Folklore, Indian and Colonials.
Folder contains 27 pages of Alabama folklore compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s.• Van de Voort. M,g Sam D§J&, a st.udy in t.he spect.acular. ,, The bloody border country bet.ween t.he advancing line of whit.e out.post.s and t.he _ wild Indian count.ry produced...
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WPA Alabama Writers' Project Folklore, Indian and Colonials. |
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WPA Alabama Writers' Project Creek Indians--Alabama; Folklore--Alabama; Alabama Writers' Project; United States. Works Progress Administration |
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Folder contains 27 pages of Alabama folklore compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s.• Van de Voort.
M,g Sam D§J&,
a st.udy in t.he
spect.acular. ,,
The bloody border country bet.ween t.he advancing line
of whit.e out.post.s and t.he _ wild Indian count.ry produced a
number of figures whose personalit.ies and explo~t.s have grown
int.o t.he legendry of t.he front.ier. Such a one was Big Sam Dale,
Indian count.ryman, scout., soldier and superman extraordinary.
The iOO1 of t.he whit.e set.t.lsrs and the respect.ed en8ll\Y of t.he
-'host.ile Ind! ans, Dale creat.ed a saga of epic proport.ions.
Finall,y .... t.he minds of the rude set.t.lers and .. superst.itious
Indians endowed him wit.h a supernat.ural qualit.y and he became
one of t.he Siegrfrieds 'of t.he Indian country, a man with a cycle
and a m;yth.
Ent.ering t.he AlaMma scene when t.rained Indian count.rymen
were at. a Ilremium, Dale became one of t.he L out.standing figures
of t.he Creek War •• Heros like Jackson left. t.heir records in t.he
annals of t.he "ar Bepart.ment., but. Dale left. the st.amp of personal
t\'yI.(.. -
cont.act. on t.he imaginat.ions of bot.h red~d/wh1t.e.~
A six foot., 190 pound agent. of dest.ruct.ion, the host.ile
f
Creeks named him Sam Thlucco, ~. He spent. his childhood in
t.hat. shadowy region claimed by both Indians and whites, and consequent.
ly waa bred t.o the manner of the front.ier. While st.ill a
yout.h he plunged into the dept.hs of t.he 1l1li-.* undisputed Creek
territory as trader and long hunter.
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Here he met the Creeks on equal ground, learned their
ways szp their language and becaJlle the ....-. t'riend of _
v
chieftr he was later to figtat against. It was during this
period he becaJlle the comrade of PushmaDaha and that he heard
the war talk of T~umseh. That a solitary white man, miles from
the neare t help, in a village of antagonistic savages survived
~
the aftermath of the inflammatory talk of TeculDseh
..... W ~ _
.:fIu:...the respec1:.;lthe Cree ~ ~-
With the outbreak of hostilities he returned and
associated himself' first with the Georgia Militia and next with
the U.S. Army. A noted f'ttonti ersman by this time, Dale had lef"t.
older stories behind him. Born in Virginia in 1772, he was taken
to the Georgia border when only 12 years of age. After his father
had been driven from his farm by ~he Indians and died as a result
•
of privation, Dale, hardly more than a boy, worked until
•
he had pai~~~~ fat.hjr's debts, reclaimed the farm and pro-vided
for ~ younger sisters and brothers. This done,
he embarked on the shadowy an cer tUn career of a trader.
He made his real entry into alabama history as captain
in cOaJDand of _ militia, leading the lef"t. wing at the Battle of
urnt Corn. It was here, too, that the Dale II\Yth was born. Big
SaJll was an impressive figure in a fight. His undoubted bravery
and disdain of danger, added to his monumental bUlk, attracted
the attention of friend and foe. Consequently his actions were
well followed in combat. At Burnt Corn during the skirmish at
the creek he received a ball over,
to deflect the bullet, the II\Yth"
Though a rib served
wt. -- ,
Sam had been shot
,
through the
happened!
heart and continued fighting as if nothing had
3-
Dale --.added to his myth as guide to settler.
to the newly opened TOlIlbigb'"""region. Knowing the trails and the
Indians, he led parties s~.ly through d ~wilderness salted
with the bones of less happy ~groups. This added to his
reputation as a superman, both among the settlers and the dis- appointed
Indiana, whose foiled efforts to massacre a Dale party
in their endowing him with a potent kind of magic.
Dale was not only a superman; he was ~d of knighterrant
as ready to reacue a maiden in distress aSAfight the Creeks.
On one occasion, so the story runs, he was engaged in a singlehanded
scouting expedition in the heart 0"Creek country. Whils
bending over a broek to drinUWO red-sticks eharged him from the
underbrush, but Big Sam leap to his feet in time to be stabbed
five times before he killed' both Indians. Bleeding from his wounds,
he traced the spoor of the Indians for !upe miles to their enc~
ent. Here he found four more Indians and a white woman prisoner.
He charged the camp, killed three of the Indiana quickly, but
,... was on the point of fainting from loss of blood when the
woman, inspired by Sam's good looks, leapt to her feet and tQllahawked
the remaining red-skinS~
Thus While Dale was endearing himself to the settlers
as a protector and to the ar DepaDtment as a leader of troopa
•
in hostile territory, the Dale myth was
• Fortunately for the growth of this cycle, Dale'S real.
o
exploits were always of the most mel_dramatic variety. For
instance, the 'Canoe Fight ••
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THe Canoe Fight. was one of t.hose advent.ures t.hat.
elevat.e a man from t.he merely out.st.anding to the spect
e hero of this encounter, ~e became the natural
other stories, glowing accounts of his courage and hairbreath
escapes as a spy at pensacola and ·jew Orleans under
Jackson and as the .. Creeks. Dale shared
the glory of
mith, and a Negro
ith two white men, Austil and
named Caesar.
Big Ssm was leading a scouting party, engaged in
killing ... stray creeks, along the banks €..} the Alabama when
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a canoe loaded with eleven Indisns floated into sight.
~
Dale sent a csnoe eight men to reconnoitre; .. returned and
reported that the ~ad seen a canoe filled with e even Indians.
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Disgust.ed with his men, who had told him only what anyone
could see from the bank, Dale leaPt<- into the canoe with Austil
Smith and Caesar and pushed off. As, the two canoes neared each
() other the Indian chief recognize. Dale and addressed him in a
friendly voice.
"lfIlw for it, Big Sam."
"" The next instant he r ed a rine, which Ilale knocked
out of his hand with a paddle. Then the canoes touched and while
Caesar held them together, the three white men knocked one Indian
into the river and clubbed eight more to death; _ two escaped
by swimming. _ Except for the Indianh gooc\.oclatured challenge,
II
the only words spoken "Caesar's suggestion
that Dale use a rifle bayonet, which the Negro was holding,
instead ot the twisted barrel of a broken gun.
,
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Dale ended his days in a peace~ul coun\..1')'
he had helped conquer. His plantation was ofien crowded with
Indians come to visit their old ene~. General Dale now, he
had served as a member o~ the ~irst Alabama territorial legisl~
and o~ the committee that selected the territorial capital.
Dale county, labama, is Darned in honor o~ him. His ~th waa
consistent to the end. The mSD didn't live that could kill Big
Sam Dale; in spite o~ his numeDOUS bloody ~ights, he lived t~
die calmy in bed o~ sickness and old age.
ale was loved by both .Lndians and whites. <..n one
occasion ~stranger, holding a note which ~g Sam had endorsed,
sought to hold him ~or payment. ccos"ed in ~ a saloon
in Mobile, Dale, who had no money, said, "Very well. Take me to
jail through IIa1n Street so everyone may see ~ scars and the
treatment o~ an old DIIIIIr soldier." Within a h~ hour the back
o~ the note was crowded with the signatures o~ twelve of Mobile's
richest citizens. By _ morning the debt was paid in ~ull and
the stranger advised to J1.eave town. A natural ~lair ~or the
spectacular was not the least o~ Dale's gi~ts.
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1540 when DeSoto visited the country of the Allbamos,
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the folklore of Indians who once lived within the
boundaries of AJ.abama. The first
state. Somewhere in the southwest
of the ""'-.- had
One morning
......... chief. They
.."
placing his tepee pole in the
starting ou~ew in the direction
, .,
the piUe did not learnj it stood
night~
earth, eech morBll.ng the Indians
the pole leaned.
city , Birmingham.
'.$
the largest
perpendicular. The leader of the wandering group then proclaimed, • "Alibamn, Alibamn," meaning "I open or c lear the thicket". A
less restrained version holds the translation of the words uttered
by the chief to mean, "Here we rest."
Shades Vall~.
TYPical of many Indian folk stories, since ilt accounts
for the name of a prominent geographical\
is the story of Shades Valley, near the site of
(
(
the
At a point on an ancient Indian trail, leading east out of
, and the Atlantic seaboard, was
a place of gloOlllfl White traders who attempted to cross this
evil valley risked their lives. Here were no friendly Indians
to give the white men corn and smoked vensionj no beautiful
Indian maidens to offer solace after the hardships of travel--h4re
were treacherous Indians, who often lay in wait to ambush the
So numerous were the
bones of murdered traders in the region that it becsme known among
the early pioneers as the "vaJ.ley of the shadow of death", sDd
,
3. n () I
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-land of the shades.- It was from atrocious Indian attacks
•
on lonely traders negotiating the vall.ey that one of the most
be~tiful. residential sections of Birmingham receLved its name
• A1.abama's Pocahontas.
