REMEMBRANCES OF WILLIAM LESLIE SMEDLEY and his wife, Ann
Smedley
Mr. Smedley was born March 16, 1861, near what is now
Hartford, Sebastian County, Arkansas, and moved with his parents to what was
then known as "Nail Prairie", and now known as "Smedley
Prairie" in what is now LeFlore County, Oklahoma, in January, 1873. He
has been a continuous resident of this vicinity since that time.
Mrs. Smedley was born October 25, 1859, in the same
community where Mr. Smedley was born and moved with her parents to the Indian
Territory in the fall of 1873, where the family settled in the same community
as the Smedley family. She and Mr. Smedley were united in marriage on November
7, 1882.
Joseph Smedley, the grandfather of William Leslie
Smedley, was a missionary preacher and teacher among the Indians and traveled
extensively in the prosecution of his work. In appreciation of his services,
the tribal authorities made him a grant of one hundred and sixty acres of land
for the use of himself and his descendants "as long as grass grows and
water runs." It was upon this tract of land that the Smedleys settled in
1873, and which afterward became the home of William Leslie and Ann Smedley.
At the time allotment of land was made to the Indians, the Dawes Commission
held that the grant of land held by the Smedleys was invalid and the home was
allotted to a Choctaw Indian named Willie.
They recall that Morris NAIL, a fullblood Choctaw Indian,
for whom the aforementioned "Nail Prairie" was called and for whom
"Nail Creek" is still called, was held in high regard, not only by
the Choctaw Indians, but also by all the whites who lived in that community
and served as a representative of his people in their tribal councils. Morris
Nail was assassinated in 1872, one year before the arrival of the Smedleys in
the Indian Territory, by a negro who was known merely as Reuben and was the
son of a negro known only as Buck; the latter having been a slave in the Nail
family. The death of Morris Nail was mourned by all who knew him. The Smedleys
had learned of the murder of Nail at the time it occurred as their home in
Sebastian County, Arkansas was but a few miles distant from the Nail home in
the Indian Territory.
They also recall that in Territorial Days the community
was regarded as being law abiding, especially so when it is considered that it
was but a short distance to the Arkansas State Line where the restrictions on
the sale of intoxicants were less rigid than were those in the Territory. This
condition rather encouraged lawlessness, since it was an easy matter for
violators of the law to cross the state line, commit their acts of
lawlessness, and make their escape before they could be apprehended. These
violations consisted principally of the introduction of intoxicants and sale
of same to residents of the Territory. It was probably this condition that was
the primary cause of the formation of a band of five young Indian outlaws, who
in defiance of Tribal laws, launched upon a period of outlawry which
culminated in their apprehension, trial, conviction and execution in the fall
of 1875. They were tried before a Tribal Court held on "Buck Creek
Prairie" in the summer of that year, and were convicted and sentenced to
be shot sometime later. They were given their freedom until the date set for
their execution without bond of any sort other than their honor. The band was
led by Lewis TERRELL. In accordance with Tribal custom they each were
permitted to select their executioners, preferably one of their kinsmen. The
place selected for the execution was at the foot of the west side of Sugar
Loaf Mountain. On the date set for the execution each one of the convicted men
appeared, ready to atone with his life to the offended law. No mercy was
asked; no mercy was given. A small white cloth was pinned to the breast of
each one as he stood for execution. The fatal boom of the guns was heard as
each one slumped in death. Such stoicism is worthy of a nobler death, than
that which befell these unfortunate and misguided young Indians.
On another occasion, Charles WILSON, an Indian Agent, who
also lived on "Nail Prairie," was engaged in collecting and
receipting for permits granted to residents other than Indians which was in
the amount of Five Dollars per annum for heads of families. In the discharge
of these duties he was required to cover a large territory on horseback. One
night in the fall of 1882, when he was returning to his home after having made
a trip to a distant part of his district, he was waylaid and shot off his
horse at a point near what is now Howe. His assailants were not apprehended,
nor was the reason for the crime disclosed; but it was rumored that some of
the Indians were not satisfied with his method of accounting for the funds
which he collected as Agent.
From the accounts given Mr. and Mrs. Smedley by some of
the Indians who were in the "removal," it appears that the
"removal" from Alabama and Mississippi of the Choctaws began in a
small way in the early Eighteen Thirties and that the larger group was removed
later. Those who had come first and built their cabins were required to
provide shelter and homes for those who came later. Under those conditions,
sometimes three and four families were domiciled in one cabin until such time
as a building site could be located and a home erected for those who had been
thrown upon the hospitality of their neighbors. It seems, too, that the
Choctaws had advanced considerably in the arts of agriculture and animal
husbandry while they were quartered in the States of Alabama and Mississippi,
they immediately put in "Tom Fuller" patches of ground on which to
raise their subsistence. Game of all kinds was plentiful. Hogs flourished on
the ample supply of mast. The cane brakes in the Poteau River bottoms afforded
cattle and horses abundant feed and shelter in the winter months, while in the
summer months stock waxed fat in knee high grass on boundless prairies.
