A FURTHER extract of the same date may introduce the present chapter.

      "Fort Towson occupies a beautiful and commanding position. It was first established in 1817; was subsequently evacuated and the buildings burned down; and was again re-established pursuant to treaty stipulation with the Choctaws in 1830. The force at present stationed here consists of three companies of infantry and one of dragoons. This station has been favored with several commanding officers who were men of decided and active piety. The establishment is altogether superior to any other I have visited upon this frontier in point of neatness and permanency of improvements, comfort and good order, and especially moral and religious influence among the soldiers. Divine service is performed here almost every Sabbath; there is a flourishing Sabbath school, and a number of the soldiers are pious. A temperance meeting is held weekly, and prayer meetings twice in the week. The influence and example of the late Commandant, Colonel Loomis, are still seen and felt. He exerted himself with great effect in the promotion of temperance; united freely with the common soldiers in prayer meetings, and when no minister was present on the Sabbath, would himself read and expound the Word of God. [Another Havelock.] This by many of the officers was considered a letting down of his dignity, but it greatly endeared him to the soldiery. On last evening I called, by previous arrangement, upon a gentleman connected with the army, who, with his family, is apparently pious. I was kindly entertained and made welcome during my stay there;

the kind hostess assuring me that they had the 'little chamber upon the wall' and all the arrangements for entertaining a 'prophet.' At the proper hour of the evening the 'church-call' was given by fife and drum, and at the well-known signal a good congregation assembled. The singing was conducted by a choir of soldiers, assisted by a few females. The audience was exceedingly solemn and attentive, and I had much comfort in proclaiming the word, founded on the text, 'As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,' etc."

     While here I met with a characteristic instance of Indian generosity. My horse, as I came South, had by casualty become unfit for service. I was advised to apply for the loan of a horse to ride into Texas, to a wealthy half-breed farmer near, named Birney, who owned a number of horses. I was readily furnished with one, my own being kept by the lender. The horse proved to be a fine, fleet, easy traveler, a much more valuable animal than my own. I was taken with him, and on my return, finding my own still unfit for service, proposed an exchange. The generous Indian at once replied, "Take which you please," apparently disdaining the thought of any compensation for the difference in value.

     The educational effort among the Choctaws under the auspices of the American Board is confined to the south of the Nation and to female schools. They have four flourishing boarding-schools for girls, in which they are kindly and piously cared for, and instructed in reading, writing, etc., as well as the ordinary duties and labors of household life. The Superintendents then severally in charge were Rev. Messrs. Kingsbury, Wright, Byington, and Hotchkin, veteran missionaries, who had been from fifteen to twenty-five years laboring with this people. Fifteen years more have rolled away, and I have not yet heard of the death of either. A late session of the General Council had provided for another institution of this kind in the south, to be placed under the control of the Baptists, and called "Armstrong Academy;" Rev. Mr. Potts, Superintendent.

     The labors of these men are not confined to the schools, but each is "doing the work of an evangelist," laboring for the moral and spiritual welfare of all the people, and each effectively in his place. Rev. Mr. Kingsbury was the patriarch of the whole, and exerted an excellent religious influence at Doaksville, Fort Towson, and the surrounding country, greatly revered and loved by all. Mr. Wright was the most competent and practiced translator. Mr. Byington had acquired almost the appearance and habits of a Choctaw, and was incessant in personal efforts. Mr. Hotchkin had just returned from the East with a re-enforcement of lay helpers and teachers, fourteen in number, nine of whom were unmarried females from Lowell, Massachusetts, and other places; all seemingly in the spirit of their work and competent for it. These men had up to that time served the Board a lifetime without salary, simply receiving a meager subsistence. After the national appropriations were made, small salaries were allowed them. Mr. Kingsbury had the immediate charge of Chu-wa-la Female Seminary at Pine Ridge, a few miles distant from the Fort. Here I passed a night in one of the most comfortable of the missionary associations of my life, in the company of Rev. Messrs. Kingsbury, Wright, Byington, Messrs. Copeland and Potter, and Colonel Pitchlyn.

