MySource:Samples 59/Perry Family, Dawes Packet (Choctaw), Witness: Moon-tubbee

COPY No. 17

• Applications for Enrollment of the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914. NARA M1301. The Dawes Commission negotiated with tribal members who received common property in return for abolishing their tribal governments. (Record Group: 75, Roll: 0086, Tribe: Choctaw, Group: Mississippi Choctaw, Card Range: MCR 178- MCR 214, Case Number: MCR 205, Surname: Boyd, Given Name: Victoria, Status: [Blank]).

General deposition of Moon-Tubbee, a full-blood Choctaw, a witness offered by Abr’m Hulsey, & taken by consent.

The deponent being first admonished of the nature and obligation of an oath, & having declared his belief in a future state of rewards and punishments, was duly sworn and deposes as follows:

That his name is Moon-tubbee; he lived in Yalobusha County, Mississippi at a place called Tallahoma on Ba-tu-pan-bogue, a creek emptying into Yalobusha River, about one mile from the mouth of the creek, at the date of the treaty. He settled there a year after the earthquake, and continued there until a year and a half after the treaty. In the latter part of the summer, after the treaty, John Perry, his captain, directed him to call a council of his company. The company lived about on Yalobusha River & Puttawacowa Creek, principally. He warned them to attend a council in five days from the time John Perry gave him the order at John Perry’s house, on the other side of Yalobusha River, near Shau-quilla Creek. He thinks at this time some fodder had been gathered & corn was beginning to be hard. The whole company met; there were a great many of them. He (the witness) was John Perry’s principal officer & had several persons under his command to execute his orders. After they met in council John Perry told him to tell the people that those who wished to remain in the country five years & take the benefit of the treaty must sit down on a seat on one side of the table, & those who wished to go west of Mississippi should sit on a seat on the other side of the table. The seat for those who wished to go west was left vacant. They all determined to stay five years and take land. Edmund Perry, a half blood Indian, took down on a paper the names of those who wished to remain. All the heads of families had their names put on the list. The names of the children were not put down, but the numbers of the children were put down with the parents, distinguishing those over ten from those under ten. The hads of families went up, one at a time, & as they got through they would take their seats. The council was held out of doors. The people met in the evening, held the council the next morning, but did not quite finish, & finished next morning, when the council adjourned & the people went away. No speeches were made, but a good deal of time was occupied in talking with the people to know if their minds were fully made up to stay. When the paper was finished it was given to John Perry the captain. He does not know who gave it to him, but he saw it in his possession immediately after it was finished. He never saw the paper afterwards. John Perry has gone west. Went a little more than a year after the council at Perry’s. The names on the list as well as he can recollect, are as follows; most who were on it have gone west:

1. John Perry, gone west with his family at same time.

2. Isaac Perry, gone west with his family at same time.

3. Took-a-loon-tabbee, gone west with his family at same time.

4. On-wah-ka gone west with his family same time.

5. Charles Vaughn, gone west with his family same time.

6. Philip Vaughn, gone west with his family same time.

7. Ya-chok-pia, gone west with his family same time.

8. A-cha-ho-ma, gone west with his family same time.

9. Sco-la-ho-na, gone west with his family same time.

10. La-pin-tubbee, gone west with his family same time.

11. Mo-sho-la, gone west with his family same time.

12. Noa-ho-ka, a female, , gone west with his family same time.

13. I-a-ma-ta, gone west with his family same time.

14. Pa-san-tubbee, gone west with his family same time.

15. Nat. Perry, gone west with his family same time.

16. Pe-ter, gone west with his family same time.

17. Dave Oxberry, gone west with his family same time.

18. Tish-o-pia

19. Tie-ba-pa-lubbee

20. Ho-la-to-homa

21. Ona-ho-ka, a female

22. Yem-ma-chubbee.

23. Shoon-pi-ga

24. A-hio-chubbee.

25. Hala

26. Pi-ga, a female

27. E-ma-ho-na, a female, went west with his family last summer.

28. Loo-naia, a female.

29. Ho-ka, a female, went west with his family last summer.

30. Ogle-a-ho-na, a female.

31. E-ma-ho-go, a female.

32. Nelly Frazier (alias Dyer) went west with her family, except George Oxberry, three months ago.

33. James Perry, gone west with his family same time as one next above.

34. Joseph Perry.

35. Charles Frazier

36. Nancy Frazier, gone west with her family three months ago.

37. Molly Perry (alias Frazier, the mother of Nancy Frazier)

38. John Crevat, gone west with his family three years ago-some of his children about a year since.

39. William Turnbull

40. Show-e-na, a female

41. Ano-watche.

42. Ish-wa-ca-ba

43. Ille-no-watchee.

44. Isht-e-mona-hoka, a female

45. I-you-ah

46. An-ta-nabbee.

47. Mutta

48. Toosh-ba-tubbee

49. Ai-nain-tubbee

50. Moon-tubbee, the deponent.

(Then these went west to look at the country about the time that John Perry went; stayed two years, he thinks, but is not certain, & returned, and are now here.

