin, December 5, 1863 (O.I.A., Cherokee, C 633). This letter
is quoted in full in connection with the subject matter of Chapter vii. The
census roll of the Cherokees which accompanied it has more than statistical
value and is here given. Its file mark is, Cherokee, C 647. Coffin's letter
of January 25th, 1864 -he wrote it from Fort Leavenworth - refers to Cox's
census as but temporary and promises the transmission of Harlan's as soon
as it is completed.
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52 The Indian Under Reconstruction
only directly under the guns of Fort Gibson that life
and property were at all secure. 9 *
Late in the autumn, the Cherokee authorities, taking
cognizance of all such facts and fearing lest longer
delay might result in unmitigated woe to the nation,
resolved to make one last desperate appeal 95 for effec-
tive military aid. The National Council, therefore,
authorized 96 the appointment of a deputation that
should call upon General McNeil and acquaint him
with all the circumstances of the case. The special
94 Letters from agents furnish abundant evidence of this. Two in
particular from Justin Harlan, both of date, December yth, 1863, are worth
noting. Coffin's letter of transmittal (O.I.A., Southern Superintendency,
1863-1864), dated from Washington, January 22, 1864, will be found to be
an excellent introduction to Harlan's (ibid., Cherokee, 633) as well as
a summary of other communications.
95 Another kind of appeal was made at intervals to the Indian Office.
December 17, 1863, Dole reported to Usher news that he had received from
the Cherokee delegation then in Washington, Downing, Jones, and McDaniel,
all to the effect that there was absolute destitution in the Nation (O.I. A.,
Report Book, no. 13, p. 262).
96 "Be it enacted by the National Council, That the Principal Chief be
and he is hereby authorized to appoint a deputation of three persons
whose duty it shall be to visit the General commanding the 'District
of the Frontier,' and lay before him a full statement of the present
condition of the Cherokee people. It shall be their duty to set forth
the services tendered by the Cherokees in the Army of the United
States, the painful destruction of life they have sustained from the
many casualties incident to war and the heavy loss of property they
have been forced to bear from the waste and depredations com-
mitted upon them by various persons under one pretext or another.
"And they are directed to assure the General ... of the un-
shaken loyalty of the great mass of the Cherokee people . . . and
of their unwavering fidelity to the stipulations of the treaties existing
between said Government and the Cherokee Nation.
"The said deputation are further directed to request the General
. . . to adopt such stringent measures as will abate the evils com-
plained of and to make such disposition of the forces under his com-
mand, & particularly of the Indian troops, as will enable them to
hold the Indian Country, protect their homes & families and repel and
punish Rebel forces making raids . . .
"And finally to ask authority to raise a Regiment of native troops
to be officered by themselves and mounted, equipped and supported
Return of the Refugees 53
boon asked of him should be, either such a disposition
of the Indian Brigade as would be a defence in actual-
ity or permission to raise a real Home Guard. In
course of time, news of the mission reached Washing-
ton 97 and its object was brought through the instru-
mentality of General Canby 98 to the attention of the
by the United States for duty more particularly in the Indian Country
& whose terra of service shall be three years or during the war.
Ketoowha, C.N., Nov. tyth, 1863
JAMES VANN, Prest. Pro tern, Nat 1 . Com*.
(Signed)
J. B. JONES, Clk. Nat. Committee, Concurred
ALLEN Ross, Clk. Council TAH-LAH-LAH, Speaker of Council
Approved,
SMITH CHRISTIE, Acts Prin 1 Chief."
