Page images
PDF
EPUB

The land on these creeks, within the scope of the four villages, is broken and stoney, with coarse gravel; the bottoms and small bends of the creeks and branches, are rich. The upland is generally stiff, rich and fit for culture. Post oak, black oak, pine and hickory, all small, are the growth. The whole abounds in veins of reeds, and reedy branches. They call this the winter reed, as it clusters like the cane.

The villages are badly fenced, the Indians are attentive to their traders; and several of them are careful of stock, and have cattle and hogs, and some few have horses. Four half breeds have fine stocks of cattle. Thomas has one hundred and thirty cattle and ten horses. Au-wilau-gee, the wife of O-pi-o-che-tus-tun-nug-gee, has seven cattle. These Indians promised the agent, in 1799, to begin and fence their fields; they have one hundred and seventy gun men in the four villages.

Robert Grierson, the trader, a native of Scotland, has by a steady conduct, contributed to mend the manners of these peoplc. He has five children, half breeds, and governs them as Indians, and makes them and his whole family respect him, and is the only man who does so, in the Upper Creeks. He has three hundred cattle and thirty horses; he has, on the recommendation of the agent for Indian affairs, set up a manufactory of cotton cloth; he plants the green-seed cotton, it being too cold for the blackseed. He has raised a quantity for market, but finds it more profitable to manufacture it; he has employed an active girl of Georgia, Rachael Spillard, who was in the Cherokee department, to superintend, and allows her two hundred dollars per annum. He employs eleven hands, red, white and black, in spinning and weaving, and the other part of his family in raising and preparing the cotton for them. His wife, an Indian woman, spins, and is fond of it; and he has a little daughter who spins well. He employs the Indian women to gather in the cotton. from the fields, and has expectations of prevailing on them to take an active part in spinning.

Hill-au-bee creek has a rocky bottom, covered in many places with moss. In the spring of the year, the cattle of the villages crowd after it, and are fond of it. From

thence they are collected together by their owners, to mark and brand the young ones.

The climate is mild; the water seldom freezes; they have mast every other year, and peaches for the three last years. The range is a good one for stock. The owners of horses have a place called a stomp. They select a place of good food, cut down a tree or two, and make salt logs. Here the horses gather of themselves, in the fly season. They have in the villages a few thriving peach trees, and there is much gravelly land, which would be fine for them.

23. Oc-fus-kee; from Oc, in, and fuskee, a point. The name is expressive of the position of the old town, and where the town house now stands on the right bank of Tal-la-poo-sa. The town spreads out on both sides of the river, and is about thirty-five miles above Took-aubat-che. The settlers on the left side of the river, are from Chat-to-ho-che. They once formed three well settled villages on that river. Che-luc-co ne-ne, Ho-ith-le-tigau and Chau-kethluc-co.

Oc-fus-kee with its villages, is the largest town in the nation. They estimate the number of gun men of the old town, at one hundred and eighty; and two hundred and seventy in the villages or small towns. The land is flat for half a mile on the river, and fit for culture; back of this, there are sharp, stoney hills, the growth is pine, and the branches all have reed.

They have no fences around the town; they have some cattle, hogs and horses, and their range is a good one; the shoals in the river afford a great supply of moss, called by the traders salt grass; and the cows which frequent these shoals, are the largest and finest in the nation; they have some peach trees in the town, and the cassine yupon, in clumps. The Indians have lately moved out and settled in villages, and the town will soon be an old field; the settling out in villages, has been repeatedly pressed by the agent for Indian affairs, and with considerable success; they have seven villages belonging to this town.

1st. New-you-cau; named after New York. It is on the left bank of Tallapoosa, twenty miles above Oc-fuskee; these people lived formerly at Tote-pauf-cau, (spunkknot,) on Chat-to-ho-che, and moved from thence in 1777.

They would not take part in the war between the United States and Great Britain, and determined to retire from their settlements, which, through the rage of war, might feel the effects of the resentment of the people of the United States, when roused by the conduct of the red people, as they were placed between the combatants. The town is on a flat, bordering on the river; the adjoining lands are broken or waving and stony; on the opposite side they are broken, stony; the growth is pine, oak and hickory. The flat strips of land on the river, above and below, are generally narrow; the adjoining land is broken, with oak, hickory and pine. The branches all have reed; they have a fine ford at the upper end of the town; the river is one hundred and twenty yards wide. Some of the people have settled out from the town, and they have good land on Inn-nook-fau creek, which joins the right side of the river, two miles below the town.

2d. Took-au-bat-che tal-lau-has-see; this village received in part a new name in 1797. Tal-lo-wau mu-chos-see, (new town.) It is on the right bank of the river, four miles above New-yau-cau; the land around it is broken and stony; off from the river the hills are waving; and post oak, hard shelled hickory, pine, and on the ridges, chesnut is the growth.

