I have been trying to write the Emigration Story
of the Creeks for you for some time. I find I cannot do so Without
betraying the confidence of the persons that told me the Story, as
they regard the methods of transmission with Superstition.
If You can come to my place to get the Subject
matter properly, or if You can go out to Okmulgee with me next
October, we can possibly get it from Chief Isparhechar as has
proper authority to transmit same and You, as a Cherokee Indian
have the Privilege of learning this Sacred tradition. But the
trouble is, that if You should publish the Story, the proper
Custodians would have to attest that the Subject was rendered word
for word strictly accurate, and what puzzles me is that your
authority to publish the tradition should be conceded by the
Elders who are deemed authorized Custodians of Same under the laws
of our Old Customs. And that no works were added or taken away
from the Story anymore that the days of life can be Justly
Changed.
Respectfully,
James R. Gregory
(Document found in J. R. Gregory, personal file,
Creek Archives, Oklahoma Historical Society Library, Oklahoma
City. Transcribed by Barbara Cox.)
Being for Verbal Transmission Only, The Author’s
name is unsigned and unknown on these pages and can be found by a
friend only.
In the days and time before men became evil, The
Earth was White, Sacred and Clean. There was received from the
author of life an admonishment to not Spill human blood on the
Earth, for the ground was Created Holy and Clean. There were more
people on Earth then Than there has ever been Since men became
Evil. In that day the language of the people was musical, polite,
and graceful. All Speech was filled with Exclamations of adoration
with Compliments of truth and trust. Temples were built of Stone
and Cedar timbers, where the Wise Men taught the people a System
of Civil perpetuation of this innocent life. The ground upon which
these temples Stood were termed Holy Grounds. These Holy Grounds
were devoted to religious exercises and festivals of peace and
goodwill.
On an Evil day, two twin brothers were born; they
were both noble and beautiful, but one excelled the other in
merit. This caused a Jealousy in the heart of the least favored
one and he slew his most favored brother. It was then that the
ground was first fouled with innocent blood and became dark and
trembled with horror.
The Sky became dark and cold. The hearts of men
became distrustful of their brothers. Before this, all men were
known as Ustee (people). After this first murder, different groups
of men were designated by different names. There, old graceful
speech became Silent. Their Speech became evasive and filled with
the Strategy of mistrust. Three wise men still held fast to the
good life of former days and still spoke the good old language of
truth and trust filled with exclamations of adoration.
The people and the Earth became very evil. There
was only one object in the universe that retained its Holy, bright
purity, and that was the Sun. These three wise men reasoned that
as the Sun daily came from the East, there might possibly be a
country as holy and clean in the distant East where they might
possibly regain their former innocent and Holy life. These three
wise men resolved to take their kindred to the East and endeavor
to find the Holy place whence the Sun came from.
Each one collected their respective kindred into
three groups and prepared to Emigrate to the East. These three
groups were camped in a triangle and were to Start at Sunrise the
next day. Poles were set to get the true course to the Sunrise by
which they were to travel by the route indicated by these poles in
line with distant mountains to the true Sunrise.
