J. W.
Stephens is of Negro and Creek Indian blood and was born near the
present town of Eufaula, Oklahoma, on the Canadian River, about the
year 1858. His father and mother, John and Theba Stephens, were born
in the Creek Nation of old Indian Territory, but their parents, his
grandparents, came from Georgia at the time of the removal of the
Creeks, out of the states of Georgia and Alabama, about the year 1833.
MIGRATION OF THE CREEKS
Of course I
do not know personally but my grandparents have told me of their
removal to the Indian Territory, and I can only tell you as it has
been handed down to me.
This
removal was nothing more than greed and injustice on the part of the
Whites and suffering and hardship for the Creeks.
The Creek
Indians held large tracts of land located partly in Georgia, partly in
Alabama and partly in Mississippi. They at one time had owned
considerable land but by treaties with the United States, at and
before their removal, they had left only what they considered enough
for their own needs.
The whites
continued to encroach on the Creeks and insisted they move west, but
they stood with a firm determination not to give up their lands. The
entire tribe held council and at that meeting it was decided that they
would not give up a single acre of their land or leave the home of
their fathers they loved so well.
After this
council meeting, a fellow named Colonel William McIntosh called
another meeting for he favored removal. Only a few attended this
meeting. McIntosh signed a treaty with the United States, saying at
the council meeting they had decided to trade their land in the east,
acre for acre, for land in the Indian Territory. Another council was
held by the majority protesting, saying it was made by the minority
and not the majority and they would die first.
The Creeks
then began to shout Colonel McIntosh had sold out, accused him of
treason and at last burned his home and shot him. The men of the
McIntosh following were also killed.
The white
people called the Creeks savages on account of this and all manner of
ill things were said of them, but, in reality the ones killed were
slain according to tribal laws.
A few years
later the Government made a treaty with the majority to remove them
west, giving them land in the Indian Territory along and between the
Arkansas and Canadian Rivers. They were to move them and furnish them
with food during the first year, allowing them to clear land and
establish themselves.
Some of the
Creeks left on this occasion: many, however, still refused to move and
my grandparents were among those who were driven out like cattle and
came to the Indian country by wagon trains and on foot. They suffered
many hardships, were footsore and weary, tattered and torn. Sickness
was among them and many died along the route.
My
grandfather told me, he made the trip barefoot and often left bloody
footprints in the snow. He carried a little bundle of clothing and an
old flintlock rifle.