     I will not pass by an incident of "Father Kingsbury," related with some zest by his neighbors on this side of the Nation. This veteran missionary was of small stature, unimposing in outward appearance, and with a deformed foot, which caused quite a halt in his gait; but possessed of qualities of mind and heart which commanded the respect and won the affection of all. It chanced that during the year 18--, a certain prelate of the "true succession" having a diocese east of the Father of Waters, formed the purpose of "visiting the Churches" on the frontier, in company with an attending clergyman, formerly an army officer. Theirs being the "religion of the army," by custom and governmental patronage, a ready access was of course had to

the military posts; they were caressed at the garrisons and forwarded on with escort from place to place. On their return, the clergyman attending published, in a periodical of "the Church," a lengthy account of the tour, with various incidental statements and remarks, which, when they met the eye of real frontier-men, were regarded as not savoring of much liberality of feeling, nor indeed of very mature judgment on the part of the writer, as well as partaking considerably of the affected supercilious. This incident having been omitted by him, with sundry other little details current in the country, I supply the deficiency by giving it.

     "At the garrison at Fort Towson was a certain officer attached to the staff, whose name I will not give, a man of great vivacity and fine social qualities, but possessing a high veneration for religious and ministerial character, and especially for that of "Parson Kingsbury." Social affinities soon made the Bishop and the officer agreeable companions, and leisure hours were spent together in such entertainments as were mutually congenial. On one occasion, as the story goes, the venerable Bishop and the jolly officer were seated together enjoying a social game of ----, when, looking out at his window, the officer saw the revered old missionary limping up toward his door. "Have these away," said he, hastily, "Parson Kingsbury is coming." The good Bishop demurred, but despite his remonstrances, the implements of the game were gathered up, hurried away into concealment, and hasty arrangements made for a grave and becoming reception of the pious parson. Whether this was wholly the result of respect and veneration for consistent piety, or whether there may have been mixed up with this motive a mischievous purpose to play off a trick upon his prelatical companion, has not transpired. So it was, this "Right Reverend" dignitary of "the Church" was compelled to cower before the simple, unaffected piety of a little, old, club-footed, Presbyterian missionary. Such is true, consistent piety; such is Christian, ministerial dignity everywhere; and the effects will follow.

     On returning to the States after a long absence--1859--I have learned that the American Board has withdrawn all appropriations from their missions among the tribes of Southern Indians, in consequence of the alleged complicity of the missionaries with the sin of slavery. It was gratifying, however, to learn further that the missionaries had refused to abandon their flocks, although stripped of temporal support. Venerable men! for a third of a century exiling themselves from society; serving the Board without fee or remuneration, save a meager subsistence, and that subsistence now, in the days of age and feebleness, cut off. Noble old men! refusing to leave "these sheep in the wilderness," the spiritual children that God had given them; to forsake an affectionate people struggling for a higher life of civilization and Christianity; and, for the result, casting themselves, naked and penniless, upon the providence of God. Devoted servant of Christ! toil on; make your graves among the children of the forest. Hence to arise will be glorious. Possibly, after all, final results may demonstrate that these men, from a long period of actual contact and experience, understood the question involved better than the functionaries who, at a cautious distance, kept in their hands the "sinews of war;" and who, for years, have held over them the rod of withdrawal.

     My interesting and profitable visit to this part of the Nation being ended, I took leave of my kind missionary friends on the morning of the 28th of November, and set out from Pine Ridge for Fort Washita and the Chickasaw country. In my company was Mr. Potter, a lay missionary, and a brave Ohio girl, one of the new recruits, on her way to take part in the labors of one of the missions of the extreme frontier. I recur again to my published series over date of "Fort Washita, Chickasaw Nation, December 2, 1844:"

     "A ride of eighty miles has brought me from Fort Towson to Fort Washita. On the way I had the privilege of visiting Koonsha Female Seminary, one of the Choctaw

institutions tinder the care of the American Board; Rev. Mr. Hotchkin, Superintendent. Mrs. H. is a fine model of female enterprise and persevering devotion to the cause of missions; superintending, in the absence of her husband, all the affairs of the mission school, farm, building operations, etc. The new recruits seem in good spirits.