97 The deputation submitted to Colonel Phillips "a statement of their
views and wishes," which Representative A. C. Wilder referred to the
Indian Office, February 10, 1864 (O.I.A., General Files, Cherokee, 1859-
1865, W 332). The Reverend Evan Jones endorsed the application (ibid.,
J 401). He was associated with Lewis Downing and James McDaniel as
a special delegate from the Cherokees. Under authority from General Blunt,
these three men, all of the Indian Guard contingent, Jones as chaplain, ist
I.H.G., Downing as lieutenant-colonel, 3rd I.H.G., and McDaniel, captain,
2nd I.H.G., had come to Washington in the spring of 1863 to present the
Cherokee cause to the authorities. The War Department resented their
coming and Secretary Stanton ordered that their expenses should be charged
against Blunt's command -
"... the nature of their business and the necessity for the absence
of these officers from their commands is not known by this Department. The
action of Major General Blunt in sending them was disapproved and his
pay was ordered stopped, until it was ascertained that the Government was
not involved in any expense by that action ..." (Letter to Usher,
January 10, 1864). The foregoing was sent in reply to an inquiry from
Senator Lane, whom Blunt had interested in his claim (A.G.O., Old Files
Section, 61340 of 1863; 62133 (V.S.) 1863). Apparently, the matter did
not end there and the regimental pay of the delegates was withheld. Blunt
and Curtis both urged payment; but the case hung fire for some time (ibid.,
61013 (V.S.) 1863, Jacket 3 of 15; C 13, 16, C 16, C 405, Wi39O, W 3239,
A 478, J 575 (V.S.) 1864; 81040, Wi78 (V.S.) 1865, Jacket 4 of 15).
For Dole's hearty endorsement of the Cherokee petition, see his report
to Usher, March 7, 1864, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1864, pp.
325-326.
98 General E. R. S. Canby transmitted, January 10, 1864, to the General-
in-Chief of the Army a copy of the resolutions of the Cherokee National
Council, his sympathies having been aroused by the very evident distress
54 The Indian Under Reconstruction
War Department. The official comment to the effect
that the commander of the Department of Kansas
would no doubt afford protection to the restored refu-
gees was almost ironical in view of the fact that, by
general orders of April seventeenth, Indian Territory
was detached from that department and given to Gen-
eral Steele, commanding the rival one of Arkansas ".
Of so little account had been General Blunt's intima-
tion that a part of Arkansas should be added to Curtis'
command if anything really remedial were in contem-
plation for the refugees, restored or to be restored.
The expeditious removal of a horde of human beings,
more or less helpless by reason of sex, age or condition,
was not the easy undertaking some people thought it.
Anticipatory of congressional action, Superintendent
Coffin prepared, in February, to transfer his office to
Fort Smith by April first; 100 but at that point his ac-
tivity halted. Kansas food contractors were interested
in the further detention of the refugees and they had
one unanswerable argument, the same that Thomas
Carney advanced in a letter 101 of April twelfth to
Dole, 102 that it was already too late in the season to re-
of the refugees. The following indicates in what spirit his communication
was received:
"While it is not deemed expedient to grant the authority for raising
such a regiment, the Department (of War) appreciates none the less
the unfortunate condition of these Indians . . . Commander of the
Dept of Kansas will no doubt afford protection." (A.G.O., Old Files
Section, B 1013 (V.S.) 1863, Jacket 2 of 15).
99 For popular criticism of the transfer of Indian Territory to the Depart-
ment of Arkansas, see (Leavenworth) Daily Conservative, April 19, 23, 26
and July 10, 1864.
100 _ Hid., February 24, 1864.
101 O.I.A., General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1863-1864.
102 On the day following, the thirteenth, Dole referred to Usher a letter
that he was proposing to send to Coffin containing instructions for immediate
removal. The bill appropriating funds had then passed the Senate and was
before the House.
Return of the Refugees
move prospective agriculturists. In Indian Territory,
the spring opens in March. The law, appropriating
the necessary funds, was not enacted until May. Never-
theless, the senatorial advocates of removal persisted in
prodding the Indian Office and, on April fourteenth, a
resolution was passed requesting the president " to com-
municate to the Senate the reasons, if any exist, why
the refugee Indians in the State of Kansas are not re-
turned to their homes." 103 The response, which Dole
communicated to Usher, May 11, 1864, ought to have
been disconcerting to more than one department of the
government since it was a plain statement of discredit-
able facts that funds had not been forthcoming and
that the same causes that made the southern Indians
refugees still operated, their country being exposed per-
petually " to incursions of roving bands of rebels or hos-
tile Indians." 104
The shortcomings of the military arrangement that
had separated Indian Territory from Kansas became
startlingly obvious when Coffin applied for an armed
escort and found that Curtis could furnish him with
one to the border only. General Steele was far away
" at or near Shreveport " and therefore Coffin tele-
graphed 105 to Dole, hoping that he might be able to get
an order for troops direct from the War Department.
