Telegram-herald., 1889-10-06
A CHOCTAW CHIEF
Push Ma-Ta- Ha; The Warriors
Seat Is FINISHED.
ANECDOTES IHAI ARE YET CURRENT
Life and Deeds OF an Iateresting savage
Hho ~as rTtsad OF Andres jack
Ola Hickory >aid aS sAs
th@ BF4FSst OF All InaiAzs


beautiful aud Inherently fertile portion
of the Indian territory. II may with
truth be said there can scarcely be
found liner country on eaTlh-niagnih-
cent valleys with their rich share OF
wooded streams, gently undulatng up
lands. and an elysisn expanse of prairie,
waJered by the Arkansas and the "Red
river Of the south.
The Choctaws, or, properly, Chatas,
when De soto, whO was the hrst ex-
pl0rer ON the continent 10 meet them
Q540) occupied an immense region.
nov comprised Ia Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia and Florida, and, unLlke their
surrounding neighbors. were peaceably
dispossd-a nation Of farmers, much
further advanced in civilization than
any other tribe.
This tribe has produced some OF the
greatest characters IN Indian history,
whose deeds have long ago been woven
into the archives OF the United States,
and Il has been nv fortune 10 have
known one or two intimately and many
Of the lineal descendants OF others.
The most conspicuous of all, and the
one whose memory Is revered 10 this day
with almost saint ike alteration, was
"Push-ma-ta-hs," which means The
warriors seat IS finished"
lie was born in Mississippi in 1765.
and died in Washington, ID. c., Dec. "a,
1924. He had distinguished himself on
the warpath before he was 20 years old!
He iOined an expedition against the
Osages, whose country lay west of the
great river, and was laughed at by the
older members of the party because of
his boyishness and propensity to talk.
The Osages were defeated in a conflict
that lasted an entire day. "Push-ma-
ta-ha" disappeared early in the fight.
and when he returned 70 the camp at
midnight. he was jeered at, and openly
accused of cowardice. let those laugh"
was his reply, "who can show more
scalps than l." whereupon he took five
from his pouch and threw them on the
groundl
They were the result Of an onslaught
he had made single handed on the en-
emy's rear and this feat gained for him
the title OF THE Eagle
After spending several years in Mex
leo, he went alone TO a Torauqua village,
killed seven men with his own hand,
and made good his retreat uninjured.
During the next two years he made three
additional expeditions into the Torauqua
country and added eight fresh scalps to
his war costume.
For fifteen years afterwards he seemed
TO have slipped out of history, but in
1910 was living on the Tombigbee river,
and had the reputation of being an ex-
pert Indian ball player.
During the war of 1912 he promptly
took sides with the United States. and it
was through his eloquence and influence,
at the great council ordered by Tecum-
sch, the celebrated Shawnee, for the pur-
pose of uniting all the southern Indians
with the English, that the purpose of
the council was defeated and the Choc-
taws sided with our people.
That memorable council was held on
the Tombigbee river, about five miles
north of where Columbus, Hiss, now is.
Ii lasted ten days and nights, and at
first all the warriors counseled neutrality
but John Pitchlynn and ''Push-ma. ia
ha!"
Tecumseh made the grandest oratorical
effort of his life, and apparently had it
all his own way until ta-ha,
who was then 81, addressed the assem-
blage, and then the great Shawnee chief
could only persuade portion of the
warriors to follow him.
The proceedings Of that famous coun-
Gil must have been solemnly impressive,
| but no official record, of course, was
kept. because the Indians who partici-
pated at that time were "untutored saw
ages, and without a written language,
for it was not until ten years afterwards
that Se-quo-yah, the Cadmus of the Cher
okees. completed his alphabet.
Some of the spectacular features Of the
mighty gathering were told to me six or
seven years ago by the son--then an old
man-of one Of the earliest Baptist mis-
sionaries to the ChOctaws, who W as pres
ent (the Rev. Mr.. Cushman), and who
often related the story to his family.
terested me. because it resembled the
sacrifice OF the Jews during the admin
istration Of NOses-but am not one OF
I those who believe IN the theory that the
/ Indians Of America are descendants of
the lost tribes of Israeli l am firm in
my conviction Of an indigenous origin
FOR the primitive peoples of this cont
.~k q
confirm. The ceremony referred to wa.
the demand made by the prophet Of the
7 tribe-so called, and who in the ChoCtaw "
cult of that period. seemed to bear the
same relation to his people as the med
icine man" of today among the Plains
Indians This prophet, 70 more def
/ nitely Determine the question Of neu-
trality, or whether the nation should side
/ with the English OF Americans in the
/ impending war, ordered brought 10 him
"a spotlsss red heifsrH with which 70
propitiate the Great Spirit" and learn
( His desires OF advice on the vexed ques-
tisn.
The required animal was shortly pro-
duced. a huge ss-ar of logs constructed.
I the beast vith uuCn ceremony slaugh-
tered By The prophet, its naked carcass
dedicated % the flames, and while the
thick smoke - the Offering was ascend
T ing 20 the clouds. be took the bloody hide,
and commanding every warrior u throw
himself prone upon the ground. fsce
sownwsrd, which. a. soon as be was
obeyed. he wrapped himself up in and
waited for Communication from the
Great Spirit
Nor, than an hour wa occupied In