" JAIASHINTUBBEEV JACKSON. Johnson Hampton,V - 8 -' This report made on (date) 3" une 2J - 193_. 1. " Name Jackson kl aahi..t :Vh^.

Transcription

1 , JACKSON INTERVIEW.

2 " JAIASHINTUBBEEV JACKSON. INTERVIEW. Johnson Hampton,V - 8 -' Field Worker. Form iu(8-149) BIOGRAPHY FORM - W0«K3 PR0GHSS3 ADMINISTRATION.Indian-Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma Field Worker's naae Johnson H. Hampton. This report made on (date) 3" une 2J - 193_ 1. " Name Jackson kl aahi..t :Vh^. 2. Post Office Address Fialey. 3, Residence address ior location) '4. DATE OF BIRTH: Month September Day 35 Year * Place of birth Near Fewell, Oklahoma. 2 ^^^^^^^^^^^ "6. Name of Father Villiaa kiashintubbee Place of birth Eagletovai, Okla Other information about father 7. Name of Mother Wilsie Miashintubbee Place of birth Sagletown^ Qkla,.Other information about mother Notes or complete narrative by the field worker dealing with the life and story of the person interviewed. Refer to LanuaL for suggested subjects and questions,. Continue on blank sheets if necessary and attscn firmly to this fdrr.:. NuL.ber of sheets attached In bo 3 tf 3 Tf

3 MIASHINTUBBEE, JACKSON. Johnson Hampton, Field Worker. An Interview With Jackson Liiashintubbee FinL<*y ; Oklahoma. I was born September 25, 1875, in Nashoba County, Choctaw Nation, which is now Fewell, Oklahoma. At the ' time 1 was born at this place there was no Post Office nor anything else but mountains, H% this place or no stores where,.e could buy our groceries. :.'.y father's name was ISilliaia Miushintubbee, and i.y mother's name was Yfilsie Miashintubbee. They were both raised in Eagle County near 3a letown and they lived there for several years; then they iiioved to r<ashoba, County, near what is Fewell now, where they both died. I..y grandfather and gra. di..otner cane fro;.i^/.ississippi I have been told but 1 don't know "anthine: atfout it. When they landed in this country they located near.eagletown and lived there until they both-died. It seems that nearly all of the Choctaws who carue over from Mississippi landed in that coanty; then they moved to some other county, and permanently located. It seems that a good many of the Choctaws were banded together and when they started %o move, they were under the command of a white man, who was bringing them through in wagons and horse back. They left there sometime in the falx, and before they got very far, winter overtook them; it was a severe winter; they did not have sufficient clothes to keep them warm, and some of them froze

4 ICAflHTNTOBBEB? JACKSON. INTERVIEW. I 4" to death. There were a good many Indians died from exposure-, and if seems that they did not have food to keep them from starving along the road. They, some of them, said that this white man in command did not care iksr them at all; he did not care if all died on the road coming over here. They finally landed here, and they be^an to build their log houses. They gave house-raisings and helped one ano'ther with tneir nouses. They then had to open little farms in the neighborhoods and they gave workings and by this way they got small farms opened. After that they then had to get tome see"ds which were given by the government for them to plant. After th e first year, which was a hard year for them, they got along fairly well, considering the chances they had, and the conditions that existed at the time. Then a good uany of the Indians took sick after they moved here and care and a doctor. a lot of them died for the want of They had some Indian doctorsbut they could not get them well. The doctors got into something that they did not know about, so the Indians died. l.]y father was not in the Civil War or if- he was,,i never did hear of it. There was lots of talk about the Y/ar after I was grown or nearly so, but I never dirt hear