The Red River expedition was in progress and it was
not to be wondered at that Steele, absorbed in affairs
of great import, affairs that were to terminate so dis-
103 Congressional Globe, 3810 Congress, ist Session.
104 O.I.A., Report Book, no. 13, pp. 408-409.
105 April 21, 1864, O.I.A., General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1863-
1864. With the same object in view, Coffin telegraphed once more on May
tenth and again May thirteenth. His transportation was all ready and the
only thing lacking was the assurance of military protection. Secretary Usher
advised his not being too premature in moving the refugees ; but allowed
him to act upon his own responsibility and judgment.
56 The Indian Under Reconstruction
astrously, 106 was inattentive to Coffin's call. The super-
intendent's preparations went on notwithstanding, the
obstacles in his way multiplying daily ; for the refugees,
informed as to the military situation, were averse to
courting new and untried dangers, 107 small-pox raged
among the Seminoles, 108 and he had little latitude in
the expenditure of funds, Congress having so hedged
its appropriation about with restrictions. 10 ' He still
pleaded for an additional armed force and his prayer
was eventually answered. On May twenty-sixth, Stan-
ton notified Usher that General Steele had been di-
rected to furnish an escort from the Kansas border on-
ward. 110
The getting of the refugees ready for removal was,
to Coffin's mind, the most difficult job he had ever un-
dertaken. The Leased District Indians refused point-
blank to go. Fort Gibson was not in the direction of
home for them and they preferred to hazard subsisting
themselves on the Walnut, where antelope and buffalo
106 On May nth., the Senate called for an investigation of the Red River
disaster [Cong. Globe, 38th cong. ist sess., p. 2218].
107 Coffin to Dole, May 22, 1864, O.I. A., General Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1863-1864; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1864,
PP- 338-339-
108 Small-pox had appeared at Neosho Falls as early as September, 1863
and then had disappeared for a time. In the following spring, it broke
out again with terrible virulence. "Great consternation at once seized and
preyed upon the minds of these superlatively wretched exiles," wrote the
attending physician, "offering large vantage-ground to the extension of the
fearful malady. All were immediately vaccinated ; but unfortunately the
virus, though reported good, proved inert, and the next supply but partially
succeeded . . . " (A. V. Coffin to W. G. Coffin, August 25, 1864, Com-
missioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1864, p. 307). The disease spread to
Belmont and in many cases proved fatal (ibid.; Gookins to W. G. Coffin,
October 20, 1864, ibid., p. 319).
109 Coffin to Dole, May 14, 1864, O.I.A., General Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1863-1864; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1864,
PP- 337-338. The money was not to be spent in Kansas. See Dole to Coffin,
May 7, 1864, ibid., pp. 336-337.
110 O.I.A., General Files, Southern Superintendency, 1863-1864.
Return of the Refugees 57
ranged, to journeying thither. 111 For a time it seemed
impossible to procure enough teams. 115 The Indians
were " very fearful." Some of the Creeks had to be
left behind sick at the Sac and Fox Agency and quite
a lot of the Seminoles 113 at Neosho Falls "* No at-
tempt was made, on this occasion, to lure the Quapaws
and their neighbors from the Ottawa Reservation.
Their home not being even passably safe, 115 they
were to remain north, for a period, with Agent Elder,
their differences with their hosts being no longer cause
for uneasiness. 116 The procession, when it finally started,
111 Henry Smith, Coffin's clerk, to Dole, May 28, 1864, ibid., C 877. For
an estimate of their number, see Coffin to Dole, March 21, 1864, ibid., C 754.
Their faithful agent, E. H. Carruth, died April 23rd. and Coffin appointed
temporarily in his place, John T. Cox (Coffin to Dole, April 27, 1864, ibid.,
Wichita, 1862-1871).
112 "Nearly three hundred teams were required . . . and these
had to be secured and gathered up through the country wherever we
could get them." Coffin to Dole, September 24, 1864, Commissioner
of Indian Affairs, Report, 1864, p. 303).
