The following is an account of the Trail of Tears by Effie Oaks Flemmings, a granddaughter of an Native American tribe member.
"After grandpa died, grandmother, made her home in the winter with the Tom Hibbins, at the home that she and grandfather settled. In summer she visited around, sometimes she would stay with us till late in the fall. I knew she was there a lot after I would start to school in the fall, and when I was studying history, she would tell us of the history of the Indian Territory, and of their coming to this "wilderness" over the "Trail of Tears". She was old and had nothing much to do but sit in the corner and live her life over and tell us about it. She said that everybody who was able to, had to walk, but if babies gave out of the parents could not carry them the drivers of the ox wagons would just take then and swing them against a tree and knock their brains out and leave them by the road side like a dog or a cat and not bury them. Her baby brother, Joel (who later became supreme court judge of the Choctaw Nation) was four years old and very fat. She was just eight years old, but she took her turn at carrying him because he could not walk much, and she said that she would get so tired she'd think she was going to die but she would hang on to him. She was so afraid they would kill him. She said she saw them kill babies who were too big to be carried and would give out walking. Nobody rode. Occasionally a woman was confined. She was permitted to ride for a few days. There were ox wagons and they hauled necessities only; food, clothes, bedding, and garden seed. Those drivers were employed by the government just like grandpa was when he was sent out here."
The following is an interview with Lucy Dowson, a woman who experienced the trail.
"Melissa Bird, an old woman of the Eufaula tomi ( tulwa) has often talked of the life and incidents occurring in the Muskogee-Creek Indian removal from the old country of Alabama to the Indian Territory. Prior to the beginning of the move, the Indians had already begun the holding of religious services at night. They were told of old Jerusalem.
When the move was finally begun a group of the Muskogee-Creek Indians arrived at the Mississippi River. There was a log building on the banks of the river wherein some Indians were holding religious meetings. The inside of the log house was covered with red clay and the Indians of the vicinity wore kerchiefs around their heads, long shirts and leggings.
It was in the Mississippi River, known as the Wewogufkee Thakko (Big Muddy Water) in the Muskogee Creek language, that one of the ships with a load of the Muskogee-Creek Indians was wrecked. Although many perished, a few were saved or swam to shore. Many of the dead bodies were taken from the river and given burial on the west banks of the great river. Search was carried on for several days for other lost bodies yet a number were never found or recovered."
"After grandpa died, grandmother, made her home in the winter with the Tom Hibbins, at the home that she and grandfather settled. In summer she visited around, sometimes she would stay with us till late in the fall. I knew she was there a lot after I would start to school in the fall, and when I was studying history, she would tell us of the history of the Indian Territory, and of their coming to this "wilderness" over the "Trail of Tears". She was old and had nothing much to do but sit in the corner and live her life over and tell us about it. She said that everybody who was able to, had to walk, but if babies gave out of the parents could not carry them the drivers of the ox wagons would just take then and swing them against a tree and knock their brains out and leave them by the road side like a dog or a cat and not bury them. Her baby brother, Joel (who later became supreme court judge of the Choctaw Nation) was four years old and very fat. She was just eight years old, but she took her turn at carrying him because he could not walk much, and she said that she would get so tired she'd think she was going to die but she would hang on to him. She was so afraid they would kill him. She said she saw them kill babies who were too big to be carried and would give out walking. Nobody rode. Occasionally a woman was confined. She was permitted to ride for a few days. There were ox wagons and they hauled necessities only; food, clothes, bedding, and garden seed. Those drivers were employed by the government just like grandpa was when he was sent out here."
The following is an interview with Lucy Dowson, a woman who experienced the trail.
"Melissa Bird, an old woman of the Eufaula tomi ( tulwa) has often talked of the life and incidents occurring in the Muskogee-Creek Indian removal from the old country of Alabama to the Indian Territory. Prior to the beginning of the move, the Indians had already begun the holding of religious services at night. They were told of old Jerusalem.
When the move was finally begun a group of the Muskogee-Creek Indians arrived at the Mississippi River. There was a log building on the banks of the river wherein some Indians were holding religious meetings. The inside of the log house was covered with red clay and the Indians of the vicinity wore kerchiefs around their heads, long shirts and leggings.
It was in the Mississippi River, known as the Wewogufkee Thakko (Big Muddy Water) in the Muskogee Creek language, that one of the ships with a load of the Muskogee-Creek Indians was wrecked. Although many perished, a few were saved or swam to shore. Many of the dead bodies were taken from the river and given burial on the west banks of the great river. Search was carried on for several days for other lost bodies yet a number were never found or recovered."