The basic theme of
has many counte:n>arts i
an
the Pocahontas story is one which
the his of American Indi ,
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exampl.e being found in the Indian l.ore of A1.abama.
As a consequence of tra4e relations arrranged by the Georgia
tv
Council in l.76l., Dr. David ancis moved into the Al.ibsrnu country
*hortly thereafter, settl.ing at the Indian town of Atsgi(Autauga)
which wss situated on both sides o~ the river about ten mil.es
tl",~~."
from the present site of 81Wel.l.'~ Fiel.d at ont.gomery•
•
Selecting a suitahl.e woman from the Indian tribe for his
wife, Dr. Francis became the father of a male child•• His son
was named Hil.l.ishadjo, and later became the Great Prophet of the
Creeks. Coming of age, Hil.aahadjo married an Indian gir1, and
cal.1ed
fighting between the Creeks and the
of Genera! Andrew Jackson, Ilil.ly went - chi.llilU:oLa River.
whites under the le.ad,ership
with her parents 1- live t
~~~
One da~a younB::"mi itiaman, orgia wandered
far from F=t Gadsden whert he was stationed, and was captured by
Indi8D6. He was tied to a tree, and the Creeks, directed by
the first chil.d born of this. union was nsmed lial.ee
J
)lilly by the whites of the locality.
During the course of
illy's father, Hil.l.ishsdjo, prepared to slay the white sol.dier.
But sixteen year old llilly rushed to her father, begging him to
stay the Eliecution of the whitoe man. When Hill.iBhadj 0 to ld his
daughter the white man must be put to death, ).lilly placed hersel.f
o ( ,
bet.ween the soldier and t.he Ind1.ans, finally persuaiUng the
to spare the life of th•e whit.e man for whom she evidenced feeling.
Hill.ishadj 0 lat.er sold the captive 1lcKrimon t.o t.he Spanish at. St.
in Florida.
back to Geo 1'8ia.
, making his way
died, and cKrimon..
learned that l:illy had come on unhappy da,ys, no longer enjoying the
prestige of her Chief~ father, he offered her marriage. This
)lilly declined, assuming the offer t.o be an act. of charity on the
part. of the man whose life she had saved. Lat.er she married an
Indian of her own race,.-. ore than a hundred years lat.er, 1930,
a plo_an at work in an A1a.bffM River field unearthed an or-.eut.
of silver whose inscription recalled the ancient atory of )lilly,
the granddaught.er of Dr. David FrancisJ-the"POCahont.as~
Noccalula Falla.
valle~water Wl4.. and ~
The associat.ion of unreq it.ed love with'.... is without -
s~lllafill.iWffiona)
quest.ion the most. domina,ting theme found in Alabama Indian lore.
The legend ~;,c;.~~~u;a Falls is founded on such a framework.
It is the story of a"~young Cherokee maiden, whom the
chief of the tribe W~hed to carry into r;:;. wigwam. Enchant.ed
by the beaut.y of Alavelda, the Chief att.empt.ed to capture her by
.- force. o avoid him, Alavelda ran. The chief
pursued, and soon it was a ~ ~ race-.... aroum the wigwams
of the Indian village, then among t.he tree. of the nearby
forest.. Seeing that she was being overt.aken, Alav
tToday,
plunged into the falls of NoccalJJ>J.a rather than submit.'/I ,Drae
miles from Gadsden,the image of Al.avelda may be seen at times
reflected by the still clear wate balow Noccal.ula Falls.
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foment trouble against ashington. Tecumseh went from village to r
village haranguing, cajoling, commanding, to no effect.
Finally, in a towering rage, Tecumseh called the chiefe a lot of ~
and
squaws, left for Detroit, ~ threatening to stamp his foot
1\
and destroy their towns. In exactly'" sixty days and nights,
lon enough for Tecumsehto reach Detroit, ~the Black Belt felt
the one and only earthquake in its hietory. The Indiani villages
and houses were shaken to kindling wood and near -.r Kowaliga upon
a huge rock waa found the imprintd of Tecumseh' a f00t piints.
qJ 'alee, the Maid of Atagi, or Millie, the kaid of \utauga, as the
white settlers called her, was Alabama's Pocahuntas. ~aleef s
•
fatllllr, Josiah Francis, was the son of a white man and an Indian
women, and she had celebaated ancestors on both sides. A niece
of Tilliam leatherford, the Indian leader, and a great-niece of
e..
~exander lcGillivray, the sc~thman, Malee was born in 1802, in
Montgomery County, near the Charlotte Thompson place, ~ short
distance below the new Birmingham Highway bridge.
Malee's father, forced by :he fortunes of{aar with the Whites,
fled with his family to Florida to join the Seminoles when 'alee
was sixteen. Here, shortly thereafter, a Georgian SOldie~ o~.~
Duncan 'cKrimmon, a captive of the Seminoles,was tied to tree to
A /'0
be executed • lee, appealing first to her father to no avail,
rushed in between ~cKrimmon and his captors to plead successfUlly
for the life of the condemned one. Sold to the Spaniards, McKrimmon,
eventually escaped to return to his home in Baldwin County,
Ga.
A few months later, news carne thru to Georgia that Malee's
father had died and all his property been confiscated. The man she
..-' had so heroically saved pffered to marry her in order to provide ~
and care for her. She refUsed because she felt it was but a gest-
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,
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f
to accept, and later married oOr
to... prau
The legeend of Monte Ssno tells ~ e of the Indian princess, Monte,
who as she ~N. grew to maidenhood lovd and was loved in return
Cr-'. (
ure of charity which she was
an Indian.
,
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,
by Ioka, a stalwart young brave of her own tribe. A stranger,
young and handsome, wearing an aura of the outside world, came
along to whisper of love and life to the beautiful 'onte. ITer
boyhood sweetheart seeing taem~ated in the moonlight high on the ~~
rockJrf the mountain overlooking the valle¥, whispered from the sh~d,
ows where he hovered and watched, " Monte, say no~ Monte, say no!
/
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The meaning of the word, .~abama,as it is popularly accepted , has
its fanciful origin in a~egend of a tribe of Indians whO, drive1From
'exico moved nort seeking a permanent camping ground. At the end
of each day's journey , the chief would stand a-tall his tent pole z0-
in ~ the earth and) on the following morning) ,.....w direction
~. 7 > Ii- ~, .Zt '"...,. ,.;t;"-4 M «M 'n,,"
courthouse at Tuscaloosa in honor of the chief whp ruled the power~~
ful tribes alomg the lower reaches of the Warrior River.
not hang himself. However, a monolith cf granite stands in the ee~*
vanced the opinion that he perished in the conflict and that he did
He was never heard of after the battle, and some historians have ad-onte
, say no!"
But Monte listened and yielded to the fascinating stranger , who we
went away, as strangers SO often do, leaving the little Indian princes~
hamed and broken. She crept away to the high places where ahe
had been wooed and, before her still adoring discarde! lover, who had
e~e~tstolen after her, could prevent, ~ flung herself far out over
the bluff. The poor deserted childhood lover, demented, roamed the
mountain heights still moaning, "Monte, say no." And so they called
the mountain that overlooks the town of Huntsville, Monte Sano.
QDLegend claims that after the battle wtth de Sote at 'auvila in 1540,
the Indian chieftain, Tuskaloosa, hanged himself to escape capture.
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,calII' 1'roJact
an)
ow. • tit a)
t la or tha "Ia t 1 1:5 Chia • a
ak t1llD to look tal' • r.",a tr t7
1IV1'1al' 1. tr1be to act a. a ·W. p1nall"l ha d 01 -
IS 0 to in thi. 1a arta t o. 01t1. ort
wa. 1 fi1 l' a U • th18
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t a hoota.. laD .'OI:lIIlJI return t
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•
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Pap (4.)
-Lepn~ of Coo••
The In~i&D. war. eent ~oBn I' the Gr.at lather froa the .1.u~••Thel ~
Bith th•• tir•• an~ tBO ..~i.ine•• th. paea &D~ the aiko_hoJADi~Jo &D~
..on, the. Bere n aikoe.At fir.t there Ber. tBO .-.»e of the In~i&D.
lut .ne of the ». de.i~e~ the, BOul~ return to th. »la.e froa Bh.n••
the)' .Me .The, ke»t ...r.t their intention. &D~ Baite~ 1U1t11 nipt IlK
fallen,then the, .i~ "We are ree4," an~ ~.parte~ into th••k,.
In the other ."11 Ber. the ....n aiko., eein, th. oth.r In~ian. lea.. tile,
.id"ToaorroB Be B111 ~epart a. nipt n.B .teal. o..r th. lan~" .Wil.n
tORorroB .... one ot tll.ir nu'-ter _. ~.e4, the)' .oulGt lea.. hia in the
Borl~,or .oul~ the, take Ilia Bith the.,.o the, .u.t reaa1n on earth.
