Zeke ACORN, a full-blood Cherokee, was born in Flint
District, Cherokee Nation, in 1866. His father was Ned Acorn, a Cherokee and
his mother was Betsy Acorn, also of the Cherokee Nation. Zeke was born on
Little Lees Creek, what is now Adair County. He never has been out of the
state of Oklahoma. He has been living in that one community all of his life.
He is now seventy-one years of age.
Early Life
Most of Zeke Acorn’s early life was spent on Lees Creek community. His
father operated a small farm in this valley. The farm consisted of about ten
acres. The farms in the early days were all small and a farm that contained
more than ten acres was considered a large farm. The farm on which Zeke grew
to manhood was located about two miles east of the site of what is now the
Belle School. His father claimed this ten acres. They built a new fence almost
every year for most of the fences at that time were of brush construction.
The principal crops were corn and oats. Corn was the chief
crop. This could be used for food in so many different ways. People ate mostly
corn meal bread at that time. Most of the meal could be made at home. So for
this reason they raised more corn than anything else. Every family had what
they called an old time mortar. This mortar was a home made mill. Meal was
ground for every meal that was prepared.
School
The earliest school in this part of the Flint District was the Belle School,
which was located about where Bill WHITMIRE now lives. The school building was
a small log house. People in those days did not believe in an education. They
did not send their children to school and Zeke only attended when he wanted
to. He never was made to go. He did not learn enough to read and write. Later,
they moved this school to where the Belle School is now. This was also their
voting precinct.
Church
The only church in this part of the Flint District was the church that was
called Hanging Bell. This was the name that the Cherokees called the church in
the community. This was located in what is now known as Sallie Bull Hollow. It
was a small building with one door and no windows. A large fireplace was in
one end of the building to heat the room during the winter months.
Later, this church was called the Antioch Baptist Church.
Sometime later this church was divided into two churches and one part was
called the Salem Church and the other was called Antioch. The Antioch Church
was moved to a place about seven miles north of Stilwell.
Among early day preachers were Adam LACIE, Steve TEEHEE,
Reverend SWIMMER, who lived on Fourteen Mile Creek near the town of Hulbert.
The Reverend Mr. LOCUST came from North Carolina about 1870. Jack WALKINGSTICK
also preached at this place. He lives at Marble City now.
Trading and Milling Points
Evansville, Arkansas was their chief trading and milling point at that time.
This town was located about seven miles away. In the fall of the year, they
would go to this mill to get enough meal for the winter, but during the summer
months they did their milling at home on the old time mortar. Since this was
very rough country there was no wheat raised in this community.
Game and Fish
There was plenty of game to be found in the woods in this community at that
time. Deer went by droves in the woods. Turkeys numbering about forty and
fifty could be found almost everywhere. There were no laws in the Cherokee
Nation to prohibit anyone from killing any amount of game that his family
could make use of.
Every year the full bloods would kill fish by poisoning the
large holes of water in the rivers. Fish was killed by the tons and divided
among the people that contributed the roots that were used in poisoning the
river. Buck eye roots were used for this purpose.
Indian Medicine
Most of the medicine used in those days was found in the woods in herbs and
roots but there were not many different kinds of diseases to be found in the
Cherokee Nation. There were many Cherokee doctors. Chills were the commonest
disease that bothered the Cherokees. Consumption was the most dreaded disease
among them. They claimed this could not be cured. Many Cherokees died with
this disease every year. Among the early day doctors among the Cherokees were
Eli AUGERHOLE, Alex BUNCH and John LIVERS. They were expert in doctoring shot
wounds. They knew how to doctor for snake bites.
Politics
Politics was not so interesting to the Cherokees in this part of the Cherokee
Nation. There were only two parties at that time, the Downing Party and the
National Party. The Cherokees differed in politics as they did in everything
else. The National Party meant, if interpreted the Supporters of the Union.
The Downing Party was called the vanishing party. Afterwards the National
became the present Republican Party. The Downing Party became the Democratic
Party. These two parties were what caused the Cherokee Nation to be abolished.
Most of the full bloods belonged to the National Party. Most of the mixed
breeds belonged to the Downing Party. It was said by the old people of that
time that some day the mixed breeds would control the legislature and when
they did they would do away with their government, just as the educated young
Cherokees did back in the East. Zeke saw the day when these old sayings came
to pass.
Voting Precinct
The voting precinct for the Cherokees in this part of the Flint District was
the Belle School House. Later the precinct was moved to the Flint Court House.
Then just before statehood they moved the voting precinct to the town of
Stilwell or near the town of Stilwell. There was only one store here then.
This was the Henry Dannenberg store, which was located near the New Hope
Cemetery.
Post Office
The first post office was at Evansville, Arkansas. People did not communicate
with the other countries as we do now. But the first post office in the
Cherokee Nation, that is this part of it was at Flint Court House. It was
called Flint, I.T.
Allotment
This was one law that almost every Cherokee protested. But the National
council passed over the protest of these Cherokees. Many people think that
this was a law passed by the Downing Party, but this is a mistake. Both sides
agreed to pass this law. Richard WOLFE, a senator from the Goingsnake
District, voted for this law, he was a National man. Every Cherokee that had
an education was in favor of this law, they wanted to receive their per rata
share of their country so they could go ahead and improve their own homes. Mr.
Acorn was in favor of this law himself. By living the old way of everything in
common a person could not improve his place as he wanted to. When the land was
allotted he could know what he owned. Therefore he could improve it any way he
wanted to.
Submitted to OKGenWeb by Wanda Morris
Elliott <jwdre@intellex.com> December 2000.