University of Virginia Library

8. Inola, Indian Territory - August 23, 1902

August 23, 1902

Doctor Emmett Starr

Claremore, Creek Nation

Indian Territory

Sir:

I have been trying to write the Emigration Story of the Creeks for you for some time. I find I cannot do so Without betraying the confidence of the persons that told me the Story, as they regard the methods of transmission with Superstition.

If You can come to my place to get the Subject matter properly, or if You can go out to Okmulgee with me next October, we can possibly get it from Chief Isparhechar as has proper authority to transmit same and You, as a Cherokee Indian have the Privilege of learning this Sacred tradition. But the trouble is, that if You should publish the Story, the proper Custodians would have to attest that the Subject was rendered word for word strictly accurate, and what puzzles me is that your authority to publish the tradition should be conceded by the Elders who are deemed authorized Custodians of Same under the laws of our Old Customs. And that no works were added or taken away from the Story anymore that the days of life can be Justly Changed.

Respectfully,

James R. Gregory

(Document found in J. R. Gregory, personal file, Creek Archives, Oklahoma Historical Society Library, Oklahoma City . Transcribed by Barbara Cox.)

Being for Verbal Transmission Only, The Author's name is unsigned and unknown on these pages and can be found by a friend only.

In the days and time before men became evil, The Earth was White, Sacred and Clean. There was received from the author of life an admonishment to not Spill human blood on the Earth, for the ground was Created Holy and Clean. There were more people on Earth then Than there has ever been Since men became Evil. In that day the language of the people was musical, polite, and graceful. All Speech was filled with Exclamations of adoration with Compliments of truth and trust. Temples were built of Stone and Cedar timbers, where the Wise Men taught the people a System of Civil perpetuation of this innocent life. The ground upon which these temples Stood were termed Holy Grounds. These Holy Grounds were devoted to religious exercises and festivals of peace and goodwill.

On an Evil day, two twin brothers were born; they were both noble and beautiful, but one excelled the other in merit. This caused a Jealousy in the heart of the least favored one and he slew his most favored brother. It was then that the ground was first fouled with innocent blood and became dark and trembled with horror.

The Sky became dark and cold. The hearts of men became distrustful of their brothers. Before this, all men were known as Ustee (people). After this first murder, different groups of men were designated by different names. There, old graceful speech became Silent. Their Speech became evasive and filled with the Strategy of mistrust. Three wise men still held fast to the good life of former days and still spoke the good old language of truth and trust filled with exclamations of adoration.

The people and the Earth became very evil. There was only one object in the universe that retained its Holy, bright purity, and that was the Sun. These three wise men reasoned that as the Sun daily came from the East, there might possibly be a country as holy and clean in the distant East where they might possibly regain their former innocent and Holy life. These three wise men resolved to take their kindred to the East and endeavor to find the Holy place whence the Sun came from.

Each one collected their respective kindred into three groups and prepared to Emigrate to the East. These three groups were camped in a triangle and were to Start at Sunrise the next day. Poles were set to get the true course to the Sunrise by which they were to travel by the route indicated by these poles in line with distant mountains to the true Sunrise .