'h., etai~ in that pla•• for .0" t1ae an~ then ea1~ WLet u. tra..l"
The, Journe)'e~ to..rb the north eo.e ail•• &D~ theD th., .tollpe~ ~ ..t
up a Balk1ne-.t1.k into the ,rou~.It turne~ to_r~. t ...0uth.aD~ the,
11&1& th1e Ruet I. the Ba, t .. Gr.at 8»irit _nb u. to 10.80 til., ao..~
to..r~. the .outh,then ..t the ealkine-.ti.k up in the aroun~ a,.in.
It nOB pointe~ to..r~e th. eaet,eo tOBar~. th••a.t the, want.Th., aar.h.~
on f.r a lon, t1ae,then atollpe~ ~ ..t u».t.....l~1n'_.t~.k a,.in.
Thi. t1aB 1t re..ine~ atraiaht ~ u»ri,ht.ft.r. the, .i~ Ie B111 re.t •
here wa B111 reaain.·
80 the, ..ttle~ there IUt their thou,ht. often turne~ to th.ir fr1.~~
relati... an~ .o.pant.n. Bho re..ine~ in the »la•• froa Bhen•• tile, •••••
Th•••yen aik•• Bho re..ine~ aer. to •• th••hi.t. an~ kin,. of th. lan~.
Tlli. 'oo~, ao.ntr"huntin, ,ro.~ an~ B.ll taY.r.~ lan~ the, .all.~
C.o••Their .hiefa Bhen inetall.~ Ber. pla.e~ a ' ••kekin Bhi.h he4 '.en
u ....~ I' a nr,in.
Thia l.pn~ ..a tol~ .. " Wra Yollie lIen~er.on,Bh••• roar.~ near
Ch11~er.'ur" (Ol~ Coo.).
Indian Legends G-Samek
natural 3ridge ./inston ounty
The Chickasaws, who inhabited the north-western part of the state, were
the warring, fighting tribe. It is said that no foe ever defeated
them in battle. They took many prisoners, who formed alLost an
army of slaves, and were forced to do all the hard work for the
tribe. Once when the chief was in fierce war fare, he promised his
prisoners frredom, if they would bri~ in a large harvest, and if he
returned victorious. They believed in his promise for some of them were
Choctaws, and a Choctaw's word is as good as his bond.
But when the time appointed came, the chief refused to let them go.
That ni.:,ht, a young warrior Lanachichi, called the Clen to eeet by the
braves of their dead. They offered up petitions to the Great Spirit,
pleadir.f; for their deliver&.nce. Froe the sacred burial ground, the
voice of the Great Spirit answered, "I will deliver you."
The next day Lamachichi went before the Chickasaw chief, beJging that
he would keep his promise and send the captives back to their tribes.
But the chief would not. In the evenir..:; the Great Spirit said, "Go
into your igwams and keep them tl£htl closed, for toraorrow brint:s
my vengeance." That ni{;ht ni{;ht a torrnet of rain descended. The
next eornine dar~ess hung like ni~ht, and froes ere everywhere.
The chief sent for L&nachichi, and said the ca tives miSht ~o, if
the Great Sprit would remove the curse of darkness and of froes,
But when all was well, the chief Bg&inbroke his word. So followed
many curses, until at last Chffie the curse of death to one in each
wigwam, and them the old chief let them go. But no sooner had thay
departed than the Chickas~w warriors assembled, and pursued them. The
captives were close to a river and escape seemed impossible. l,amachichi
lifted up his arms in supplication to the Great Spirit. Suddenly
the earth stretched forth, forci~ a bridge seventy-five feet wide
'.:•
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( uJ,..., /.L.- )
Fall of Red Eagle ~
The
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I.,.
vi
Through the sullen August dusk the white horse sped with
his rider. The great head, with a brown spot between the eyes
resembling a dark star laid on a white blanket, was resred, but
no bridle held him. The rider was tall and bronzed, and a single
red feather drooped from his straight, black hair. His chin
rested upon a bare chest streaked with perspiration. His long,
well-muscled legs reached almost to the ground.
Night had purpled the dense forest when the two reached the
river. There they paused for a moment, and the tall rider lifted
his head and turned to look behind him. The sky wss a sp1ssh of
red where he looked and the red was topped by rolling plumes of
black smoke. The rider shook his head sadly, dug his moccssined
heels into the mount's side, and rode into the dark current •
The Red Eagle rode slowly after fording the river. He shud-dered
when his mind returned to that crimson scene behind. He •
had not widhed it. He had plead with his warriors to spare the
women and children and old people, but his words had fallen upon
ears deafened by the unreasoning cries for slaughter.
Behind lay the ghastly remnants of Fort Mims. Behind, under
that crimson sky, lay more than 500 men, women and children,
scalped and mutilated. Behind lay the torch that was to kindle
war between the Creek Nation and the Americans in Alabama, and
Red Eagle, war leader of the vast Indisn empire, knew that con-f1agration
kindled by that torch would be horrible and widespresd.
Perhaps the white blood of his father had risen to control the
Indisn blood of his mother, but the Red Eagle could not stand by
,
•
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and watch the slaughter. He had tried vain17 tc stem the storm
he had helped brew, but seeing the situation was out of his concrol,
he turned his back and left determined to take no further
pert in the war. Why had he listened to the poisoned ravings of
old Chief Tecumseh when he, Red Eagle, was white and should be
fighting on the white man's side? Why had he not flatly refused
to join the war party? He knew it meant ruin. He knew his
mother's people were doomed, but because the Creeks reared him
to manhood and because of a great love for his dusky mother, he
could not turn against them. e It seemed incredible now that juat six hours before he had
been aimply William Weatherford, called Lamochattee, the Red
Eagle, by his mother's people. He was loved and honored b7 the
Creeka, because his mother was a princess, but he had been respected
by the white man. He knew now that he had renounced all
rights to being a white man, that he no longer had any right to
be called the name of his father. He knew, too, that in the eyes
of the white man he was the "murderer of Fort Mims," no matter
how untrue the charge.
Riding through the lush swamplands under the night's protecting
cloak, he had time to think. He realized now that he
could not desert his people. The7 needed him. Then, he asked
himself, have the white men been fair? Have they not muddied
the rivers with washings from their furrows, have they not clipped
the forests with their axes and turned them into cornfields? And,
in time, will the white man not enslave the Indian as he already
has enslaved the Negro? ~hese questions burned like fire through
Red Eagle's tortured mind, and, decided on his course at last, he
turned the feet of his horse southward--toward the Holy Ground.
,
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It was war now, red and brutal. From the Tennessee hills
rode the gaunt, grim-visaged Andrew Jackson at the head of an
army. From other sections, too--Georgia, the Carolinas and
Mississippi--rushed the avenging white man. The massacre at
Fort Mims had spread like wildfire, and Alabama's virgin for-
•
ests saw men with copper-colored and white skins going about
the .grim business of war.
Every white man's gun was turned against the Red Eagle.
The white man did not know that there were other leaders at
Fort Mims. There were High-Head Jim, Peter McQueen, and Josiah
Francis, the prophet, but that did not matter. The white
man's hate was white-hot upon the head of the half-breed, \illiam
leatherford. He had been educated in the white man's
schools and brought up to manhood under the guidance of a white father.
The others were heathen and knew no better.
The Creeks, called Red Sticks because the tipa of their
war clubs were invariably painted red, were now crazy with
alaughter. They hed routed a band of Americans in the battle
of Burnt Corn. They had followed by destroying all that existed
at ~'ort Mims. Their prophets walked among them, exhorting
them to more savage deeds, praising their courage in honeyed
phrases, and assuring them that no white man could cross the
boundary into the Holy ~round and live. The savages believed,
and stored their spoils in the vast acreage. They threw up
barricades and danced in hideous war paint. Red ~agle did not
believe, but he encouraged his warriors and prepared to meet
the onrush of the invsders.
On the morning of battle, the Indian women and children
were hidden in thick foliage acrosa the Alabama River, which
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bordered the Holy Ground. The move was made just in time, because
the last boat load had not pushed across the stream when
a runner, breathless end wild-eyed, charged into the clearing.
"They are coming!" he panted. "Old Fox Claiborne is coming!
"
It was Claiborne, right-hand man of Jackson and fress from
Indian victories. The Americans came pouring across the wet
swamps in three divisions. One rushed in from the right, one
from the left, and the other, commanded by Claiborne in person,
from the center. The Indians, yelling now in wild excitement,
swarmed behind barricades and made ready for bettle.
Even as the white men came, Red Eagle realized he had been
outwitted. He saw that, with the Americans coming from three
directions, his army was in a trap. The enemy barred all avenues
of escape. The muddy, swirling Alabama was behind. But
there was no alternative now. He made ready to fight.
The first burst of gunfire was simultaneous. Four Americans
fell, and a score of Indians, who had climbed to the top
of their barricades to meet the first rush, toppled to the
ground. Francis, the prophet, rushed among the warriors, reassuring
them the Americans could not defeat them on Ho13
Ground. He barely escaped as a burat of gunfire felled two
warriors beside him.
Red Eagle charged into the battle, wielding his war club
right and left. He had fired his rifle until his ammunition
was exhausted. His bronzed face was grim. Dust and blood
covered his body. An American rushed up behind him and aimed
point-blank.