113 Bowlegs had died recently and Long John, who succeded him as head
chief, appealed for help to President Lincoln, March 10, 1864 (O.I.A.,
General Files, Seminole, 1858-1869, 8291). Pas-ko-fa, the second chief,
seconded the appeal, basing his claim to assistance upon the indisputable
fact that his people had been loyal to the United States in the face of
desperate odds, while the few who had gone with the South had been taken
unawares by Pike (ibid.).
114 In June, Smith reported their number as 550; but, in September,
Agent Snow placed it at 470 (Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report, 1864,
P- Si?)-
us "These Indians could not be returned to their homes this summer,
as their country lies just south of the south line of Kansas, and in the
worst district of country for guerillas and bushwhackers west of the Missouri
river, and cannot be occupied by either Indians or whites who are in the
least suspected of loyalty, until a military post, or stockade, or fort is
established there to hold the country against the marauding bands that have
infested it for the last three years. It is there where our supply trains are
so frequently attacked, and where General Blunt's body-guard and brass
band was captured and murdered in cold blood ..." (Commissioner
of Indian Affairs, Report, 1864, pp. 304-305).
116 Apparently some o& the ill-feeling between them and the Ottawas
had been allayed. They were now on the Ottawa allotted lands and Agent
Elder reported, "There has been no uneasiness or complaint on the part
58 The Indian Under Reconstruction
included nearly five thousand refugees " and, by the
end of May, it had reached, without molestation, the
Osage Catholic Mission. There it awaited the coming
of the supplementary escort. 118
Meanwhile, affairs were in bad shape at Fort Gib-
son. There was discord everywhere, between white
and red people and between civilians and soldiery, and
the food contractors were responsible for most of it.
of the Ottawas in consequence of such occupancy, except such as has been
engendered by the counsels of whites who have a prospective interest in
the future disposition of their lands." (ibid., p. 315)
117 Before starting out with his refugee train, Coffin attempted to secure
the Creek consent to the Senate amendments to the treaty of 1863 and he
called a council at the Sac and Fox Agency for the purpose. The mooted
point was, the claim of the loyal Creeks about which Dole had consulted
with Senator J. H. Lane in January (Dole to Lane, January 27, 1864, O.I. A.,
Report Book, no. 13, pp. 287-291). The loyal Creeks claimed national
status an untenable position according to those, who, like Lane, wanted
to force a cession in order to accommodate the Kansas tribes when removed.
The Senate amendment to Article 4 of the treaty deprived the secessionist
Creeks of all claims to the tribal lands (Resolution, March 8, 1864; Usher
to Dole, March 23, 1864, O.I.A., Land Files, Treaty, Box 3, 1864-1866.
Concerning the council that Coffin held with the Creeks at the Sac and
Fox Agency, the account, gleaned from the Leavenworth Daily Times and
from the St. Louis Globe Democrat and published in Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, Report, 1864, pp. 339-340, is sufficiently explicit. The Creeks
resisted all blandishments and, as a matter of fact, never did accept the
Senate alterations in their treaty. The treaty, in consequence, remained
unratified although its binding force was occasionally subject for inquiry
for many years afterwards. In illustration, see Byers to Lewis V. Bogy,
February 7, 1867, O.I.A., General Files, Creek, 1860-1869, 694. Undoubted-
ly, there were many people, who fain would have had the government pro-
ceed as if it were a fully negotiated and finished treaty; but the Creeks were
too wary. They would have none of it and yet, except for the objectionable
amended fourth article, they deemed it a good treaty (Oc-ta-hasa Harjo and
others to Dole, December 9, 1864).
While the treaty was pending in the Senate, "loyal Africans from the
Creek Nation," through Israel Harris of the American Baptist Home Mis-
sionary Society, asked that they be "guarantied" "equal rights with the
Indians." All of their "boys" were in the army and ought to be remem-
bered (Mundy Durant to Dole, February 23, 1864, O.I.A., General Files,
Creek, 1860-1869, D 362).
118 Coffin to Dole, June 3, 1864, ibid., Southern Superiniendency, 1863-
1864, C895.