     "Mrs. H. thought it would not do for the evening to pass unimproved. So, after the evening meal, all repaired to the school-room, and we had a comfortable season of worship, while I spoke of the 'blessedness' of the man 'that trusteth in God.' In the morning I was aroused by the cheerful voice of our hostess, partook of refreshment, and was off long before reveillé."

     It was now Autumn or early Winter. Nature had put off her gay attire, and the gorgeous Summer dress of the southern prairies was exchanged for the graver aspects of the season. The extract goes on: "The route up [Red River] lies mostly through extensive prairies, there not being altogether perhaps five miles of timber in the last sixty. To one who has never beheld the richness of western scenery it is hard to conceive of its beauty. Nature stands forth in primeval grandeur, simple, majestic, unsubdued; and he who can fail to admire must be 'either more or less than a man.' The rich material which is here found for the pencil would well repay an amateur in that science for a voyage across the Atlantic."

     At the same time it must be acknowledged that there is in prairie traveling a sense of loneliness unknown elsewhere. The vast unbounded expanse around; the absence, at times, from the sight, for hours together, of any living thing save the animal you ride; the deep, pervading silence that reigns all around; all these are calculated to make an impression of one's solitariness and utter insignificance in the scale of creation. Few places are so friendly to reflection and meditation. During the second day I was parted from my traveling companions, and pursued my journey alone.

     The extract proceeds: "I am now seated in the hospitable dwelling of Colonel Upshaw, United States Agent for the Chickasaws. This is the ultima thule in this direction, there being, from the best information accessible, not a single white family between my present position and the Rocky Mountains. Within a mile of this Agency is Fort Washita. It takes its name from the 'Faux Ouachita' or False Washita River, near which it stands, [so called to distinguish it from another tributary of Red River, lower down, known as Washita River.] It is within the Chickasaw District of the Choctaw Nation, and was established in 1842 to protect the Chickasaws against the incursions and depredations of the wild tribes of roving Indians that are just upon the border. This post occupies a commanding position also with respect to Mexico and Texas.

     "Colonel Upshaw has lately returned from an expedition upon the plains, undertaken by direction of the War Department, to the Wichetaw villages, accompanied by two officers and fifty dragoons from the garrison. The object was to recover, if possible, two captive white children, said to be in their possession. He was absent near a month, and explored the country for some one hundred and fifty miles, but failed to accomplish the rescue.

     "I arrived at Fort Washita on the 30th ultimo. [The officer then in command was Colonel Harney, since promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and for years so prominently before the public.] On the same evening a party of Cherokees came in, bringing with them the person of an Indian named Tom Starr, one of the notorious three of that name, two brothers and a cousin, who had rendered themselves famous by the murder of Vore and family, [before spoken of,] and a series of outrages that had made them a reproach to the Cherokee name, and a terror to their own Nation and others. They had spent their time chiefly among the wild tribes beyond the reach of their pursuers, occasionally visiting the Nation, plundering and burning in the most daring and lawless manner. The party, headed

by Daniel Coody, a brave Cherokee, came in sight of him near one of his harboring-places, about fifteen miles from the Fort. Before he had discovered them he had advanced on horseback within fifty yards of their position. He attempted to wheel and escape. Coody fired, and was followed in quick succession by the others. Of ten shots, six took effect, three upon his person, and three upon his horse. He fell, badly wounded, was placed upon a horse and brought into the Fort. The officers in command advised them at once to hang him up, according to the provisions of the code so extensively practiced upon of late by our neighbors of the States, [and in which the gallant Colonel himself was not wholly unpracticed,] assuring them that they would do themselves 'immortal honor.' But this was a lesson in civilization which they had not yet taken--and the obstinate 'savages' preferred to await the process of law. [He was left at the Fort, and soon after died of his wounds.]

     "Soon after my arrival, which was on Saturday afternoon, Colonel Upshaw addressed a note to Colonel Harney, at the garrison, informing him of my presence, and stating that, if desired, there would be preaching the next day; at the same time giving him an item of political intelligence, of which I happened to be the bearer, [the election of Mr. Polk to the Presidency.] A reply was immediately received, that a room should be prepared for Divine service, and that, 'in consequence of the very gratifying intelligence brought by Mr. G.,' he would perhaps come and hear him himself.