"You're a dead man, Bill Weatherfordl"
• •
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But not yet. The ball grazed his forehead and a trickle of
blood poured into his eyes, but he held firm in the saddle. He
wheeled his horse and fought savagely.
Failing to halt the Americans with the first few volleya,
the Red Sticks became alarmed and uncertain. Here was an enemy
that survived on the Holy Ground. Here was an enemy that kept
pressing forward, laying fown a galling rifle fire as it came.
There was a single moment of uncertainty, when the Creeks started
pouring from their barricaded positions in complete dismay. Many
turned their backs and fled, to be shot down before they reached
the river. Others backed away, firing as they retreated. Many
perished in the river, but some succeeded in reaching the other
side. The ground was covered with dead and dying, and the_rout
. was complete.
Red Eagle, deserted now by his army, hurriedly sought an
avenue of escape. The Americans were surrounding him, and he
believed death was inevitable. Rifle balls sang their highpitched
dirge on all sides.
He wheeled his horse suddenly, and the animal bolted up
the river bank toward a high bluff that rose more than 15 feet
above the water. For one long moment the horse and rider hesitated
on the high cliff, then hurtled into the tawny waters.
Both disappeared, but the magnificent horse struggled back to
the surface. The chief turned and yelled triumphantly, holding
his rifle above his wet head. Red Eagle had escaped, and the
Americans, awed by his daring feat, watched as he sped into the
forest on the other side.
After the crushing blow at Holy Ground, Red Eagle knew his
Nation was shattered. His warriors were weary and broken--
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their spirits crushed. His women and children were starving in
the woods. His amunition was slmost exhausted. But the chieftsin;
undaunted, prepared for a final stand. He ordered his
battle-torn braves to their fortifications on the Tallspoosa
Rivar at the place called Cholocco Litabixee, or the Horseshoe.
Here an area of more than a hundred acree was bordered by
the river, forming a peninsula. Across the neck of the bend
the Red Sticks erected a breastwork of logs, so arranged as to
expose the Americans to a withering cross-fire. 10 was a diffi-
•
cult place to capture and offered grave danger of becoming a
death trap. The Indians concealed themselves behind the loga
and made ready for the coming of Jackson and his army.
They had not long to wait. 'rbe Americans puahed forward,
and again the white man's superior knowled3e of military tactics
proved the undoing of the Red Sticks. Instead of making
a masa attack upon the breastworks across the neck, Jackson
ordered General Coffee and his troops to attack from the ri~er
in the rear. The attack waa simultaneous, and the Indians were
mowed down by scores. Out of 1,000 warriors, less than 200
survived. It was a death trap, and the power of the Creek
Nation in Alabama was blotted out forever.
Red Eagle had now reached the crisis in his life. He knew
he could possibly-remain free by hiding himself in the thick
forests. He knew equally as well that if he surrendered, as
many of the other chiefs were doing, the white man would probably
kill him. General Jackson had ordered his capture at
any cost.
But Red Eagle realized, too, that the women and children
of his tribe were starving. He looked about him, and found
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suffering and desolation evarywhere. Tha corn-fields were
destroyed, provisions had been burned, and there was no promise
of relief from anyource. ~hen it was that he turned
his horse toward the marican camp--and almost certain death.
Night was falling when he reached Fort Jackson. He
stopped for a moment in the cleaing, and looked upon the camp.
He saw that other laaders in the Creek Confederacy were there
before h1m. Sitting in front of the largest tent was Big
arrior, the boastful, who had fought with the Americans
throughout the war. Red Esgle turned his horse toward that
tent, and seeing him, Bi Wsrrior sprang to his feet.
"So, we have :;ot yOU at last, Billy Weatherford," he
sneered.
Red Eagle reached for the 'un he carried behind his saddle,
slipped a ball and powder into its muzzle, and replied
coldly:
"I do not surrender to you, and if you speak another word
I will send a bullet throu~h your traitor's heart."
Hearing the exchange of words a tall figure, 1m and
gaunt, stepped from the tent. He glanced first at Big arrior,
then at the man astride the white horse. His face went hard.
"How dare you, sir, ride into this camp after what you did
at Fort /41msl"
For fully a minute the two men looked straight into each
other'a eyes, one pair grey and hard, the other black and fearless.
Then Red Eagle lowered the muzzle of his loaded gun and
apoke firmly and evenly.
"General Jackson, I am not afraid of you. I fear no man,
for I am a Creek werrior. I have nothing to request in behelf
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of m~self; ~ou can kill me if you desire. But I come to beg
~ou to send for the women and children in the war part~, who
are now starving in the woods. Their fields and cribs have
•
been destro~ed b~ ~our people, who have driven them to the
woods without an ear of corn. I hope that ~ou will send out
parties, who will safely conduct them here, in order that
they may be fed. I exerted myself in vain to prevent the
massacre of the women and children at Fort .ims. I am done
fighting. Tha Red Sticks are nearly all killed. If I could
fight you any longer I would most heartily do so. Send for
the women and children. 1hey never did you any harm. Hut
kill me if the white people want it done."
There was nothing then but a great silence. Several
American soldiers had gathered as the chief talked, and stood
with guns ready. Big \arrior broke the ailence. He jumped
to his feet, shouting, "Here is your murderer! Here is the
killer of little children and old wamen! ill you lat him sit
here and make his pretty speeches2 Kill him! Kill him!"
1hen in one great chorus the soldiers joined in the cry:
"Kill the murderer! He killed our women, nol'l let us kill him!"
Big Warrior reached for a gun standing against the tent,
but General Jackson abbed his arm and flung him to the g~ound.
•
Then turnin~ to regard the soldiers, he said:
"An~ man who would kill as brave a man as this would rob
the dead!"
For one uncertain momant the soldiers stood with DUDs
leveled, then slowly, they dropped them. The e~es of grimvisaged
Andrew Jackson, softer now, swept back to the stolid
face of the Red Eagle. Jackson smiled and stepped forward • |
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Folklore, Indian and Colonials. |
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GSU# SG022775_00943-00970SG022775_00943_00970Folklore, Indian and Colonials.Folder contains 27 pages of Alabama folklore compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s.1936 circa1930-1939Creek Indians--Alabama; Folklore--Alabama; Alabama Writers' Project; United States. Works Progress AdministrationTextDocumentsAlabama. Dept. of Archives and HistoryWorks Progress Administration filesSG022775WPA Alabama Writers' Project, Folklore, Indian and ColonialsAlabama Dept. of Archives and History, 624 Washington Ave., Montgomery, AL 36130EnglishThis material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though ADAH has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.96 dpi tiff• Van de Voort.
M,g Sam D§J&,
a st.udy in t.he
spect.acular. ,,
The bloody border country bet.ween t.he advancing line
of whit.e out.post.s and t.he _ wild Indian count.ry produced a
number of figures whose personalit.ies and explo~t.s have grown
int.o t.he legendry of t.he front.ier. Such a one was Big Sam Dale,
Indian count.ryman, scout., soldier and superman extraordinary.
The iOO1 of t.he whit.e set.t.lsrs and the respect.ed en8ll\Y of t.he
-'host.ile Ind! ans, Dale creat.ed a saga of epic proport.ions.
Finall,y .... t.he minds of the rude set.t.lers and .. superst.itious
Indians endowed him wit.h a supernat.ural qualit.y and he became
one of t.he Siegrfrieds 'of t.he Indian country, a man with a cycle
and a m;yth.
Ent.ering t.he AlaMma scene when t.rained Indian count.rymen
were at. a Ilremium, Dale became one of t.he L out.standing figures
of t.he Creek War •• Heros like Jackson left. t.heir records in t.he
annals of t.he "ar Bepart.ment., but. Dale left. the st.amp of personal
t\'yI.(.. -
cont.act. on t.he imaginat.ions of bot.h red~d/wh1t.e.~
A six foot., 190 pound agent. of dest.ruct.ion, the host.ile
f
Creeks named him Sam Thlucco, ~. He spent. his childhood in
t.hat. shadowy region claimed by both Indians and whites, and consequent.
ly waa bred t.o the manner of the front.ier. While st.ill a
yout.h he plunged into the dept.hs of t.he 1l1li-.* undisputed Creek
territory as trader and long hunter.
.. 2-
Here he met the Creeks on equal ground, learned their
ways szp their language and becaJlle the ....-. t'riend of _
v
chieftr he was later to figtat against. It was during this
period he becaJlle the comrade of PushmaDaha and that he heard
the war talk of T~umseh. That a solitary white man, miles from
the neare t help, in a village of antagonistic savages survived
~
the aftermath of the inflammatory talk of TeculDseh
..... W ~ _
.:fIu:...the respec1:.;lthe Cree ~ ~-
With the outbreak of hostilities he returned and
associated himself' first with the Georgia Militia and next with
the U.S. Army. A noted f'ttonti ersman by this time, Dale had lef"t.
older stories behind him. Born in Virginia in 1772, he was taken
to the Georgia border when only 12 years of age. After his father
had been driven from his farm by ~he Indians and died as a result
•
of privation, Dale, hardly more than a boy, worked until
•
he had pai~~~~ fat.hjr's debts, reclaimed the farm and pro-vided
for ~ younger sisters and brothers. This done,
he embarked on the shadowy an cer tUn career of a trader.