Return of the Refugees 59
Those were the days when cattle-stealing became a
public scandal but more of it anon. The discord be-
tween white and red people existed both inside and out-
side the army. Inside the army, it was a matter as be-
tween officers and men and was most apparent when
Colonel Phillips took the Indian Brigade on an expe-
dition towards the Red River early in the year. The
bickerings that arose between the white officers and the
Indian rank and file soon grew notorious and were
chiefly caused by the disputed ownership of ponies. 119
Litigation succeeded altercation and there was no end
to the bad feeling engendered. Fortunately, the Indian
plaintiff had friends at court in the person of govern-
ment agents 12 and the brigade commander, Colonel
Phillips standing well the test of "earnest and substan-
tial friend." 121
119 j. X. Cox to Dole, February 5, 1864, Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
Report, 1864, p. 321.
120 Besides Special Agent Cox, there was with the expedition Special
Agent Milo Gookins of Attica, Indiana, who had, in the preceding August,
been sent by Coffin "to accompany the Indian regiments now with the Army
of the Frontier, under command of Blunt, during their campaign in Indian
Territory." (Coffin to Mix, August 31, 1863, O.I.A., General Files, Southern
Superintendency, 1863-1864, C47i). Coffin had instructed Gookins to "en-
quire carefully into the loyalty of all the prominent Indian chiefs, headmen,
& braves, and keep a correct & full record of all their acts, standing &
position towards the Federal Government ..." (Coffin to Gookins,
August 19, 1863, ibid.). It was not a promising outlook and yet, in the
spring of 1864, Gookins was disposed to be most magnanimous in his attitude
towards the recalcitrants. On March 23rd., he wrote to Dole,
"I see by the papers that steps are being taken in Congress for the
appointment of Commissioners to examine and adjust claims against
the Government for losses sustained by the war, embracing all the
States. I presume it will not have escaped the notice of the Interior
Department, the Indian Bureau, or the Cherokee delegation that a
similar bill for the Indian territories should be more liberal in its
provisions, embracing hundreds, who by force of surrounding circum-
stances, and under compulsion, might have appeared to be, and prob-
ably to act disloyal, when in fact and in truth they were not so"
(ibid.).
121 Cox to Dole, February 5, 1864, op. cit.
60 The Indian Under Reconstruction
The troubles caused by the contractors were more
widespread and of more lasting effect. They grew out
of peculations and the delivery of inferior goods. Flour
furnished for the refugees, when inspected, 122 was
found to be worthless as far as its food properties and
appetizing qualities were concerned. "Some of it was
nothing but 'shorts,' the rest, the poorest flour manu-
factured." Agent Harlan accepted it only because
"the Indians had been over 30 days without bread,"
and he knew, if he rejected it, that "they would get
none until spring." 123 T. C. Stevens and Company
were contractors in this affair and the only circum-
stance that Coffin could offer in extenuation of their
conduct was the great difficulty always "experienced
in obtaining a good article of flour in southern Kansas
. . . in consequence of the inferior character of the
mills in that new and sparsely settled country . . ," 124
Similar complaints were made of the firm of Mac-
Donald and Fuller. 12 * Was it any wonder that the
122 i am informed by good authority from Kansas that some fourteen
hundred sacks of flour has been condemned by a military tribunal in
Kansas as worthless -that the flour was delivered to the Refugee
Indians on a contract of Stevens & Co.
"I am further informed that the evidence in the case with samples
of the flour has been forwarded to you. I propose to have that
evidence & samples before the Indian Committee that they may fully
realize with whom they are dealing in Kansas. I trust that you will
retain the samples until the Indian Committee meets . . ." (J. H.
Lane to Dole, March 14, 1864, O.I.A., General Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1863-1864, 1,313).
123 Usher to Dole, March 7, 1864, communicating the statement of the
inspectors, ibid., I 467.
124 Coffin to Dole, March 10, 1864, ibid.
125 The criminality of this firm was exposed later and with more pub-
licity. For a copy of its original contract, see Coffin to Dole, April 13, 1864,
ibid., C 778. Of the rival firm, Thomas Carney was a principal member.
He had come from Ohio [Connelley, Standard History of Kansas and
Kansans, pp. 764-768] and had early gained an unenviable reputation in
business dealings. His friend and associate, Robert S. Stevens, was notorious
for sharp practices, in the location of land warrants for eastern people, the
Return of the Refugees 61
refugees felt themselves neglected, abused, and out-
raged?
