The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 35, July 1931 - April, 1932 Page: 262
348 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
As the Confederate agents often stated in their official reports
the Cherokee government was an aristocracy ruled by a few promi-
nent and prosperous families, who lived on well-ordered plantations
and directed the community with a sort of hereditary ascendency.
These leaders did not suffer abject poverty when they abandoned
their homes. They settled at Bonham, Paris, and other places in
northern Texas, rented or purchased tracts of land,40 struggled
with depreciating Confederate currency,41 tried to keep their chil-
dren in school,42 and with the assistance of their slaves managed to
raise food and weave clothing to supply their own needs and the
needs of their men in the army.43 The Waties, of course, belonged
to this class.
Mrs. Watie's brother, James M. Bell, who was an officer in the
Confederate army, wrote frequent letters to his wife in Texas in
which may be seen the feelings of these people for their ravaged
homes. The following is a characteristic expression:
How I would like to settle down again and hear the cows lowing,
the hogs squealing, and see the nice garden and the yard with roses
in it, the waving wheat and stately corn growing, and be conscious
that there was no one in want, and be blessed with the society of
those I love most on earth-you and our children.44
Although Mrs. Watie's letters show a strong capacity for meeting
emergencies-she once said, "it is a saying that Mrs. Watie will get
along where others will sink"'-they also show that she suffered
real hardships and perplexities. Writing material was secured with
difficulty; pencils, pens, and envelopes were carefully hoarded, and
some of the letters written on pages torn from old account books46
are more eloquent of privation than any complaints could have
"Mrs. Watie to Stand Watie, May 20, 1863, November, 1864. MS.,
University of Oklahoma.
"Mrs. Watie to Stand Watie, June 12, 1864, June 21, 1864. MS.
'Mrs. Watie to Stand Watie, June 18, 1863, August 21, 1863, October
9, 1864. MS.
James M. Bell to Mrs. Bell, May 29, 186-. MS.
"James M. Bell to Mrs. Bell, May 8, 1864. MS.
Mrs. Watie to Stand Watie, August 21, 1863, December 12, 1863, Sep-
tember 12, 1864, October 9, 1864, January 20, 1865. MS.
"James M. Bell, May 16, 1863. MS. This letter has been edited very
slightly.
"Mrs. Watie to Stand Watie, May 2, 1865. MS.
"Mrs. Watie to Stand Watie, June 8, 1863, August 21, 1863, May 27,
1864, June 21, 1864. MS.262
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 35, July 1931 - April, 1932, periodical, 1932; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101092/m1/266/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.