He made his real entry into alabama history as captain
in cOaJDand of _ militia, leading the lef"t. wing at the Battle of
urnt Corn. It was here, too, that the Dale II\Yth was born. Big
SaJll was an impressive figure in a fight. His undoubted bravery
and disdain of danger, added to his monumental bUlk, attracted
the attention of friend and foe. Consequently his actions were
well followed in combat. At Burnt Corn during the skirmish at
the creek he received a ball over,
to deflect the bullet, the II\Yth"
Though a rib served
wt. -- ,
Sam had been shot
,
through the
happened!
heart and continued fighting as if nothing had
3-
Dale --.added to his myth as guide to settler.
to the newly opened TOlIlbigb'"""region. Knowing the trails and the
Indians, he led parties s~.ly through d ~wilderness salted
with the bones of less happy ~groups. This added to his
reputation as a superman, both among the settlers and the dis- appointed
Indiana, whose foiled efforts to massacre a Dale party
in their endowing him with a potent kind of magic.
Dale was not only a superman; he was ~d of knighterrant
as ready to reacue a maiden in distress aSAfight the Creeks.
On one occasion, so the story runs, he was engaged in a singlehanded
scouting expedition in the heart 0"Creek country. Whils
bending over a broek to drinUWO red-sticks eharged him from the
underbrush, but Big Sam leap to his feet in time to be stabbed
five times before he killed' both Indians. Bleeding from his wounds,
he traced the spoor of the Indians for !upe miles to their enc~
ent. Here he found four more Indians and a white woman prisoner.
He charged the camp, killed three of the Indiana quickly, but
,... was on the point of fainting from loss of blood when the
woman, inspired by Sam's good looks, leapt to her feet and tQllahawked
the remaining red-skinS~
Thus While Dale was endearing himself to the settlers
as a protector and to the ar DepaDtment as a leader of troopa
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in hostile territory, the Dale myth was
• Fortunately for the growth of this cycle, Dale'S real.
o
exploits were always of the most mel_dramatic variety. For
instance, the 'Canoe Fight ••
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THe Canoe Fight. was one of t.hose advent.ures t.hat.
elevat.e a man from t.he merely out.st.anding to the spect
e hero of this encounter, ~e became the natural
other stories, glowing accounts of his courage and hairbreath
escapes as a spy at pensacola and ·jew Orleans under
Jackson and as the .. Creeks. Dale shared
the glory of
mith, and a Negro
ith two white men, Austil and
named Caesar.
Big Ssm was leading a scouting party, engaged in
killing ... stray creeks, along the banks €..} the Alabama when
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a canoe loaded with eleven Indisns floated into sight.
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Dale sent a csnoe eight men to reconnoitre; .. returned and
reported that the ~ad seen a canoe filled with e even Indians.
,
Disgust.ed with his men, who had told him only what anyone
could see from the bank, Dale leaPt<- into the canoe with Austil
Smith and Caesar and pushed off. As, the two canoes neared each
() other the Indian chief recognize. Dale and addressed him in a
friendly voice.
"lfIlw for it, Big Sam."
"" The next instant he r ed a rine, which Ilale knocked
out of his hand with a paddle. Then the canoes touched and while
Caesar held them together, the three white men knocked one Indian
into the river and clubbed eight more to death; _ two escaped
by swimming. _ Except for the Indianh gooc\.oclatured challenge,
II
the only words spoken "Caesar's suggestion
that Dale use a rifle bayonet, which the Negro was holding,
instead ot the twisted barrel of a broken gun.
,
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Dale ended his days in a peace~ul coun\..1')'
he had helped conquer. His plantation was ofien crowded with
Indians come to visit their old ene~. General Dale now, he
had served as a member o~ the ~irst Alabama territorial legisl~
and o~ the committee that selected the territorial capital.
Dale county, labama, is Darned in honor o~ him. His ~th waa
consistent to the end. The mSD didn't live that could kill Big
Sam Dale; in spite o~ his numeDOUS bloody ~ights, he lived t~
die calmy in bed o~ sickness and old age.
ale was loved by both .Lndians and whites. <..n one
occasion ~stranger, holding a note which ~g Sam had endorsed,
sought to hold him ~or payment. ccos"ed in ~ a saloon
in Mobile, Dale, who had no money, said, "Very well. Take me to
jail through IIa1n Street so everyone may see ~ scars and the
treatment o~ an old DIIIIIr soldier." Within a h~ hour the back
o~ the note was crowded with the signatures o~ twelve of Mobile's
richest citizens. By _ morning the debt was paid in ~ull and
the stranger advised to J1.eave town. A natural ~lair ~or the
spectacular was not the least o~ Dale's gi~ts.
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1540 when DeSoto visited the country of the Allbamos,
•
the folklore of Indians who once lived within the
boundaries of AJ.abama. The first
state. Somewhere in the southwest
of the ""'-.- had
One morning
......... chief. They
.."
placing his tepee pole in the
starting ou~ew in the direction
, .,
the piUe did not learnj it stood
night~
earth, eech morBll.ng the Indians
the pole leaned.
city , Birmingham.
'.$
the largest
perpendicular. The leader of the wandering group then proclaimed, • "Alibamn, Alibamn," meaning "I open or c lear the thicket". A
less restrained version holds the translation of the words uttered
by the chief to mean, "Here we rest."
Shades Vall~.
TYPical of many Indian folk stories, since ilt accounts
for the name of a prominent geographical\
is the story of Shades Valley, near the site of
(
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the
At a point on an ancient Indian trail, leading east out of
, and the Atlantic seaboard, was
a place of gloOlllfl White traders who attempted to cross this
evil valley risked their lives. Here were no friendly Indians
to give the white men corn and smoked vensionj no beautiful
Indian maidens to offer solace after the hardships of travel--h4re
were treacherous Indians, who often lay in wait to ambush the
So numerous were the
bones of murdered traders in the region that it becsme known among
the early pioneers as the "vaJ.ley of the shadow of death", sDd
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-land of the shades.- It was from atrocious Indian attacks
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on lonely traders negotiating the vall.ey that one of the most
be~tiful. residential sections of Birmingham receLved its name
• A1.abama's Pocahontas.
The basic theme of
has many counte:n>arts i
an
the Pocahontas story is one which
the his of American Indi ,
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exampl.e being found in the Indian l.ore of A1.abama.
As a consequence of tra4e relations arrranged by the Georgia
tv
Council in l.76l., Dr. David ancis moved into the Al.ibsrnu country
*hortly thereafter, settl.ing at the Indian town of Atsgi(Autauga)
which wss situated on both sides o~ the river about ten mil.es
tl",~~."
from the present site of 81Wel.l.'~ Fiel.d at ont.gomery•
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Selecting a suitahl.e woman from the Indian tribe for his
wife, Dr. Francis became the father of a male child•• His son
was named Hil.l.ishadjo, and later became the Great Prophet of the
Creeks. Coming of age, Hil.aahadjo married an Indian gir1, and
cal.1ed
fighting between the Creeks and the
of Genera! Andrew Jackson, Ilil.ly went - chi.llilU:oLa River.
whites under the le.ad,ership
with her parents 1- live t
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One da~a younB::"mi itiaman, orgia wandered
far from F=t Gadsden whert he was stationed, and was captured by
Indi8D6. He was tied to a tree, and the Creeks, directed by
the first chil.d born of this. union was nsmed lial.ee
J
)lilly by the whites of the locality.
During the course of
illy's father, Hil.l.ishsdjo, prepared to slay the white sol.dier.
But sixteen year old llilly rushed to her father, begging him to
stay the Eliecution of the whitoe man. When Hill.iBhadj 0 to ld his
daughter the white man must be put to death, ).lilly placed hersel.f
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bet.ween the soldier and t.he Ind1.ans, finally persuaiUng the
to spare the life of th•e whit.e man for whom she evidenced feeling.
Hill.ishadj 0 lat.er sold the captive 1lcKrimon t.o t.he Spanish at. St.
in Florida.
back to Geo 1'8ia.
, making his way
died, and cKrimon..
learned that l:illy had come on unhappy da,ys, no longer enjoying the
prestige of her Chief~ father, he offered her marriage. This
)lilly declined, assuming the offer t.o be an act. of charity on the
part. of the man whose life she had saved. Lat.er she married an
Indian of her own race,.-. ore than a hundred years lat.er, 1930,
a plo_an at work in an A1a.bffM River field unearthed an or-.eut.
of silver whose inscription recalled the ancient atory of )lilly,
the granddaught.er of Dr. David FrancisJ-the"POCahont.as~
Noccalula Falla.
valle~water Wl4.. and ~
The associat.ion of unreq it.ed love with'.... is without -
s~lllafill.iWffiona)
quest.ion the most. domina,ting theme found in Alabama Indian lore.
The legend ~;,c;.~~~u;a Falls is founded on such a framework.
