The American Indian as Participant in the Civil War

by Annie Heloise Abel

Footnote 663: [(return)]

See Office letter of November 19, 1863.

Footnote 664: [(return)]

David M. Harlan to Dole, December 20, 1864, Indian Office General Files, Cherokee 1859-1865, H 1033.

Footnote 665: [(return)]

Johnson to Dole, May 24, 1863, ibid., Delaware, 1862-1866.

in deadly earnest. A commencement was made with the Creeks in May, Agent Cutler calling the chiefs in council and laying before them the draft of a treaty that had been prepared, upon the advice of Coffin,[⁶⁶⁶] in Washington and that had been entrusted for transmission to the unscrupulous ex-agent, Perry Fuller.[⁶⁶⁷] The Creek chiefs consented to sell a tract of land for locating other Indians upon, but declared themselves opposed to any plan for "sectionizing" their country and asked that they might be consulted as to the Indians who were to share it with them. The month before they had prayed to be allowed to go back home. Well fed and clothed though they were, and quite satisfied with their agent, they were terribly homesick.[⁶⁶⁸] Might they not go down and clean out their country for themselves? It seemed impossible for the army to do it.[⁶⁶⁹]

Coffin next came forward with a suggestion that Indian colonization in Texas would be far preferable to colonization elsewhere, although if nothing better could be done, he would advocate the selection of the Osage land on the Arkansas and its tributaries.[⁶⁷⁰] Why he wanted to steer clear of the Indian Territory is not

Footnote 666: [(return)]

"... I would most respectfully suggest that a Treaty be gotten up by you and the Sec. of the Interior, and sent to me and Gov. Carney and some other suitable com. to have ratified in due form and returned. And you will pardon me for saying that the Treaty should be a model for all that are to follow with the broken and greatly reduced, and fragmental tribes in the Indian Territory, and may be made greatly to promote the interests of the Indians and the Government especially in view of the removal of the Indians from Kansas and Nebraska as contemplated by recent Act of Congress."—COFFIN to Dole, March 22, 1863, ibid., Land Files, Southern Superintendency, 1855-1870, C 117.

Footnote 667: [(return)]

Cutler to Dole, May, 1863, ibid., General Files, Creek, 1860-1869, C 240.

Footnote 668: [(return)]

Ok-ta-ha-ras Harjo and others to "Our Father," April 1, 1863, (Indian Office General Files, Creek, 1860-1869).

Footnote 669: [(return)]

Same to same, May 16, 1863, ibid., O 6.