MORRIS, GLOVE INTERVIEW #7153

Transcription

1 MORRIS, GLOVE INTERVIEW #

2 HOBBIS, GLOVB, #7153 Interview with Glove Morris by Field Worker, W, J, B. Bigby, August 12, 1937.' 31 Glove Morris, a one-sixteenth Cherokee, was born in Gilmore County, Georgia, in 186&. His parents were Gabe Morris, a white.aen, and Francis Daugherty, a one-eighth Cherokee woman. They cams to the Indian Territory in 1870 and settled on Jim McClure's place about three-quarters of a mile from the Arkansas line, now knom as the John R. Russell place. The family consisted of ten children namely: John, Henry, Glove, Virgil, Tom, Mary, RoxLe, Alice, Carrie, and Acie, Acie died immediately after coming to the Cherokee Nation. LIFE Most of the early life of Glove Morris was on a faun which, the family operated* The farm coxsisted of about fifty acres. The principal crops in the Cherokee Nation at that time were corn, wheat, beans, oats, and small vegetables. The Che-zokees had not learned to farm for profit yet. They usually raised just enough to put their families -through the winter. Most of the. farms were small, numbering on an average about ten acres. The

3 M QBBIS, GLOVE. INTERVIEW, full bloods usually raised just corn. Each family had a small building in which they stored their corn, call«d a crib, of their homes. Some, stored 'their corn in the lofts Corn was the principal crop because it could be used for food in so many ways. Most of the mixed breeds raised small grains as / wheat and oats but they had considerable difficulty in talcing care of this kind of a crop at harvest time. There were no such things as a binder or a thresher. Most of the harvesting had to be done by cradles. But it was the custom of the old timers to help one another. They formed what was called "harvest crews," going from one field to another. Several years after coming to the Cherokee Nation, Wash Lee, a prominent man of his time, bought the first thresher that was brought into the Cherokee Nation - that is this part of the Goingsnake District. SCHOOL Baptist Mission was the only school rear the horn* of thai Morris family at that time. Glove and his brothers attended this school until Glove finished th«

4 JIORBIS, GLOVE, / / 33 3 sixth grade. This was considered a fair educationin those days. Carrie Bushyhead was one of his teachers. A ;white man by the name of Harris also taught there for several terms. CHURCH The Cherokees did,not go to church very much in those-days, although the Baptist Mission was already a well established church when Morris was still a aaall b'oy. attended. This is the church that the J&orris family The earliest preacher a% this pla<je he remembers was Rev. Gup ton, a white man* Adam Lecie was the only full blood that took an active part. "CAMP MEETINGS Each year the Baptist people would hold what they calle4 Camp Meetings at this place/ Many people from all or er the Cherokee Nation would come to these meetings. Food was. donated by the people. These meetings would.last for two or three weeks. H» has seen nay baptized on Ballard Creek from the results of the meetings.

5 (ORRIS, GLOVE. INTERVIEW, 34 Cincinnati, Arkansas, was their main trading point*. Thi«was their milling point also. At that time the merchants were Bob and Bill Hay. A man by the name of Craig also operated a small stare. Moore Brothers operated the mill. Many Cherokees from the eastern part-of the Cherokee Nation came to this place to do their milling. It was the chief wheat milling point. in the Cherokee Nation. There were several f?48t mills Eli Wright operated a small mill on Baron Fork Creek about four miles above the present Tillage of Baron,«.... People by the name of Becks also operated a mill on Flint Creek, in what is now Delaware County«There was also a large tannery located at Cincinnati at this time. All of the cattle hides of the Cherokee Nation were sold at this tannery. Cincinnati was a distillery town before the Civil War, according to the old timers. Dress shoes sold at Cincinnati at that time for about on* dollar and a quarter. Calico cloth sold at five cents per yard. Corn s*4.d at fifty cents per bushel. Good cows sold at twelve and fifteen dollars;

6 , GLOTO, 35 horses at twenty-me doiiarsy antl ~sorghw a)l foi'ly cents per gallon. Isaac Morris was the molasses king* His mill was located just east of the Baptist Mission Mountain, As did all the people in their community they did their trading the old barter way. They traded with one another - the things one had that he did not need he traded for the things he needed and which he did not have, DYE The fall bloods among the Cherokees made their own dye. these dyes. They used different trees and roots to S*)et Red sumac berries, mixed with walnut bark, made a black dye. They used most of these dyes to dye their yarn and home-made cloth. Bed sumac, mixed with hickory bark, made a yellow dye. INDIAN MEDICINE Herbs wore the chief source for getting medicines. Among the herbs that were most used were the Sensing roots end May-apple roots,.black T.oat was also used fear chills. They used the May apple roots in making

7 MORRIS, GLOVE. INTERVIEW pills, They would boil these roots until they became thick. They were then fashioned into small balls about the size of a bade shot and taken as a pill. They sold these fifty for a dime. Fire was also used to a great extent in their doctoring. The Cherokees could cure a snake bite and they were good at doctoring headaches. Amoqg the early day full blood doctors was Cha-wa-yeu-ge, an old fall blood lady, who lived in what is the Oak Hill school community now. She was the mother of the two Dunowosa boys who were hung at Tahlequah. in 1891, for the murder of Wash Lee, a prominent Cherokee. Peggy Dry was another Indian doctor of that time. Anna Sixbits was another. She lived where the Ballard village is now. OLD-TIMERS The Old-Timers in tnia part of the country wer«bill Bright, John Thornton, Waan Lee, Soldier Sixkiller, Taylor Sixkiller, George Welch, Yellowhaamer, Tom Swake, Zeke Proctor, Nelson Glass, and Steve Dog.