It is the story of a"~young Cherokee maiden, whom the
chief of the tribe W~hed to carry into r;:;. wigwam. Enchant.ed
by the beaut.y of Alavelda, the Chief att.empt.ed to capture her by
.- force. o avoid him, Alavelda ran. The chief
pursued, and soon it was a ~ ~ race-.... aroum the wigwams
of the Indian village, then among t.he tree. of the nearby
forest.. Seeing that she was being overt.aken, Alav
tToday,
plunged into the falls of NoccalJJ>J.a rather than submit.'/I ,Drae
miles from Gadsden,the image of Al.avelda may be seen at times
reflected by the still clear wate balow Noccal.ula Falls.
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foment trouble against ashington. Tecumseh went from village to r
village haranguing, cajoling, commanding, to no effect.
Finally, in a towering rage, Tecumseh called the chiefe a lot of ~
and
squaws, left for Detroit, ~ threatening to stamp his foot
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and destroy their towns. In exactly'" sixty days and nights,
lon enough for Tecumsehto reach Detroit, ~the Black Belt felt
the one and only earthquake in its hietory. The Indiani villages
and houses were shaken to kindling wood and near -.r Kowaliga upon
a huge rock waa found the imprintd of Tecumseh' a f00t piints.
qJ 'alee, the Maid of Atagi, or Millie, the kaid of \utauga, as the
white settlers called her, was Alabama's Pocahuntas. ~aleef s
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fatllllr, Josiah Francis, was the son of a white man and an Indian
women, and she had celebaated ancestors on both sides. A niece
of Tilliam leatherford, the Indian leader, and a great-niece of
e..
~exander lcGillivray, the sc~thman, Malee was born in 1802, in
Montgomery County, near the Charlotte Thompson place, ~ short
distance below the new Birmingham Highway bridge.
Malee's father, forced by :he fortunes of{aar with the Whites,
fled with his family to Florida to join the Seminoles when 'alee
was sixteen. Here, shortly thereafter, a Georgian SOldie~ o~.~
Duncan 'cKrimmon, a captive of the Seminoles,was tied to tree to
A /'0
be executed • lee, appealing first to her father to no avail,
rushed in between ~cKrimmon and his captors to plead successfUlly
for the life of the condemned one. Sold to the Spaniards, McKrimmon,
eventually escaped to return to his home in Baldwin County,
Ga.
A few months later, news carne thru to Georgia that Malee's
father had died and all his property been confiscated. The man she
..-' had so heroically saved pffered to marry her in order to provide ~
and care for her. She refUsed because she felt it was but a gest-
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to accept, and later married oOr
to... prau
The legeend of Monte Ssno tells ~ e of the Indian princess, Monte,
who as she ~N. grew to maidenhood lovd and was loved in return
Cr-'. (
ure of charity which she was
an Indian.
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by Ioka, a stalwart young brave of her own tribe. A stranger,
young and handsome, wearing an aura of the outside world, came
along to whisper of love and life to the beautiful 'onte. ITer
boyhood sweetheart seeing taem~ated in the moonlight high on the ~~
rockJrf the mountain overlooking the valle¥, whispered from the sh~d,
ows where he hovered and watched, " Monte, say no~ Monte, say no!
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The meaning of the word, .~abama,as it is popularly accepted , has
its fanciful origin in a~egend of a tribe of Indians whO, drive1From
'exico moved nort seeking a permanent camping ground. At the end
of each day's journey , the chief would stand a-tall his tent pole z0-
in ~ the earth and) on the following morning) ,.....w direction
~. 7 > Ii- ~, .Zt '"...,. ,.;t;"-4 M «M 'n,,"
courthouse at Tuscaloosa in honor of the chief whp ruled the power~~
ful tribes alomg the lower reaches of the Warrior River.
not hang himself. However, a monolith cf granite stands in the ee~*
vanced the opinion that he perished in the conflict and that he did
He was never heard of after the battle, and some historians have ad-onte
, say no!"
But Monte listened and yielded to the fascinating stranger , who we
went away, as strangers SO often do, leaving the little Indian princes~
hamed and broken. She crept away to the high places where ahe
had been wooed and, before her still adoring discarde! lover, who had
e~e~tstolen after her, could prevent, ~ flung herself far out over
the bluff. The poor deserted childhood lover, demented, roamed the
mountain heights still moaning, "Monte, say no." And so they called
the mountain that overlooks the town of Huntsville, Monte Sano.
QDLegend claims that after the battle wtth de Sote at 'auvila in 1540,
the Indian chieftain, Tuskaloosa, hanged himself to escape capture.
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,calII' 1'roJact
an)
ow. • tit a)
t la or tha "Ia t 1 1:5 Chia • a
ak t1llD to look tal' • r.",a tr t7
1IV1'1al' 1. tr1be to act a. a ·W. p1nall"l ha d 01 -
IS 0 to in thi. 1a arta t o. 01t1. ort
wa. 1 fi1 l' a U • th18
",1 a e tR_ le la to at a •
t rt, ota
.0'1_ • 01",111 • 00 a, la to
a to t d u t - 1'0 • • - •
wa••'OOll to a a. tal' 0 one b t • tew atepa
t a hoota.. laD .'OI:lIIlJI return t
r. a v 1''1 atolc.ll~ aa. b 1', • d
• r. "IOU acae '" 'l'b.e Indian 1.r1 ..t rUed, tcOl1-
oo.lin b I' rear a •• a )Out
e • a a naard."
, • ti. "IOU, n tao
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" , lt 18 7 ,
u1 17 into
o1ntin to
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Ceaa
.tr 1 t into 0"fO. or c
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a ota, he 1.a e l'
taca, " all _ q 10 17, IS nota,
• -7 aturn tora. et." in 0 • trou led
"Iou 100 WOl'l'l dt"
anota • a in • low vol a," er. 1. to. our r. aI""
l' nt or .1
a toarJ~17 rapll ," e,
D7 0 er., h in to ova a
t
18 do
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t. 1',
ore&"
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a W8JTln~ 0 le, t 0 11101' l' t mad. 11_
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!JOD. 20 1935.
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B1.t.r7 an. L...n••~ 0.1.~ 0.1nna••••
A ~ow w.1to ~aa111•• Aa•••,un to ••TO 1n t. t •• t.rr1tor7 .~ tao Or.ok
In.1an••."h. w.1te•••'0 1n a.Tllr•• "'eono uawn .7 oun .r worn out ••r ....
Th...n w1t. t ••1r .oe. nlk•••oA1n. t....con. an. ca1••• tAo an1••1 ••
fie.. ear17 ..ttl.r. 11T11. 1n u.a••~ t •• tn.1an. an. tao wo..n w1t. t ••1r
f1ll1 ok1rt. an•••nnet. peepel out .f t •••0T.r•••acon••T.e ho.t11e Or••k.
fear•• t••••1te ..n ••1ll. take t.eir lan•• ~r_ t ••••an. t ••7 re ..nte. t ••
wAite ~aa111•• aoTine noar n.1r Tilla...
o-Y 01' 0.1.f Oh1nn••e..... a •••rt a••011 a. a pol Inl1an.an. h.... at on••
the true a....nt8p to h1. trn. aTine the .h1to _n f.r no1p.or••
C.i-nna••• ha. no InUan. 1n hlo trn. an. natura1l7 ta.7 all were fr6nU7
to the .h1te•••ut tA.r••er. 5000 ot.er Or••k In.1an. noar .7 ••0 ..r.
ho.til. to the .h1to aen.an. al.o to Oh1nna••• an••1. tr1••• Th. h••t11.
Cr.ek. often ••• ra1•• on t.e .h1te. that 11TO. near t •••••ut C.1.t
Ch1nnaa.. U. all he nul. to ..TIl tho. fr_ .dne ••alpe••B•••ul. nat1r7
t.e. at n1pt .ll.n tho r •••k1n. were •••1ne an. t ••• pre;par••• l!••oul••1••
tao w.1to••own .7 tao r1TOr .unt11 •••oul. llu1.t tae raU.r••on. n1cat .1.
Ch1nna••• ta11e. t. loarn a••ut tll. ra1••an. tao •••t11. r •••k1n. r.turn••
fr.. tAo ra1. w1t••eTllral ••alps••orn aroun. t ••1r 1.t•• Th....rr1.r.
wh••oul•••ar ••101»• • t tll. wh1to people w.r. h.r an. all t •• 1n.1an•
.•urroani•• t ••• an. "'n••• an. 7.11•• ·11r••••••n·.
fi. O.l.f• • t tll. ho.t11. In.1an••el. a p.w-»••• an. Ch1nna.e..... pr nt.