When the morning came, the Groups to the left front of the triangle, being on higher ground, exclaimed in the manner of their good old Speech: Chee-Ki-Hus-Su (See the Sun). And the group became known as the Chickasaw group. The group to the right front of the groups, inquired by the manner of their good old Speech: Ko-hus-se-ta (Where is the sun). This group became known as the Coh-Seeh-ta group by that inquiry. They were also installed as the great peace group for their inquiries was in the interest of peace and goodwill to all men. As the two front groups started off on their Journey, the group to the rear of the Triangle also followed the two front groups. They were designated as the Ko-ow-e-ta Group (They that follow us). This expression was also in the manner of their former good old Speech. As they Journeyed on, these three groups became Separated by Several days Journey from each other. The advance of the Coh-Seeh-ta group came to a large River which they crossed over to the East side of this great river. On the East bank of this River, they built a great temple of Earth in the manner of a mound with a door way in the top by which they could enter the great chamber of the Temple which was built, thus for the purpose of sacred rites and also for defense against enemies that began to appear in this Strange country. The main body of the warriors of this Coh-Seeh-ta group went out to subdue these strange people in order to clear a way for their non-combatants to pass Safely through the country. They left their non-combatants at this fortress mound. While the Coh-Seeh-ta warriors were absent, the rear group which hand now became known as the Co-we-ta group came up on the west bank of this Great River, opposite the Temple mound built by the Coh-Seeh-ta group. The Coh-Seeh-ta non-combatants, at their newly improvised mound, seemed strange to the Co-we-ta people and as they had fought several battles with the Strange people of the Country, they supposed the people of the Temple mound to be of the Strange people of the Country. They made hostile demonstrations against the Coh-Seeh-ta people. The army of the Coh-Seeh-ta warriors were informed of this, upon which they returned to the defense of their Temple Mound . When they came to the Co-we-ta group, they whipped them with switches cut from the forest, but did not strike any of them with a weapon of war. The Coh-Seeh-ta warriors then rebuked the Co-we-tas for their conduct and then placed them in charge of the Mound Temple as they took their non-combatants along with them and proceeded on their Journey to the Sunrise . By the whipping with Switches, the Coh-Seeh-ta and Co-we-ta groups have been antagonists in the great national game of ball games.

While the Co-we-tas remained in charge of the Temple mound and one day while the great mass of the Co-we-tas warriors were in the Great Champber of the Mound, purifying their bodies by Scared rites, the Encampment of the Co-we-ta non-combatants was attacked by the Cherokees who were the true descendants of the twin brother that had killed his brother. The Cherokees did not know that the Temple Mound was occupied by a Strong force of warriors. The Co-we-ta warriors came up out of the door in the top of the Mound Temple and fought the Cherokees and defeated them with great slaughter. As the Cherokees had been deemed strong and expert fighters, this valorous deed of the Co-we-tas gave them the title of the Great War town. After the Chickasaw group had crossed the great River, Several days Journey above where the two other groups had crossed the Great River, they proceeded no further, but stopped and built towns in the Center of Small prairies that were there and upon which grew an abundance of Strawberries, and there was an abundance of good water which could be had by digging an elbow's length beneath the surface of these prairies. The Coh-Seeh-ta group continued on towards the Sunrise , followed by the Co-we-tas. They proceeded onwards until they came to a country where lived a people who were naked and wore no clothes and were very wild. These naked wild people held no intercourse with them but fled and hid in a great fog or mist that lay to the East.

These two groups of Coh-Seeh-tas and Co-we-tas followed these naked people into this Great mist. On passing through the mist, they found that the mist was cast up from a great Sea of water that was white with foam crested waves. And that the Sun arose up out of this white-water was the reason why the Sun remained pure and bright. They furthermore became convinced that all Earth had become dark and unholy and that only the Sea and the Sun remained pure in the Sight of the Great Author of Life.

They then resolved to occupy the country from the Sea coast back the way they had came as far as the country extended to the boundaries of the country occupied by the Chickasaws, which is the land from Mobile Bay and around by the Sea Coast to the mouth of the Savannah River. They built holy mounds and wrote upon the rocks of the Chat-ta-hoo-chee River in Commemoration of these events.

The Coh-Seeh-ta and Co-we-ta names are the oldest band names of the Muskogee Nation and they are the two principal towns of the Creek Nation to this day. With the Chickasaws are the oldest designation of names in the Muskogee language to distinguish groups of people in the old and beloved language when the perfection and purity was lost to mankind by the Spilling of blood.

(Document found in J.R. Gregory file, Creek Archives, Oklahoma Historical Society Library, Oklahoma City . Transcribed by Barbara Cox.)