Journal of the Proceedings with the Choctaw Nation Z/2343.000/S

This is a handwritten "true copy" produced by George B. Crogill and Thomas Lewis of the "Journal of the Proceedings with the Choctaw Indians, 1826," written by United States commissioners appointed to negotiate treaties with the Choctaws. Dating between November 10, 1826, and November 16, 1826, the journal describes two unsuccessful proposals for Choctaw land cession offered by United States commissioners, including William Clark, John Coffee, and Thomas Hinds, to Choctaw representatives, including Chief Tapena Homa (General Hummingbird), James L. McDonald, Israel Folsom, and interpreter Major J. L. Pichlyn. The journal also relates the successful negotiations between Choctaw leader David Folsom and Superintendent of Indian Affairs William Clark for peace between the Choctaws and the Osage and Delaware tribes.

Collection Description

This collection consists of a handwritten copy of the proceedings of treaty negotiations between the Choctaws and the United States commissioners from November 10 through November 16, 1826. The Choctaws were represented by thirteen leaders, including Chief Tapena Homa (General Hummingbird), James L. McDonald, Israel Folsom, and interpreter Major J. L. Pichlyn. The U. S. commissioners included Superintendent of Indian Affairs and former Missouri Governor William Clark and Generals John Coffee and Thomas Hinds.

Two treaty proposals were discussed. The first required the Choctaws to cede all their lands east of the Mississippi to the United States in return for lands west of the river, money, transportation and provisions, and reservations for the elderly unable to travel. The second called for the cession of only a portion of their territory adjacent to Monroe County, Mississippi, by the Tombigbee River. The Choctaws rejected both proposals.

Recorded also are the subsequent negotiations between Choctaw leader David Folsom and Superintendent William Clark, in which Folsom sought Clark's aid to avoid conflict with the Delaware after an accidental killing of some of their tribe by Folsom's warriors, and Clark's proposal that the Choctaws offer peace to the Osage tribe and end their war with them. The proceedings describe the speeches of the U. S. commissioners at length, as well as the response made by the Choctaw leadership, and the subsequent exchange of David Folsom and William Clark.