3rd. Im-mook-fau; (a gorget made of a conch.) This village is four miles west from Tookaubatche Tal-lauhas-see, on Immookfau creek, which joins the right side of Tallapoosa, two miles below New-yau-cau. The settlers are from Thu-le-oc-who-cat-lau and Sooc-he-ah; they have fine rich flats on the creek, and a good range for their cattle; they possess some hogs, cattle and horses, and begin to be attentive to them.

4th. Tooh-to-cau-gee; from tooh-to, a corn house, and cau-gee, fixed or standing. The Indians of Oc-fus-kee, formerly built a corn house here, for the convenience of their hunters, and put their corn there for their support, during the hunting season. It is on the right bank of Tallapoosa, twenty miles above New-yau-cau; the settlements are on the narrow flat margins of the river, on both sides. On the left side the mountains terminate here, the uplands are too poor and broken for cultivation; the ⚫ path from E-tow-wah, in the Cherokee country, over the

It winds

tops of these mountains, is a pretty good one. down the mountains to this village; the river is here one hundred and twenty yards wide, a beautiful clear stream. On the right side, off from the river flats, the land is waving, with oak, hickory and pine, gravelly, and in some places large sheets of rock which wave as the land. The grit is coarse, but some of it is fit for mill stones; the land is good for corn, the trees are all small, with some chesnut on the ridges; the range is a good one for stock; reed is found on all the branches; on the path to Newyau-cau, there is some large rock; the vein lies southwest; they are in two rows parallel with each other, and the land good in their neighborhood

5th. Au-che-nau-ul-gau; from Au-che-nau, cedar; and ul-gau, all; a cedar grove. These settlers are from Loochau po-gau, (the resort of terrapins.) It is on a creek, near the old town, forty miles above New-yau-cau. This settlement is the farthest north of all the Creeks; the land is very broken in the neighborhood. West of this village a few miles, there are large reedy glades in flat land; red, post and black oak, all small; the soil is dark and stiff, with coarse gravel, and in some places stone; from the color of the earth in places, there must be iron ore; the streams from the glades form fine little creeks, branches of the Tallapoosa. The land on their borders is broken, stiff, stony and rich, affording fine mill seats, and on the whole it is a country where the Indians might have desirable settlements; the path from E-tow-woh to Hill-aubee passes through these glades.

6th. E-pe-sau-gee; this village is on a large creek which gives name to it, and enters the Tallapoosa, opposite Ocfus-kee. The creek has its source in the ridge, dividing the waters of this river from Chat-to-ho-che; it is thirty yards wide, and has a rocky bottom; they have forty settlers in the village, who have fenced their fields this season, for the benefit of their stock, and they have all of them cattle, hogs and horses. They have some good land on the creek, but generally it is broken, the strips of flat land are narrow; the broken is gravelly, with oak, hickory and pine, not very inviting. Four of these villages have valuable stocks of cattle. McCartney has one

hundred; E-cun-cha-te E-maut-lau, one hundred; 'l'otecuh Haujo, one hundred, and Tools Micco, two hundred.

7th. Sooc-he-ah; from Sooc-cau, a hog; and heah, here, called by the traders, hog range. It is situated on the right bank of Tallapoosa, twelve miles above Oc-fus-kee. It is a small settlement; the land is very broken; the flats on the river are narrow; the river broad and shoally. These settlers have moved, and joined Immookfau, with a few exceptions.

24. Eu-fau-lau; on the right bank of Tallapoosa, five miles below Oc-fus-kee, on that side of the river, and but two in a direct line; the lands on the river are fit for culture; but the flats are narrow, joined to pine hills and reedy branches.

They have hogs and cattle, and the range is a good one; they have moss in the shoals of the river; there are, belonging to this town, seventy gun men, and they have begun to settle out for the benefit of their stock. This season, some of the villagers have fenced their fields. They have some fine land on Hat-che-lus-ta, and several settlements there but no fences; this creek joins the right side of the river, two miles below the town. On Woc-cau E-hoo-te, this year, 1799, the villagers, five families in all, have fenced their fields, and they have promised the agent to use the plough the next season. On black creek, Co-no-fix-ico has one hundred cattle, and makes butter and cheese. John Townshend, the trader of the town, is an honest Englishman, who has resided many years in the nation, and raised a numerous family, who conduct themselves well. His daughters, who are married, conduct themselves well, have stocks of cattle, are attentive to them, make butter and cheese, and promise to raise cotton and learn to spin. The principal cattle holders are, Conofixico, who has one hundred; Choc-lo Emautlau's stock is on the decline, thirty; Well Geddis Taupixa Micco, one hundred; Co Emautlau, four hundred, under careful management. John Townshend, one hundred and forty, and Sally, his daughter, fifty.

25. Ki-a-li-jee; on the right side of Kialijee creek, two and a half miles below the junction with Hook-choie. This creek joins the right side of Tallapoosa, above the falls; all the rich flats of the creek are settied; the land

« PreviousContinue »