Th.y ..1. t. hiD ·Oh1nna•••••h7 lOr. 70U ani 7.ur tr1.. C••• t. t.o 1to•
• ho haTII ..tUe. near our hunt1ne voun• ., Dent y.u kn.w tnt t ••7 are
kil11ne all the .11. an1aal. an. t&k1ne .ur lan. 10.107 tr_ u.,· C.1tm·•••
r.plte. W!1e Ch1et•• t.e...h1to tolk. are coot.T.e7 e1T11 _ 7.11.w .h1rt.
an. r•••antk.r••1.f•• th.7 e1Te _ to.a••o to ...ke t •• p1pe ot pe....anl
I e01ne to •• the1r fr1en. ani D7 tr1•••111 •• tAe1r tr1.nl••~1e Oll.t
I e01ne to toll 70U .ore wh7 I lik. t ••••1toa.·
I cot .n D7 pon7 an. ro•• al.ne tr_ Talla.... to Wa••incton C1t7 an. I
.1ene. a pea•• tr.at7 .1tA l?.1••nt Anu•••a.k.on that I an. D7 tr1••
• oul. al"'7••• tr1eM. to the wh1te ••Th. l?.1••nt pT... I.el. te
thouean•• ot a.r•• ot Coo. Talla"p lan. an. I ... e01ne to tell 70U .0•• _
_th1ne .1.. not l.ne lOCO a Coo••h1te taa117 lo.atol Mar D7 lan••T~
tolk.... a ,un.a .h1to pon7 an. t •• llor.....t no lani.Tlle7 ••r. coot to
.. an. l.t _ "oot the1r ,un an. r1•• tlleir 1I0D7.0no aornine I wont to tao
.ll1te ••n. hou.. aM I ..1.·Itu.·••• I PTO 70U 1000 a.r.a .t laM OTllr
tll.ra·an. 70. pTe _ tllat wll1to lIO!17.·Tlla .ll1to .an ..1. ·Tak. tho JeD7
Cll1na••••ani e1 Ta .. tho lan•• ·Tll. n.xt .107 tll••ll1to ••n ..... to D7 .1ean...
1. ·Cll1nn••••• I ... au.... to•• _I .r••••• I pT. 70U th1. e-n aM
7•• PTII .. anon.r 1000 aer•• • t lan.·wow ••nt 7......0. pol tll••ll1to
pe.pl. ar. t ..., I cot th1. e-n an. thi. lIOD7 for al.o.t notll1ne J••t
2000 a.rea ot laM.Chinna••••• a V.at tr1.n. of l? ••Anu•• Jaek..n .ll.
pT. hiD a a1n1atur. ot lliDHlt.fiat an. ll1. ,un.ll. aleo PTO lliD were
.url•••1th lliD.1'l1. vaTO .... later .»ono. ani ll1••on. or.1k1llola an. !lil17
Wh111 wero .ur10••1tll h1••
Th1a l.p~ a.out tll. u ... •• c1 Ten ...7 Wi•• WitU. Wen••rr7 .llo.. tat.,
.... the .ll1to •• n .pokon otCTll... liolluar,C
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Pap (4.)
-Lepn~ of Coo••
The In~i&D. war. eent ~oBn I' the Gr.at lather froa the .1.u~••Thel ~
Bith th•• tir•• an~ tBO ..~i.ine•• th. paea &D~ the aiko_hoJADi~Jo &D~
..on, the. Bere n aikoe.At fir.t there Ber. tBO .-.»e of the In~i&D.
lut .ne of the ». de.i~e~ the, BOul~ return to th. »la.e froa Bh.n••
the)' .Me .The, ke»t ...r.t their intention. &D~ Baite~ 1U1t11 nipt IlK
fallen,then the, .i~ "We are ree4," an~ ~.parte~ into th••k,.
In the other ."11 Ber. the ....n aiko., eein, th. oth.r In~ian. lea.. tile,
.id"ToaorroB Be B111 ~epart a. nipt n.B .teal. o..r th. lan~" .Wil.n
tORorroB .... one ot tll.ir nu'-ter _. ~.e4, the)' .oulGt lea.. hia in the
Borl~,or .oul~ the, take Ilia Bith the.,.o the, .u.t reaa1n on earth.
'h., etai~ in that pla•• for .0" t1ae an~ then ea1~ WLet u. tra..l"
The, Journe)'e~ to..rb the north eo.e ail•• &D~ theD th., .tollpe~ ~ ..t
up a Balk1ne-.t1.k into the ,rou~.It turne~ to_r~. t ...0uth.aD~ the,
11&1& th1e Ruet I. the Ba, t .. Gr.at 8»irit _nb u. to 10.80 til., ao..~
to..r~. the .outh,then ..t the ealkine-.ti.k up in the aroun~ a,.in.
It nOB pointe~ to..r~e th. eaet,eo tOBar~. th••a.t the, want.Th., aar.h.~
on f.r a lon, t1ae,then atollpe~ ~ ..t u».t.....l~1n'_.t~.k a,.in.
Thi. t1aB 1t re..ine~ atraiaht ~ u»ri,ht.ft.r. the, .i~ Ie B111 re.t •
here wa B111 reaain.·
80 the, ..ttle~ there IUt their thou,ht. often turne~ to th.ir fr1.~~
relati... an~ .o.pant.n. Bho re..ine~ in the »la•• froa Bhen•• tile, •••••
Th•••yen aik•• Bho re..ine~ aer. to •• th••hi.t. an~ kin,. of th. lan~.
Tlli. 'oo~, ao.ntr"huntin, ,ro.~ an~ B.ll taY.r.~ lan~ the, .all.~
C.o••Their .hiefa Bhen inetall.~ Ber. pla.e~ a ' ••kekin Bhi.h he4 '.en
u ....~ I' a nr,in.
Thia l.pn~ ..a tol~ .. " Wra Yollie lIen~er.on,Bh••• roar.~ near
Ch11~er.'ur" (Ol~ Coo.).
Indian Legends G-Samek
natural 3ridge ./inston ounty
The Chickasaws, who inhabited the north-western part of the state, were
the warring, fighting tribe. It is said that no foe ever defeated
them in battle. They took many prisoners, who formed alLost an
army of slaves, and were forced to do all the hard work for the
tribe. Once when the chief was in fierce war fare, he promised his
prisoners frredom, if they would bri~ in a large harvest, and if he
returned victorious. They believed in his promise for some of them were
Choctaws, and a Choctaw's word is as good as his bond.
But when the time appointed came, the chief refused to let them go.
That ni.:,ht, a young warrior Lanachichi, called the Clen to eeet by the
braves of their dead. They offered up petitions to the Great Spirit,
pleadir.f; for their deliver&.nce. Froe the sacred burial ground, the
voice of the Great Spirit answered, "I will deliver you."
The next day Lamachichi went before the Chickasaw chief, beJging that
he would keep his promise and send the captives back to their tribes.
But the chief would not. In the evenir..:; the Great Spirit said, "Go
into your igwams and keep them tl£htl closed, for toraorrow brint:s
my vengeance." That ni{;ht ni{;ht a torrnet of rain descended. The
next eornine dar~ess hung like ni~ht, and froes ere everywhere.
The chief sent for L&nachichi, and said the ca tives miSht ~o, if
the Great Sprit would remove the curse of darkness and of froes,
But when all was well, the chief Bg&inbroke his word. So followed
many curses, until at last Chffie the curse of death to one in each
wigwam, and them the old chief let them go. But no sooner had thay
departed than the Chickas~w warriors assembled, and pursued them. The
captives were close to a river and escape seemed impossible. l,amachichi
lifted up his arms in supplication to the Great Spirit. Suddenly
the earth stretched forth, forci~ a bridge seventy-five feet wide
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Fall of Red Eagle ~
The
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Through the sullen August dusk the white horse sped with
his rider. The great head, with a brown spot between the eyes
resembling a dark star laid on a white blanket, was resred, but
no bridle held him. The rider was tall and bronzed, and a single
red feather drooped from his straight, black hair. His chin
rested upon a bare chest streaked with perspiration. His long,
well-muscled legs reached almost to the ground.
Night had purpled the dense forest when the two reached the
river. There they paused for a moment, and the tall rider lifted
his head and turned to look behind him. The sky wss a sp1ssh of
red where he looked and the red was topped by rolling plumes of
black smoke. The rider shook his head sadly, dug his moccssined
heels into the mount's side, and rode into the dark current •
The Red Eagle rode slowly after fording the river. He shud-dered
when his mind returned to that crimson scene behind. He •
had not widhed it. He had plead with his warriors to spare the
women and children and old people, but his words had fallen upon
ears deafened by the unreasoning cries for slaughter.
Behind lay the ghastly remnants of Fort Mims. Behind, under
that crimson sky, lay more than 500 men, women and children,
scalped and mutilated. Behind lay the torch that was to kindle
war between the Creek Nation and the Americans in Alabama, and
Red Eagle, war leader of the vast Indisn empire, knew that con-f1agration
kindled by that torch would be horrible and widespresd.
Perhaps the white blood of his father had risen to control the
Indisn blood of his mother, but the Red Eagle could not stand by
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and watch the slaughter. He had tried vain17 tc stem the storm
he had helped brew, but seeing the situation was out of his concrol,
he turned his back and left determined to take no further
pert in the war. Why had he listened to the poisoned ravings of
old Chief Tecumseh when he, Red Eagle, was white and should be
fighting on the white man's side? Why had he not flatly refused
to join the war party? He knew it meant ruin. He knew his
mother's people were doomed, but because the Creeks reared him
to manhood and because of a great love for his dusky mother, he
could not turn against them. e It seemed incredible now that juat six hours before he had
been aimply William Weatherford, called Lamochattee, the Red
Eagle, by his mother's people. He was loved and honored b7 the
Creeka, because his mother was a princess, but he had been respected
by the white man. He knew now that he had renounced all
rights to being a white man, that he no longer had any right to
be called the name of his father. He knew, too, that in the eyes
of the white man he was the "murderer of Fort Mims," no matter
how untrue the charge.
