Thomas E. Phillies. -, rz-z O'^'ico Address Sulphur, Oklahoma. i. 3. Residence address {or location) 1412 V.'est kuskoeee. ]

Transcription

1 PHILLII

2 PHILLIfB, THOMAS E. INTERVIEW Form A-(S-149) 2 >4 DIOGRAFIIY FORM WORKS HtOGRBSS ADMINISTRATION Indian-Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma j ji v> v^nrvr.r's name John f. Daughertv. T'iis r-pert raade on (date) August 26 f Thomas E. Phillies -, rz-z O'^'ico Address Sulphur, Oklahoma. i 3. Residence address {or location) 1412 V.'est kuskoeee. ] 4. DATZ OF BIRTH': Month January ' Day 4 year Place of birth Pennsylvania. 5. Name of Father 3?ice Phillips Placc of birth penn ' Other information about father Nephew of Wendell Phillips.. Name of Mother L e vina I.ichols Place of birth Penn. Otner inform^.t ion -_::out mother Iv':t2.- ;r 2Cr.;pl,.tc narrative by the field worker dualir. - ;!''- the lifo cn.d ~-*:r- c* :ht error, int rviewod, Ru^cr-to Ma r >ual for ^..: 4( ;d sut.juets 2".i 'i-ie-ti-r.3. Continue on blank shcetc- if necessary '-ni attach firmly to *'.:s forn. v imbtr of Sheets attached 3.

3 PHILLIPo, THOMAS E. INTERVIEW Daugherty, John, Field Worker. An Interview with Thomas E, Phillips, 1412 West Muskogee Ave, Sulphur, Okla. Iviy parents were Br'ice Phillips and i^vina Nichols Phillips, both born in Pennsylvania. Father was a farmer. There were nine children in our family. I was born January "4, 1858_,in Pennsylvania. I came to the Indian Territory in and settled at Cameron in the eastern part of the Choctav/ Nation. The Frisco Railroad was bein,? built when * ce^e, and I got a job filling scrapers. I worked between Oameron and Talihina. -all the grading was done with plows and scrapers. I taught a term or two of school uear Bengal and then I began preaching. I was on the jury a nurr.ber of tines in Judge Parker's court st Fort Smith. I remember the feud at Poteau in the Choctaw Nation between the Webb and the Harris families. These were white people. It started over a foolish argument. In 1833 or '84. when the Frisco's first train came through Poteaj, thes^ two families went to the tracks to see

4 PHILLIES, THOMAS S< ' INTERVIEW. ^ the train. One said the cow catcher ran on the rails, and the other contended that it was above the rails. They got into a heated argument, and both sides became furiously angry. Each family decided to "kill the other, and there were many killed before bloodshed was.finally stopped. I had a running lease on a farm owned by a fullblood Ihoctaw Indian nsmed Brown. He and I became great friends. One night he was at my house and we sat in front of the fireplace smoking. I smoked a cob pipe end he smoked a very fine pipe. n e said, "Ivl? trade my pipe-for yours". I said, "Brown, you wrulda't want to trade your fine pipe for my old dob pipe." "He replied, %'e love you, me want you to have, my pipe". He gave it tfb me. x his shows th' t an Indian will rive up his most beloved possessions to '. one whom he loves. I moved to I-o-.tawatoirtie County about I bought a relinquishment on forty seres, and filed on it. That was a hard year for me. Our clothes got ragged, and the food Supply got low.

5 267 PHILLIPS, THOMAS E. INTERVIEW Before I gathered my crop ray neighbors said, "Vftiy M don't you mortgage your team and crops"? I refused to do that. We made a good crop that year, and I was better off than my neighbors, because I didn't owe a penny when the crop \?as gathered. I married Arby 3rooks at Bengal in We have" three children.