The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948 Page: 318
406 p. : ill., ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
on pack animals, for presents to the Indians. They crossed Red
River on January 8 at the new village of Preston and camped
near Coffee's trading house. Here, on the eleventh, they were
joined by Lewis's detachment which brought their strength to
fifty persons. Lewis was accompanied by his wife which excited
considerable comment. He insisted on traveling with a wagon,
thereby entailing much labor in preparing a road through the
timber and causing vexatious delay. Editor Washburn wrote to
his paper that Mrs. Lewis, the only woman in the party, was
quite an Amazon-wears a belt-dagger-shoots a rifle and pistol-
rides well on horseback, and takes notes-rather handsome, medium
size, English by birth-married four years-no children. The Colonel
is very sprightly and gentlemanly in his deportment and is from
Columbia, South Carolina.
Lacking a military escort, Butler had welcomed Indians of the
Five Civilized Tribes and white men to join him on the antici-
pated novel adventure. In his letter of January 7, Washburn
reported: "Our company is a motley one-governors, colonels,
judges, chiefs, one gentleman traveler, whites, Cherokees, Sem-
inoles, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Spaniards, et al."
In addition to volunteers, Butler continued to engage neces-
sary men of miscellaneous qualifications until in February he
carried on his roll of employes two members of the Cherokee
delegation previously mentioned; two Seminoles, including the
redoubtable Wild Cat, who made a deep impression on the whole
company by his resourcefulness and his wide knowledge of In-
dians of many tribes and their ways; nine Creek Indians; and
five Chickasaws. Butler listed also forty-four "Packmen, Laborers
and guards."8
There were thirteen interpreters and runners or messengers,
including the Cherokee, Jesse Chisholm, and the famous Dela-
ware guide and interpreter, John Bushman, so highly regarded
by Colonel R. B. Marcy, and Jim Shaw, the celebrated Delaware
guide, scout, and interpreter who in 1850 was given a tract of
7Grant Foreman (ed.), "The Journal of Elijah Hicks," Chronicles of Oklahoma,
XIII, 69.
8This "List of persons employed by P. M. Butler and M. G. Lewis Indian
Commissioners whilst engaged as such under order from the War Dept. dated
i3th, September 1845" is in the National Archives.318
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948, periodical, 1948; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101119/m1/412/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.