Riding through the lush swamplands under the night's protecting
cloak, he had time to think. He realized now that he
could not desert his people. The7 needed him. Then, he asked
himself, have the white men been fair? Have they not muddied
the rivers with washings from their furrows, have they not clipped
the forests with their axes and turned them into cornfields? And,
in time, will the white man not enslave the Indian as he already
has enslaved the Negro? ~hese questions burned like fire through
Red Eagle's tortured mind, and, decided on his course at last, he
turned the feet of his horse southward--toward the Holy Ground.
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It was war now, red and brutal. From the Tennessee hills
rode the gaunt, grim-visaged Andrew Jackson at the head of an
army. From other sections, too--Georgia, the Carolinas and
Mississippi--rushed the avenging white man. The massacre at
Fort Mims had spread like wildfire, and Alabama's virgin for-
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ests saw men with copper-colored and white skins going about
the .grim business of war.
Every white man's gun was turned against the Red Eagle.
The white man did not know that there were other leaders at
Fort Mims. There were High-Head Jim, Peter McQueen, and Josiah
Francis, the prophet, but that did not matter. The white
man's hate was white-hot upon the head of the half-breed, \illiam
leatherford. He had been educated in the white man's
schools and brought up to manhood under the guidance of a white father.
The others were heathen and knew no better.
The Creeks, called Red Sticks because the tipa of their
war clubs were invariably painted red, were now crazy with
alaughter. They hed routed a band of Americans in the battle
of Burnt Corn. They had followed by destroying all that existed
at ~'ort Mims. Their prophets walked among them, exhorting
them to more savage deeds, praising their courage in honeyed
phrases, and assuring them that no white man could cross the
boundary into the Holy ~round and live. The savages believed,
and stored their spoils in the vast acreage. They threw up
barricades and danced in hideous war paint. Red ~agle did not
believe, but he encouraged his warriors and prepared to meet
the onrush of the invsders.
On the morning of battle, the Indian women and children
were hidden in thick foliage acrosa the Alabama River, which
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bordered the Holy Ground. The move was made just in time, because
the last boat load had not pushed across the stream when
a runner, breathless end wild-eyed, charged into the clearing.
"They are coming!" he panted. "Old Fox Claiborne is coming!
"
It was Claiborne, right-hand man of Jackson and fress from
Indian victories. The Americans came pouring across the wet
swamps in three divisions. One rushed in from the right, one
from the left, and the other, commanded by Claiborne in person,
from the center. The Indians, yelling now in wild excitement,
swarmed behind barricades and made ready for bettle.
Even as the white men came, Red Eagle realized he had been
outwitted. He saw that, with the Americans coming from three
directions, his army was in a trap. The enemy barred all avenues
of escape. The muddy, swirling Alabama was behind. But
there was no alternative now. He made ready to fight.
The first burst of gunfire was simultaneous. Four Americans
fell, and a score of Indians, who had climbed to the top
of their barricades to meet the first rush, toppled to the
ground. Francis, the prophet, rushed among the warriors, reassuring
them the Americans could not defeat them on Ho13
Ground. He barely escaped as a burat of gunfire felled two
warriors beside him.
Red Eagle charged into the battle, wielding his war club
right and left. He had fired his rifle until his ammunition
was exhausted. His bronzed face was grim. Dust and blood
covered his body. An American rushed up behind him and aimed
point-blank.
"You're a dead man, Bill Weatherfordl"
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But not yet. The ball grazed his forehead and a trickle of
blood poured into his eyes, but he held firm in the saddle. He
wheeled his horse and fought savagely.
Failing to halt the Americans with the first few volleya,
the Red Sticks became alarmed and uncertain. Here was an enemy
that survived on the Holy Ground. Here was an enemy that kept
pressing forward, laying fown a galling rifle fire as it came.
There was a single moment of uncertainty, when the Creeks started
pouring from their barricaded positions in complete dismay. Many
turned their backs and fled, to be shot down before they reached
the river. Others backed away, firing as they retreated. Many
perished in the river, but some succeeded in reaching the other
side. The ground was covered with dead and dying, and the_rout
. was complete.
Red Eagle, deserted now by his army, hurriedly sought an
avenue of escape. The Americans were surrounding him, and he
believed death was inevitable. Rifle balls sang their highpitched
dirge on all sides.
He wheeled his horse suddenly, and the animal bolted up
the river bank toward a high bluff that rose more than 15 feet
above the water. For one long moment the horse and rider hesitated
on the high cliff, then hurtled into the tawny waters.
Both disappeared, but the magnificent horse struggled back to
the surface. The chief turned and yelled triumphantly, holding
his rifle above his wet head. Red Eagle had escaped, and the
Americans, awed by his daring feat, watched as he sped into the
forest on the other side.
After the crushing blow at Holy Ground, Red Eagle knew his
Nation was shattered. His warriors were weary and broken--
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their spirits crushed. His women and children were starving in
the woods. His amunition was slmost exhausted. But the chieftsin;
undaunted, prepared for a final stand. He ordered his
battle-torn braves to their fortifications on the Tallspoosa
Rivar at the place called Cholocco Litabixee, or the Horseshoe.
Here an area of more than a hundred acree was bordered by
the river, forming a peninsula. Across the neck of the bend
the Red Sticks erected a breastwork of logs, so arranged as to
expose the Americans to a withering cross-fire. 10 was a diffi-
•
cult place to capture and offered grave danger of becoming a
death trap. The Indians concealed themselves behind the loga
and made ready for the coming of Jackson and his army.
They had not long to wait. 'rbe Americans puahed forward,
and again the white man's superior knowled3e of military tactics
proved the undoing of the Red Sticks. Instead of making
a masa attack upon the breastworks across the neck, Jackson
ordered General Coffee and his troops to attack from the ri~er
in the rear. The attack waa simultaneous, and the Indians were
mowed down by scores. Out of 1,000 warriors, less than 200
survived. It was a death trap, and the power of the Creek
Nation in Alabama was blotted out forever.
Red Eagle had now reached the crisis in his life. He knew
he could possibly-remain free by hiding himself in the thick
forests. He knew equally as well that if he surrendered, as
many of the other chiefs were doing, the white man would probably
kill him. General Jackson had ordered his capture at
any cost.
But Red Eagle realized, too, that the women and children
of his tribe were starving. He looked about him, and found
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suffering and desolation evarywhere. Tha corn-fields were
destroyed, provisions had been burned, and there was no promise
of relief from anyource. ~hen it was that he turned
his horse toward the marican camp--and almost certain death.
Night was falling when he reached Fort Jackson. He
stopped for a moment in the cleaing, and looked upon the camp.
He saw that other laaders in the Creek Confederacy were there
before h1m. Sitting in front of the largest tent was Big
arrior, the boastful, who had fought with the Americans
throughout the war. Red Esgle turned his horse toward that
tent, and seeing him, Bi Wsrrior sprang to his feet.
"So, we have :;ot yOU at last, Billy Weatherford," he
sneered.
Red Eagle reached for the 'un he carried behind his saddle,
slipped a ball and powder into its muzzle, and replied
coldly:
"I do not surrender to you, and if you speak another word
I will send a bullet throu~h your traitor's heart."
Hearing the exchange of words a tall figure, 1m and
gaunt, stepped from the tent. He glanced first at Big arrior,
then at the man astride the white horse. His face went hard.
"How dare you, sir, ride into this camp after what you did
at Fort /41msl"
For fully a minute the two men looked straight into each
other'a eyes, one pair grey and hard, the other black and fearless.
Then Red Eagle lowered the muzzle of his loaded gun and
apoke firmly and evenly.
"General Jackson, I am not afraid of you. I fear no man,
for I am a Creek werrior. I have nothing to request in behelf
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of m~self; ~ou can kill me if you desire. But I come to beg
~ou to send for the women and children in the war part~, who
are now starving in the woods. Their fields and cribs have
•
been destro~ed b~ ~our people, who have driven them to the
woods without an ear of corn. I hope that ~ou will send out
parties, who will safely conduct them here, in order that
they may be fed. I exerted myself in vain to prevent the
massacre of the women and children at Fort .ims. I am done
fighting. Tha Red Sticks are nearly all killed. If I could
fight you any longer I would most heartily do so. Send for
the women and children. 1hey never did you any harm. Hut
kill me if the white people want it done."
There was nothing then but a great silence. Several
American soldiers had gathered as the chief talked, and stood
with guns ready. Big \arrior broke the ailence. He jumped
to his feet, shouting, "Here is your murderer! Here is the
killer of little children and old wamen! ill you lat him sit
here and make his pretty speeches2 Kill him! Kill him!"
1hen in one great chorus the soldiers joined in the cry:
"Kill the murderer! He killed our women, nol'l let us kill him!"
Big Warrior reached for a gun standing against the tent,
but General Jackson abbed his arm and flung him to the g~ound.
•
Then turnin~ to regard the soldiers, he said:
"An~ man who would kill as brave a man as this would rob
the dead!"
For one uncertain momant the soldiers stood with DUDs
leveled, then slowly, they dropped them. The e~es of grimvisaged
Andrew Jackson, softer now, swept back to the stolid
face of the Red Eagle. Jackson smiled and stepped forward •http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/wpa/id/889 |