51. I-yoke-pee-e-ta

52. Pan-che-mi-chi-

53. Anok-cha-ta

54. Harry Frazier, went west with his family with James Perry. There were two small captains who were under John Perry, Took-a-loon-tubbee and Tish-o-pia. Whenever the whole company was called together they all met as one; he thinks it likely that some few of these men have been put on some other captain’s list; he thinks it probable that Pa-co-nubbee was on Bob Cole’s list; he belonged to Bob Cole’s company, he thinks, at the time the list was made at John Perry’s; he cannot recollect any other name that was on another list; he knows of but one person by the name of Nelly Frazier, or Nelly Dyer, & does not know if she is on another list; he knows of but one person by the name of Charles Frazier, the brother of Nelly; he does not know that he is on any other list; knows of but one Joe Perry; he does not know of his being on any other list; he belonged to John Perry’s company at the time of the council; knows of but two men by the name of Mo-sho-la one belongs to John Perry’s company; he thinks the other belongs to Lewis Perry’s company; he may have belonged to Robert Cole’s company; knows but one man of the name of Took-a-loon-tubbee; knows of but one man by the name of Charles Vaughn; knows of but one of the name of Philip Vaughn; knows of but one man by the name of Moon-tubbee; knows of but one of the name of Tish-o-pia; knows of but one man of the name of A-how-a-chubbee; knows of but one man of the name of Hala; knows of but one man of the name of James Perry; knows of two men of the name of Ano-watchee; one belongs to John Perry’s company, the other, he thinks, belongs to Lewis Perry’s company; knows of but one man of the name of Ish-wa-ca-ba, & he belongs to John Perry’s company; he has heard of another of that name who lived somewhere on the head of Big Black; knows of but one man of the name of Illa-ne-watchee; he belongs to John Perry’s company.

He is acquainted with Capt. Anthony Turnbull; he lives in Yalobusha County, Mississippi about five miles from witness. Anthony Turnbull was appointed Captain of John Perry’s company before the treaty; John Perry resigned before the treaty; John Perry was in the habit, after he resigned the command of the company, of talking to the proper of Anthony Turnbull’s company & of giving them advice. Turnbull was not in the habit of making speeches to them in council, and as John Perry was his uncle he took the liberty of advising and counseling with the people when he thought it necessary. When the people went off anywhere Anthony Turnbull took the sole command. It was not a custom common among the Choctaws for any person to interfere with the company of another, but Perry took the liberty to do so because Turnbull was his nephew & was young. He (the witness) would not have obeyed the order of any other captain at a distance, but he considered Perry & Turnbull both as one captain, & felt bound to obey the one as much as the other. The chiefs appoint the captains. Perry requested Leflore to appoint Turnbull in his place and Leflore did so. After Perry resigned he did not feel bound to obey his orders unless he & Turnbull had agreed on it. Perry told witness that he had determined to have a council called to see who wished to stay & who wished to emigrate. Turnbull never spoke to witness about it. John Perry gave him the order to call the council. Turnbull, he thinks, was not there; Turnbull’s father & mother were there. He heard Turnbull advise his people to go west. He told witness to tell the people to follow their own wishes in staying at home or going west; not to be controlled by any person, but to stay or go as they chose. It was on account of this direction of Turnbull that he made two seats at the council. This conversation with Turnbull took place a short time after the treaty; does not know whether Turnbull was at home at the time of the council; he thinks he saw him about ten days before the council, but at that time he (witness) knew nothing about the council. He thinks he had a conversation with Turnbull after the time for the council was appointed & he thinks it was at this time he held the conversation with him as above stated. He is acquainted with Robert Cole. At the time of the treatey he lived about eight miles from him. He knew some of the people who lived round within five miles of Cole. He does not think he knew half of them; he did not know many of their names; he supposes he must have heard the names of most of them, but would not have known many of their persons. The seats he spoke of in a former part of his deposition were about 50 feet long; they were each of that length. There was not room on one seat for them when they divided, but many had to stand up. He has not many near relations among those he has named; his mother, E-ma-hoyo, is on the list (she is very old); he has two brothers on the list, Tish-o-pia and Yim-ma-chubbee; he has also other relations, but distant, on the list of names he has given. He has not interest in any of these claims; he has never been employed in any manner by any of the claimants, their atoorney, or agents in the prosecution of their claims under the treaty. He has never received any promise of fee or reward from any of them for services performed, or to be performed, in relation to these claims. Yim-ma-chubbee is a lame man, and is his own brother. Paconubbee was not at the council at Perry’s. He does not know when the laws of Mississippi were rextended over the Choctaw people; cannot say whether before the treaty or before the council at Perry’s. About the time of the treaty, when the land was sold, the power of the chiefs seemed to go with the land, & the power of the captains also. He does not know whether he would feel less obligation to obey orders of his captain than he would before the treaty. His captain, after that time, gave him no orders. He considered the direction to call the council at Perry’s a request and not an order. He does not know if the council at Perry’s was before or after the payment of the annuity at Ben. Leflore’s. He was not at the annuity.

Taken and sworn to at Ben. Leflore’s, this 30th January before___ (ie. 1838).

J. Murray

P. D. Vroom.