When the morning came, the Groups to the left
front of the triangle, being on higher ground, exclaimed in the
manner of their good old Speech: Chee-Ki-Hus-Su (See the
Sun). And the group became known as the Chickasaw group. The group
to the right front of the groups, inquired by the manner of their
good old Speech: Ko-hus-se-ta (Where is the sun). This group
became known as the Coh-Seeh-ta group by that inquiry. They were
also installed as the great peace group for their inquiries was in
the interest of peace and goodwill to all men. As the two front
groups started off on their Journey, the group to the rear of the
Triangle also followed the two front groups. They were designated
as the Ko-ow-e-ta Group (They that follow us). This expression was
also in the manner of their former good old Speech. As they
Journeyed on, these three groups became Separated by Several days
Journey from each other. The advance of the Coh-Seeh-ta group came
to a large River which they crossed over to the East side of this
great river. On the East bank of this River, they built a great
temple of Earth in the manner of a mound with a door way in the
top by which they could enter the great chamber of the Temple
which was built, thus for the purpose of sacred rites and also for
defense against enemies that began to appear in this Strange
country. The main body of the warriors of this Coh-Seeh-ta group
went out to subdue these strange people in order to clear a way
for their non-combatants to pass Safely through the country. They
left their non-combatants at this fortress mound. While the
Coh-Seeh-ta warriors were absent, the rear group which hand now
became known as the Co-we-ta group came up on the west bank of
this Great River, opposite the Temple mound built by the
Coh-Seeh-ta group. The Coh-Seeh-ta non-combatants, at their newly
improvised mound, seemed strange to the Co-we-ta people and as
they had fought several battles with the Strange people of the
Country, they supposed the people of the Temple mound to be of the
Strange people of the Country. They made hostile demonstrations
against the Coh-Seeh-ta people. The army of the Coh-Seeh-ta
warriors were informed of this, upon which they returned to the
defense of their Temple Mound. When they came to the Co-we-ta
group, they whipped them with switches cut from the forest, but
did not strike any of them with a weapon of war. The Coh-Seeh-ta
warriors then rebuked the Co-we-tas for their conduct and then
placed them in charge of the Mound Temple as they took their
non-combatants along with them and proceeded on their Journey to
the Sunrise. By the whipping with Switches, the Coh-Seeh-ta and
Co-we-ta groups have been antagonists in the great national game
of ball games.
While the Co-we-tas remained in charge of the
Temple mound and one day while the great mass of the Co-we-tas
warriors were in the Great Champber of the Mound, purifying their
bodies by Scared rites, the Encampment of the Co-we-ta
non-combatants was attacked by the Cherokees who were the true
descendants of the twin brother that had killed his brother. The
Cherokees did not know that the Temple Mound was occupied by a
Strong force of warriors. The Co-we-ta warriors came up out of the
door in the top of the Mound Temple and fought the Cherokees and
defeated them with great slaughter. As the Cherokees had been
deemed strong and expert fighters, this valorous deed of the
Co-we-tas gave them the title of the Great War town. After the
Chickasaw group had crossed the great River, Several days Journey
above where the two other groups had crossed the Great River, they
proceeded no further, but stopped and built towns in the Center of
Small prairies that were there and upon which grew an abundance of
Strawberries, and there was an abundance of good water which could
be had by digging an elbow’s length beneath the surface of these
prairies. The Coh-Seeh-ta group continued on towards the Sunrise,
followed by the Co-we-tas. They proceeded onwards until they came
to a country where lived a people who were naked and wore no
clothes and were very wild. These naked wild people held no
intercourse with them but fled and hid in a great fog or mist that
lay to the East.
These two groups of Coh-Seeh-tas and Co-we-tas
followed these naked people into this Great mist. On passing
through the mist, they found that the mist was cast up from a
great Sea of water that was white with foam crested waves. And
that the Sun arose up out of this white-water was the reason why
the Sun remained pure and bright. They furthermore became
convinced that all Earth had become dark and unholy and that only
the Sea and the Sun remained pure in the Sight of the Great Author
of Life.
They then resolved to occupy the country from the
Sea coast back the way they had came as far as the country
extended to the boundaries of the country occupied by the
Chickasaws, which is the land from Mobile Bay and around by the
Sea Coast to the mouth of the Savannah River. They built holy
mounds and wrote upon the rocks of the Chat-ta-hoo-chee River in
Commemoration of these events.
The Coh-Seeh-ta and Co-we-ta names are the oldest
band names of the Muskogee Nation and they are the two principal
towns of the Creek Nation to this day. With the Chickasaws are the
oldest designation of names in the Muskogee language to
distinguish groups of people in the old and beloved language when
the perfection and purity was lost to mankind by the Spilling of
blood.
(Document found in J.R. Gregory file, Creek
Archives, Oklahoma Historical Society Library, Oklahoma City.
Transcribed by Barbara Cox.)
James Roane Gregory
