| Show I TALES TALES By OF TilE THE Editha fr t CHIEFS L L. L Vatson PUSHMATAHA T AHA In on the bank of ot an In obscure creek In tn 1 Mississippi was wal born a Choctaw stud Choc taw Indian boy who was destined to camI cam earn cama earna I a e high place Illar IllarIn in the regard regard re rev gard of ot both red men and anti white Pushmataha t the t h e Indian general as 81 ashe he became k known now n while still In his hla teens exhibited his c chI chief h i e t f characteristic that of ot direct action along a dangerous line In an Pushmataha expedition a against g a I n nIt a t the Osage which lasted last lut ed td all 1111 day the lad Iud disappeared early carll In the morning and did not return until late Into Naturally his Ids comrades jeered at Mm tiro calling him a coward but he calmly said avid Let Lct t those thole laugh who I can show as 81 many scalps as I 1 Ican can and produced pre fie scalps which he be had collected In his Ida attack on the enemy's nemy's rear This act net won him Mm a chieftainship and from this time Ume he be became an in in- in his tribe Ho Ile was WOR a spec spectacular i warrior It Is 18 said mId that once he went to Texas entered an enemy nemy house houlle alone at night and killed seven sev Bev en tn men and set fire to several eral houses f r seems to have been always always al ways friendly to the whites When Tecumseh In 1811 visited the Choctaw Choctaw Choctaw Choc Choc- taw and tried to Incite an uprising It was largely opposition which caused the fiery orator to tall fall The War of 1812 brought out thIs loyalty loyalty loy alt alty tn In a striking manner Pushmataha taha tahl Is la reported to have sold said to his people The Creeks Creels were once one our friends They ha have 0 Joined the English Eng lish anti wo we must now follow different trails trolls When our fathers took the hand of ot Washington on they told him the Choctaw would always be the friends of ot his nation and Pushmataha cannot be false to their promises I am om now read ready to fight o against both the Eng I English ng- ng 1 f lish and the tho Creeks Creels live Five hundred of his tribesmen I aroused by this tills patriotic speech followed fol tol lowed him Into loto the service 10 of ot the thet they y t Americans and he led IN them through 24 engagements In n 1813 with IrA Choctaws Choctaw he Joined Claiborne's forces and end aided In the tho defeat of ot the Creeks This connection with the American army taught Pushmataha a great deal t about discipline and training and that this was not wasted upon him was shown by the efficiency of his men whom he ho changed from savage warriors war to rigidly trained soldiers It was wall perhaps his knowledge of the rt value atut of ot discipline which caused hIm to become BO so vitally interested In the i 1 education of ot his people It Is said that he gave gove 2000 of M It his annuity for tor 15 11 years toward the support of ot Choc Clime y tn en u He lie stood as high In the tho regard of his own myo people as 81 In that of ot the tho whites The Choctaw selected him to toi tot i t represent them In negotiations with S l I the government and he signed several treaties for tor them In tho the lost last of ot these i negotiations he was pitted against General Jackson Jaclson and proved himself to be eloquent wise and diplomatic with a decided capacity for business In 1824 Pushmataha went to Wash Wash- J ington for tor his tribe to negotiate another another an an- other treaty and end while there paid a av v visit to Lafayette who was then In this country It is unfortunate that d 1 we have ha no picture of these two hat hat- I f scarred tie veterans as os they met In to Inthe the capital of ot the tho nation for tor which i h both had so nobly fought However er f F we e may Imagine the suave Frenchman with his polso poise and breeding talking amiably with the Indian of unknown ancestry who was probably blunt and direct but doubtless l' l equally as nil pol poised ed 1 History which delights In contrasts has hns perpetuated this one for tor u us In speech to tho the Trench French general There has passed nearly 50 o snows it since Iare you drew drw the sword ns nil a coin coin- t j of ot Washington With him you rou have e combated the enemies of Amer Amer- j i lea Ira Thou halt bost generously mingled thy blood with that of the enemy and bast hast proved thy ot de devotedness to the cause which thou After I thou finished that war thou thour t r hanst returned Into thy country and andi andt i t I now thou to revisit that land landI I 1 where whre thou art honored and beloved belo I In 10 the remembrance of tit a numerous I and ond powerful people Thou seest e everywhere ev ev- the children of ot tho those e for tor whom thou hast defended d liberty crowd around thee and press thy hands with filial affection We have heard related all these things In the depths depth of the distant torts forms and antI our he hearts heart have been ravished with a desire dej det de de- j t el sire lIre re to behold thee thle We lVe are come rome we have bave pressed thy hand and we weare weare are satisfied This Is the first time that we have seen thee the theand and It will probably be the last We have ha no nomore nomore more to add The earth will part us forever j This visit sit was Pushmataha last j n. n official act for he be tell fell ill and died within 24 hours afterward The In- In 4 f dlan dian General was burl burled Id I'd with mM t i tary honors and President Jackson with over 2110 O O other persons followed the body to the Congressional cemetery The monument over o his grave gra says Pushmataha warrior In t art r-art rt was us a I of ot gnat groat distinction lie He was wasI I wise e In council eloquent In an on extraordinary degree and end on all occasions and under under un t. t der all 1111 circumstances the white mans man's r friend I 4 1 1111 N t p r wl i |