     "The hour arrived on the Sabbath. The church-call was sounded upon the bugle, the force being entirely composed of cavalry. We obeyed the summons. I had endeavored to frame a shaft for the Colonel himself; to inform him and the audience that I had an item of intelligence to announce, of far greater interest and importance than the result of any mere political conflict. But the Colonel was not there; he had politely escorted me to the door, and then turned away. Others were there, however, and among

them some that I thought feared God and loved his Word. And there, in the quarters of common soldiers, surrounded by glistening armor, we worshiped (sic) God in comfort, and realized his presence, while I pressed the inquiry, 'Why will ye die?' The place is wicked, but the officers are exceedingly courteous. Colonel Harney invites me to occupy a room in his quarters during my stay. Brother Duncan, our Chickasaw missionary, says that their kindness and liberality have been such as to render him perfectly bankrupt in politeness. He takes care, however, to tell them that all their generosity will not satisfy him, nor save them, without a personal yielding of their hearts to God. But, alas! they 'know not the day of their visitation.'"

     ON arriving at Fort Washita, I found myself disappointed as to the time at which I should meet the Chickasaws in Council. The United States Agent, however, informed me that he considered it unsafe to pursue my contemplated journey alone, owing to repeated murders and robberies on that route of late, and urged me to remain till the assembling of the Council. I accordingly stopped for a week longer, hoping, by the blessing of God, to effect some good within the time, and at its close to find company on my way homeward.

     I have before spoken of the residence of the Chickasaws upon the Choctaw lands. Another extract from my published series will present their situation more fully. It bears date, "Chickasaw Mission, December 5, 1844:"

     "The Chickasaws are in number about four thousand. They emigrated from Mississippi in 1838. Being allied to the Choctaws in language and customs, they sought a home among them in the West. A compact was formed between them, by which the Choctaws granted to them a district of country in the south-west of their Nation, reaching west to the United States line, over which they were to have exclusive jurisdiction for local purposes; they at the same time constituting an integral part of the Choctaw Nation, and being represented in their National Council, and, for all general purposes, subject to their laws and regulations. The compact secures to the Chickasaws the right of settling, if they desire it, in any part of the Choctaw country. They retain, also, in their own hands, the management of their own fiscal concerns, school regulations, etc. In

return for this grant, the Chickasaws assigned over to the Choctaws half a million of dollars of the funds due them from the United States Government; and the Government has vested the amount in five per cent. stocks for the benefit of the Choctaws, the annual product of which constitutes one principal source of income to the Choctaw people.

     "In consequence of the option granted, as above, many of the Chickasaws, probably more than one-half, have settled without the bounds of their own district. The Chief and Commissioners, who constitute the legal authority under the treaty with the United States, reside within the district; while the 'King,' who is still struggling to keep up the old form of government, and whose authority some are inclined to uphold, lives without its bounds. The Chickasaws possess more public and private wealth, in proportion to their numbers, than any other tribe of Western Indians. In consequence; however, of their large indebtedness, their annuities have been withheld since their removal till the present year. Sixty thousand dollars is now in the hands of their Agent, to be disbursed per caput among men, women, and children. To-day is the time fixed for opening the payment. Large arrangements are being made. A new Council-House has been erected; boarding-houses, cabins, sheds, shanties, are going up as if by magic. All want a share. Some come to obtain a part by collecting debts, some by selling goods, some by boarding establishments, some by gaming; while others, probably, may be plotting deeds of murder and robbery, which have not been unfrequent on some of the leading routes in this section. In the midst of all this hustle and confusion, my worthy friend, brother Duncan, the Chickasaw missionary, is quietly looking on, and thinking what an admirable arrangement here will be for a camp meeting next Summer; an idea which, I find, meets a hearty response from some pious souls, who, even here, are found ready to spend their labors and their substance for the promotion of the cause of God.