The advance guard of Coffin's refugee train reached
Fort Gibson June i^. 126 Its progress had been ham-
pered by minor vicissitudes, cattle thieves and thunder-
storms, all natural to the region. 127 The condition of
affairs north of the Arkansas was at the time most un-
satisfactory; for the Federals had military control of
Forts Smith and Gibson only and "everything," so
complained the superintendent, "done out of range of
the guns of the forts has to be done under an escort or
guard." The Creeks, who comprised the major por-
tion of the refugees, could not be taken to their own
country unless General Thayer should consent to erect
a military post within its limits. For the time being
they were, therefore, to remain with the Cherokees, a
bad arrangement. 128 The Chickasaws were to go east-
building of Indian houses, and the like. He had emigrated from New York
and, in combination with S. N. Simpson and Charles Robinson, had inter-
ested himself in the construction of the road that was "the beginning of
the railroad troubles in Kansas [Robinson, Kansas Conflict, pp. 419-420.].
126 Coffin to Dole, June 16, 1864, O.I.A., General Files, Southern Su-
perintendency, 1863-1864, C 922.
127 ibid. ; same to same, June 7, 1864.
128 Old Sands, who was then head chief of the Loyal Creeks, would give
Phillips no peace until he consented to lay the complaints of the Creek
refugees before the department (Phillips to Usher, June 24, 1864, I. D. Files,
Bundle, no. 52). Usher communicated the facts to the War Department,
August 16, 1864. The leading chiefs, including Sands, addressed themselves
July i6th to Dole as follows:
"We did not get here in time to raise anything for ourselves. We
are therefore destitute of everything. Months intervene between the
arrival of each train and the supplies they bring are barely sufficient
to keep us alive from day to day . . . There are at least twenty
thousand persons here to feed, all of whom will have to depend on
the trains for all their subsistence except beef, and this winter when
the trains must necessarily have to stop, our sufferings will be terrible
in the extreme. Last winter the refugees who were here were re-
duced to almost absolute starvation, so much so, that they were glad
to hunt out the little corn that fell from the horses & mules of the mil-
itary. Then there were large fields of corn south of this post, belong-
62 The Indian Under Reconstruction
ward to Fort Smith where they would be a trifle nearer
home than would be the case were they to remain at
Gibson. Their own country, though, was considerably
far to the westward, beyond the Choctaw. It was now
too late to put in regular crops and consequently sub-
sistence would have to be furnished as before and at a
far greater cost. Coffin estimated the number of refu-
gees at close upon sixteen thousand and the expense, he
feared, would "be truly enormous." The Indians
would have to be put at once "on the shortest kind of
rations." Coffee, sugar, vinegar, condiments and
everything else that could by any manner of means be
dispensed with would have to be "cut off altogether."
The prospect was not encouraging and Coffin, almost
at his wit's end, despairingly wrote that "the military
have most wonderfully changed their tune."
There was soon occasion for more particular criti-
cism of army practices. In April, General Blunt had
issued an order, well-intentioned no doubt, restraining
the Indians from selling their stock. He had likewise
ordered the seizure of certain salt-works, "salines," the
value of which to the Indians can be calculated only
by reference to the prominence given in all early
records to the salt-licks used in turn by buffalos, abor-
gines, settlers. 129 In the case of each of Blunt's orders,
the immediate object in view was the benefit, not of pri-
ing to the rebels, which our soldiers took and gathered ; now there are
none; the whole country is a waste, and the suffering must be much
greater next winter than it was last, unless the most prompt and
energetic steps are taken to procure and transport supplies to this place.
"It was a terrible mistake that we were not brought down here in
time to raise a crop for ourselves ... (O.I. A., General Files,
Creek, 1860-1869).
129 Hulbert, Historic Highways, vol. i, p. 106. Phillips seconded Smith
Christie's appeal that the salt-works be restored (June 3, 1864, I. D.
Register of Letters Received, C, p. 423) and Usher favorably recommended
the matter to the attention of the War Department, June 15 and again
Return of the Refugees 63
vate individuals, but of soldiers. Moreover, as the In-
dian crops matured, those same soldiers helped
