Trail of Tears, October 22 & 23, 1838

Potawatomi Trail of Death - Diary of William Polke, 23 Oct. 1838

“The morning was early employed in ferrying the remainder of the wagons across the Grand River. By 12 o'clk. all were across, and we prepared for the continuation of our journey. The bottom lands of the Missouri being too flat and wet to encamp upon an hour longer than was essentially necessary”

“At 1 o'clk. we left Grand River Encampment, and passing over prairies (the cold being severe) arrived at Thomas' Encampment at a little after 4, a distance of ten miles. Subsistence beef, flour and corn. Forage corn and corn fodder." 

Painting of Mas-Saw (Potawatomi and great-grandmother of Jim Thorpe) from George Winter.


Potawatomi Trail of Death - Diary of William Polke, 22 Oct. 1838:

“At an early hour this morning we left our encampment, and passing through Keatsville (Keytesville), journeyed towards the Missouri River. At two o’clock p.m. we reached Grand River, preparations for the ferriage of which had before been made, and immediately commenced its crossing.”

“By dark all the Indians and many of the wagons were over. The remainder will cross in the morning early and by 12 we hope to be able to continue our journey. Distance travelled today fifteen miles.” 

Painting of Potawatomi Esuestrians by George Winter


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sacred - a definition - and the Eagle (Kno)

Image
I  want to clarify what I see with the word ‘sacred,’ as used in our stories.  Some people mistakenly think that we worship all things labeled sacred, and that there are multiple gods - not true.  My little granddaughter even asked me, “What about the rain god?”  I don’t know where she got that idea, but I told her we only have Creator, with lots of different words for that concept, like Mnedo (spirit), Shemendo (great spirit), Mamogosnan (father of us all), God.  Sacred, whether Eagle, the four medicines, or others are due the highest respect. We give thanks to them, but we don’t ‘worship’ them, if that distinction makes sense. For example, the drum is sacred; it is blessed with tobacco before being played to welcome the voice and heartbeat of our ancestors. With that in mind, a story about the importance of Eagle (directly from potawatomi.org) Long ago Creator, Mamogosnan (our great father), became angry with mankind because they  did not live in the right way. When they
Read more

Legacy of Federal Control

 Second in a series of essays about federal regulation over Native nations. Author Monte Mills, University of Montana School of Law. This one is a harder read, covering all sorts of issues around land: ownership, leasing, mining, right-of-ways, water. The official structure of federal history makes it look like tribal consultation is required, but that doesn't always happen and it doesn't mean that consent has been required. And even worse, the required payments to tribes has not been enforced (perhaps another article will cover the hard-fought for and eventually landmark Cobell Settlement) https://www.theregreview.org/2021/03/16/mills-legacy-federal-control-indian-country/
Read more

Trail of Tears, October 30, 1838

Image
Potawatomi Trail of Death - Entries from the diary of Jesse C. Douglas, Enrolling Agent under General Tipton, 30 Oct. 1838: Traveled 14 mi. to Blue Ridge. Warm day, pleasant journey."  Drawing  "Mjoquis wife". The drawing is on the CPN website but it doesn't explain who Mjoquis is. Artist unknown.
Read more