5 4 MIASH/NTUBBEE, JACKSON. INTERVIEW, -3- * anyone say that my father was in the-wat* ' Ana I don't 'think that my grandfather,.?^'in the War either-/' /' If. either one of them had been in th War, they sure would ' of said something about it, and tell us how they cane ; out tb where they were at and all about i t but they never did say anything? about the War or that they served in it.-. ' After my father left Eagle County and moved to Naahoba County, they opened up a little farm on the river bank. It was good land, where we raised our corn for bread and, garden stuff, that'we.needed. At this coannfmty not many Indians were there. Just a few houses i& this / part, but there were some Indian a little further do.wn the river. The Indians lived in communities arid there were some-up the river and'some down the river. It wa a pretty good sized river, which the -Indians called (Black Rirer) and the white people called Little'River. The Indians called it Black River for it was just- as Black as it dould be, even when it was clear the'nrater looked black, so the Indians named it Black'River instead of'little River as-it is now 'called. The water'is not as clear as- it used to be years ago. t, ' Our trading point was at Fort Smith. There were nc stores nor'a $ost Office in that country at that time, but after* the. railroad.wen^through, Tuskahoma was estab~ \ lished so we traded at that place for it was nearer than.

6 " - * - -. /. any place" else'.. The' Indians who lived in our cpmmunity went to Fort Smith for their groceries. They would go about* twice*a year, a bunch of them together.in wagons, same with horse team and some went on'ox teams. it took them several days to get back if they had good weather and it didn't rain eta them; but if it did rain and got the creeks up, then it would take them a month to get back. We lived on corn bread most of the time for flour was too hard to get, and too far to go after', so we sure had to save i t. We would have flour bread, that is store bought flour, when we raised some wheat that made bread, but it was not as good as store bought flour. They had to beat this wheat in a mortar, and sift it just like they did corn; but they could not get all of "the shorts end the other things out of it like the mills did. It was pretty good but not like store bought flour. We used corn meal 411 the time for mother made meal all the time by beating it, just as other Indians.did in the, community.. -*. ' ~^~ Where we lived is right in the valley between two big mountains. The land»as good along the river, so that i;he stock lived on the river banks in the winter'moving out on the hills in the sum.ner. They did not have tovbe fed at all and still i^ftjtad fat all the time. There

7 pltnty of dkai ffor the,hogs, and they sure would get fat oh acorns which wure-plenty.on the hills and on the banks of the river. " >«' When I-was a boy the country was full of wild animals that roamed the mountains,lots of deer, turkey, and squirrels. The creeks were full of fish. There were some bears in the hills and mountains-some of the Indians killed seme bearsand timber wolves, just lots of them. These wolves would sometimes attack men out hunting, and sometimes a panther would attack men out hunting. The country was wild at that time. Nearly all the Indians has some stock,although some of them did not have many cows, others had lots of cattle, hogs and ponies. The country was open and the stock could run anywhere, and not be bothered. They sure would get wild. The wild ponies all got killed when the white people began to fettle the country. They were small ponies and wild, so the work horses of the white farmers would get, wifch them and they were hard to round up feo the white men decided it was best to kill the wi I'd* one sout so they did, and there is not a wild horse in the mountains now. I used to see spinning wheels and weavers but I dpn't know how they used them fdr we did nqt have one; but I used to*see acme breaches and dresses that were made by people that had a spinning wheel.and weaver. '

8 MI4SHINTOBHEE, JACKSON. INTERVIEW I never did play Indian ball. I aaw a game or tfwo 4. 8 «plaved by the Indians but I did not play. Those ga$es I saw were not much of a fight. - They had.a fight during the game but id did not amount to much. 1 «1!, The older heads woulfl not let MB boys play* Thay would tell us that we woula get hurt so they would not let us play. 11 never attended school at any place so I am unable to,8peak or read in the English language. and write in my own language but not much. 1 can read J just didn't go to school like 1 should then, until it was late, for we had a school house in the neighborhood not very far from where I lived. I am a full-blood Indian. «.ll of my folks were fullblood: Choctaws, and we have lived here all of my "life. I- am now living near Finley, Oklahoma about twelve miles southeast of Antlers, Oklahoma.