     "Intelligence is just received which may, it is thought,

interfere with the payment, if not prevent it, for the present. The King, displeased that the summons which brings the people together should have been given by the Chief, instead of himself, has issued his mandate to his subjects forbidding their assembling at the time and place appointed, and enjoining them to await his orders. So we shall have a test of the comparative loyalty to 'His Majesty' and deference to the new authorities. I opine, however, that the jingle of Uncle Sam's dollars will have much to do in sustaining the party that makes the first call. The Chief, Col. Albison, is a man of intelligence, while the King is a mere cipher, completely under the influence of a few prominent men who reside out of the district, and seek to use his authority to further their own private views." Having never stood in the presence of a crowned head, I had some curiosity to look upon this "sprig of royalty," but in this was disappointed.

     The letter continues: "The wealth of the Chickasaws consists principally in slaves. In most instances they are kind masters, and live on terms of familiarity with them but many of them can scarcely keep their slaves and themselves from suffering for want of the necessaries of life. Here and there is a shrewd, calculating man who acquires wealth. Some of them are extensive cotton-planters. They are generally intelligent, mild, and interesting; and, with the domestic skill of their slaves, they live comfortably. I am always pleased, when traveling, to know that I am to lodge with a Chickasaw family.

      "There are but few professors of Christianity among them. I think but little missionary effort has been expended upon this people. Perhaps it may be owing to this, that, even among the more intelligent, there exists a strong attachment to the ancient heathen customs. An instance: A young man lately died in one of the most wealthy and influential families. He was, according to their ancient usage, interred under his dwelling, dressed in a rich and costly suit; and in his grave were deposited articles of value which he had carried about his person, such as his gun, fine gold watch, sad-

dle, bridle, blankets, etc., with a supply of sugar, coffee, tah-ful-lah--sour hominy--and all other things deemed needful for his journey to another world. Still the people receive the Gospel willingly, treat the missionary with great kindness, and are anxious for schools. The United States Agent is favorably disposed to our institutions.

     "On the 2d inst. Col. Upshaw, after his morning's fox-chase was over, kindly accompanied me to our mission station established last year, which has been appropriately named 'Pleasant Grove.' It occupies an elevated position, commanding a view of the Fort, some miles distant, and in some directions a prospect of thirty miles. Here again it is gratifying to find Methodism in the van, this being, so far as my knowledge extends, the most westerly mission station, occupied by any denomination, on this side the Rocky Mountains. Here brother Duncan has hoisted the missionary flag, and, with his meager appropriation, is battling for the cause; apparently well satisfied, except that now and then he lets drop a wish, to be 'a little further out;' he dislikes to be 'crowded,' and sees some 'fine fields' down on the Trinity in Texas, or elsewhere, that he would like to occupy. He is a very Daniel Boone in our ranks. Sister P. also seems contented and happy. Their little school is highly prized by the natives, being the only one in the Chickasaw district. Here also I had the happiness to meet with good brother ---, formerly a local preacher within the bounds of my last field of labor in North Indiana, now employed upon a frontier circuit in Texas. He is alone and feeble, but I have learned that God is greatly blessing his labors.

     "Here we have had the privilege of uniting with a few natives and others in brother D.'s first missionary concert, and on the extreme of our mission field joining our voices in

     On the Sabbath I had an opportunity of proclaiming the 'Gospel of the kingdom.'
    18

     In a few days almost the entire Chickasaw Nation was convened, and the payment proceeded, presenting a scene quite similar to that described at Fort Towson, except that the larger amounts paid out here created a deeper interest, and led to more numerous and deep-laid plans to get hold of the "Indians' money." In this instance, however, a large proportion of their annuity was taken home by them to the defeat and mortification of the whites whose avaricious designs had brought them to the scene.

     During the time that they were assembled a snow of some inches fell, the only one that I saw during my residence in the country. It was still lying upon the mountains as I returned home. The weather became cold for the climate, and considerable suffering was experienced by the Indians in their exposed condition.

     The principal object of my visit to the Chickasaw Council was to confer with them upon educational matters, and to influence them to appropriate some portion of their large national income to educational purposes. On conferring with them, I found them inclined to look favorably upon the proposal. I accordingly drew up for the Council an act similar in the main to our own, but with such modifications and additions as experience suggested. The act provided for the establishment and maintenance of a seminary of learning, to be known as Chichasaw Academy, and placed under the care of the Methodist Episcopal Church. A fund was provided for building, and in addition to this the sum of six thousand dollars a year for twenty years was appropriated for the support of the institution.