8 HGBBZS, GLOVE, IKTER7IEF, 37 JERRIES There was only one ferry in this part of the Cherokee Nation and that was a ferry on the Arkansas River known as Fisher Ferry. The Illinois River "-. sometimes would rise and stay up for three weeks in the early days. FORDS There were several fords in the Illinois River in the early days. Ward Fcr d was about two miles north of old Ft. Wayne; Proctor Ford about three miles - what is * northwest of'now Watts; Slick Rock Fcrd about four '.. v t miles northwest of Ft. Wayne; Mitchell Mill Ford ' about ten miles west of old Ft. Wayne; Chewey Ford fifteen miles west of Ft. Wayne; George Hughes Fcrd '. about ten miles northwest of now Watts, and VanT\Ford at Oil Springs. There was also the Boudinot Ford at Tahlequah. AND FISH There was plenty of game and fish to be found in this part of the Cherokee Nation. Deer and turkeys abounded in the woods. Many other small animals as

9 MCflRIS, GLOVE. INTERVIEW. 38 squirrel*, rabbits, and wild prairie chicken* were 8 found. Mr. Morris at one time saw twenty-eight deer all in one herd. You could hear turkeys all over the hills in the early morning. The Illinois River was full of fish. ELm Bluff. He recalls one Fish Poisoning at There were about three hundred people present at this place. They brought one hundred and two bushels of fcjek~*ye. They killed fish for three miles down the river. He would be safe in saying that they killed about three thousand pounds of fish. Among people there were Geoxge Mitchell, Fred Grant (later hung for murder), Bullet Weaver, Henry Morris, Bill Grigsby, Bill Mitchell, Tom Welch, Moae Crittenden, John Brown, Jim Thornton, Rider Hamnssr, and Abraham Sixkiller. HORSE RACING Horse-Racing was a leading sport in those days. The Redden Prairie Trades was the place where they had their races. Among the early day race men were Mike Mulcar, Frank Brown, and Ned Still. Just across the line in Arkansas lived white men that followed this sport - Zack Thomason, Dan Sis a, Dick Gl#nn,and Henry Garrett.

10 MCBEIS, GLOVE. XWIR7IW* 39 9 The greatest race ever run at this place was between the Mulcar and the Thomason horses. This was in 1880, Mulcar 1 s horse won this race, MUSIC There were planty of musicians in this part of the Nation at that time. The most loved of all music was singing and they had a very good quartet on Ballard Creek. This quartet consisted of George Ta-Xa-Ne-Skee, Taylor Harris, famous bass, Louis ^Bragger, and May Ka-hawk, They were all Cherokees. If there had been any radios in those days they could have sung over any of the broadcasting stations. There were many who played the old violin. When the Strip Payment was paid off, they all bought organs INTRUDERS Intruders were white men who came to the Indian country without pemits. Sometimes outlaws from some other states would come to this country and they were also intruders. We were not bothered very much with intruders in those days.

11 GI0VE. INTERVIEW MTTJTAHY SITES Old Ft. </ayne was the only military site in the Goingsnake District. When Morris was about twelve years old, he helped dig some of the old brick out of the ruins of this fort. He saw the old log house thah; served as officers* quarters before they moved the logs. ' POST OFFICE The first post office in this pert of\fcbie country was the Old Baptist Post Office. the post mistress at this place. r Carrie Quails was \ The next posts was the Oil Springs Post Office at Oil Springs. REVENUE The Cherokee Nation paid her officers from the royalties on land leases, timber, and interest on the money. The earliest saw-mill in this part of the Cherokee Nation was the mill operated by George 7/eXoh on the Illinois River near Ft. Wayne. All of the lumber

12 MQBRIS, GI07E that was used in building the present Baptist Mie«sioa cess from this mill* Zeka Proctor operated another mill across the Illinois River. However, the lumber used in building the home of Mr. Morris came / rom the Kaney Mill near Chewey. Mr, Morris has in his possession an old home-made grindstone used at this mill to sharpen their axes at that time. This stone was shaped by Ike Ragsdale, COURTS The court was located at Peacheater Branch. Mr. Morris was a juror at the trial of //alter Bark for the murder of Johnson Reese. and hung for this murder. Bark was convicted The other jurors were Henry Morris, John Brown, Bill Proctor, Elias Foreman, Bill Hern,and Jim Hern. This trial was tried in In the years he was serving as deputy sheriff under Ben Knight,Mk^ Morris helped arrest* Fred and George Dunowoss, brothers, for the murder of Wash Lee. This murder happened within a mile of the home of Morris. Fred b*d made a crop

13 mssmw. 42 la with Morris during the summer and he killed ^/ash Lae on the last day of September* These two Dunowoss boys were also hung at Tahlequah. He has the picture of these boys taken just about an hour before they w«a.t to the gallows. He aleo has a letter that Fred wrote to him in the last few minutes in this worm.. He warned Morris to be careful in raising his boy Nick, urging that he teach his boy to beware of women, as they were the cause of his being where he was.