      The proposal was not finally acted upon before my leaving. A short time, however, after my arrival at home I was notified by letter that the act had been passed by the Council. It subsequently was ratified by the Department at Washington and carried into effect. I believe the institution is still--1860--in successful operation in the hands of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. There is now before me a letter of acknowledgment from the Superintendent of our

Mission Conference for services rendered in the establishment of the Chickasaw Academy, dated January 23, 1845.

     The objects contemplated in my stay being accomplished, and having met with company, on the 9th of December I set my face homeward. The first day I traveled to Boggy Depot, a trading post among the Chickasaws. On leaving the annuity-ground, a trader resident at the place had invited me to call and tarry for the night at his cabin, now vacated by his absence, and to direct his colored woman, living in an adjacent cabin, to provide for me. I complied, leaving my company to seek lodgings elsewhere. The old negress seemingly knew or suspected my calling, and promptly set about the work of preparation, meanwhile incessantly singing hymns, for my entertainment, as she passed cheerfully about her employment. Seldom have I been so well and so unexpectedly provided for. Years have passed away, but the simple-hearted kindness of the pious old slave has never been forgotten.

     At this place I met with a white man of some intelligence, advanced in years, who had spent almost his entire life among Indians. He had been with the Delawares in Indiana previous to their removal West; had ranged the unbroken forests upon White River and Fall Creek, including the site where Indianapolis now stands, before the white settlements were made; then had gone West and wandered among the different tribes up to that time. I got no clew to his motives. Different causes lead men to abandon civilized society, and seek a refuge among savages. Some flee to evade punishment for crime; some go from mercenary motives of pecuniary gain; some, of low and depraved tastes and habits, are actuated by mere social affinity, and a desire to shake off the restraints of cultivated and refined society; while others, no doubt, under pressure of misfortune or disappointment, have, in an hour of despondency, if not misanthropy, doomed themselves to a life of perpetual exile.

     Our second day's travel brought us to Brushy; the third

to Fush-ma-line, where we staid with an Indian named Wo-ni-pa. On the 12th of the month, after a day's ride of fifty-three miles, I reached Fort Coffee, thankful for my own preservation and for the health and comfort of all under my charge. How welcome to the toil-worn missionary is a cheerful, smiling home! How endearing, how precious the society of wife and children at intervals snatched from his work! The sensations of that particular hour remain in memory to this day. Think not, ye who are privileged to enjoy home and domestic comfort, that we value these scenes and associations less than do others, or that the tender ties of life bind us less strongly and sweetly than yourselves. "The love of Christ constraineth us." But the home-welcome that once awaited the writer is now unknown, and the smile that once greeted him at the threshold he will no more meet till he arrives at the heavenly home.

     A very unquiet state of things prevailed in our part of the Nation at this time, principally resulting from an increased consumption of ardent spirits. The Choctaws were butchering each other at an alarming rate. Three murders had occurred in the district during my absence, one within a mile of our place. On my way home I turned aside from the way to a spot where, I had been told, lay the unburied remains of a fellow-man, said to have been a Baptist preacher, who had been murdered for the purpose of robbery. A few poles had been carelessly placed around his body by some passers-by; the flesh had been eaten from the bones by animals; fragments of garments lay around; some of the limbs, severed from the body, had been dragged off by wild beasts. I mournfully gathered up the bones, and deposited them in the place again, to save them, if possible, from further violation, and turned away, inwardly saying "Alas, my brother!"

     Shall I, at the termination of my earthly wanderings, find a grave? or shall my bones, too, bleach and molder in some forest or on some western plain? God only knows.

But his voice shall call this body into life again, with every particle essential to its identity. I shall "awake." O, may it be in his likeness!

     On the day after my return, being midwinter, the thermometer at Fort Coffee stood at 80°. Lovely Winter climate! How does it contrast with the bleak winds that now howl around me!

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