There being no sawmills in the country, and no lumber
available, the houses were constructed of hewn logs, clapboard roofs and
puncheon floors. Door frames were made of timber, split and cut the desired
length and fastened in place with wooden pegs as nails were not available. All
cooking was done on open fireplaces with which each home was provided. Dutch
ovens were used for baking purposes. Spoons for household purposes were made
of cow horn, which when properly made and polished, became ornamental as well
as useful. In the earlier period after the removal, deer skins were converted
into containers for bear grease. This was accomplished by exercising extreme
care when skinning the animal to avoid making unnecessary slits in the skin.
After skinning, the hide would be rubbed briskly at intervals with small oval
shaped stones until it became pliant and soft. The slits would then be
securely tied and the container used for the purpose mentioned. Bear grease
was highly prized for cooking purposes and was so used when available instead
of lard.
The nearest mill was located at a point about two miles
East of what is now the village of Hartford, Arkansas, and a distance of about
twelve miles from the Smedley home on Nail Prairie. It was at this mill that
all the grinding of meal and flour was done. It was operated by John R. and
Benjamin Smedley, father and uncle of William Leslie Smedley, respectively,
until after the close of the Civil War. They were both exempt from military
duty for the period of the War because of their operation of the mill which
was kept busy at all times providing meal and flour for the military forces as
well as to noncombatants. Fort Smith, Arkansas, was the principal trading
point before the town of Hartford, Arkansas, was established. To reach Fort
Smith from the Nail Prairie, the old Fort Smith and Fort Towson military road
was used. This road crossed the Backbone Mountain at a point about nine miles
south of Fort Smith. It was at this point that a toll road was located and
operated from time to time by various individuals and was finally opened for
travel without the payment of a toll.
The burial custom of the Indians was to bury their dead
in the immediate vicinity of their homes, each home having its own burial
plot. For this reason it is difficult to locate the burial places of those who
passed on in earlier periods. The spot where the prominent Choctaw Indian,
Morris Nail, is buried is now a part of a large field and no trace of it can
be found. Community life of a settlement was all that could be desired under
the circumstances.
Religious services were held from time to time, as
circuit riding ministers would make their calls. Schools were held
periodically, depending entirely upon individual subscriptions for support.
Under these conditions the Smedleys reared to maturity a family of ten
children. They have passed through all the various changes in governmental
affairs and forms, which have taken place since their entrance in the Indian
Territory in 1873. Thus it is apparent that it would be indeed difficult to
find people, now living, and in possession of their faculties in a marked
degree as these good people are, who are better fitted to direct our thoughts
toward occurrences of a period fraught with vast and sweeping changes in the
mode of life of those who lived through it.
It is also recalled that at the time of the election of
delegates to the Constitutional Convention, prior to statehood, the lines were
sharply drawn as between the Republicans and Democrats who aspired to be
elected as delegates from this district. An aspirant named JOHNSON, a former
Democrat, perceiving a possible advantage to himself through this sharp
drawing of the line, announced his own candidacy for the position as an
Independent. The higher lights, seeing the possible defeat of their Democratic
candidate through the notion of Mr. Johnson, sought and obtained the
assistance of the then Senator Jeff DAVIS of Arkansas in squelching the
disloyal Johnson. On the arrival of Senator Davis in Poteau, he addressed a
large concourse of people and proceeded with his castigation of Mr. Johnson in
language which only the Senator knew how to use and climaxed his excoriation
of the deserting Mr. Johnson by relating a story of a farmer who resided in
his own state --Arkansas. The farmer was the possessor of several cows and a
male which he kept in a pasture. On one occasion, after the milking was done
in the morning, one of the calves slipped out of the pen with the mother and
the cows. The farmer decided that he would complete his morning chores before
he would try to get the calf back into the pen. He later proceeded to do this.
He rounded up the cows, the male and the calf and drove them to the pen. The
cows entered the pen, but the male, followed by the calf, tucked their tails
and ran to the uttermost end of the pasture followed by the farmer, who again
drove them up to the pen. While he was engaged in opening the gate so they
could enter the pen, the male and calf again, with their tails over their
backs, cavorted away in the direction of the back side of the pasture. This so
exasperated the farmer that he shouted at the top of his voice to the calf,
"Go on, dern ye, you’ll come in when it’s time to suck." The
Senator compared Johnson’s predicament to that of the calf. The story had
the desired effect upon the candidacy of Mr. Johnson.
[NOTE: Submitter's Comments: Mrs.
Smedley is the daughter of John B. Tucker and his wife Margaret Tucker, (who
are double first cousins.) Her name is Matilda Ann Tucker Smedley. She died
September 04, 1947 and her husband William Leslie died February 16, 1946. They
are both buried in Vaughn Cemetery as are her mother, "Old Aunt
Peggy," and her father, John B, "Jack," Tucker. Her father died
almost 6 years after moving into the Territory, from a prolonged illness he
picked up during the Civil War. He served with the Confederate Army, enlisting
October 20, 1861 at Fort Smith, for a 12 month term. He served as a Lieutenant
in Griffith’s 17 Regiment Arkansas Infantry, Capt. Adams Co. , Co. B. He
then enlisted in the Union Army, September 22, 1863, at Fort Smith, Arkansas.
He mustered in October 7, 1863 at Springfield, Missouri. This was the 2nd
Regiment Arkansas Cavalry, Company H. He was promoted to Cpl., December 25,
1863. The term of his enlistment was for 3 years, or during the war. He was
discharged August 17, 1865 at Memphis, Tennessee. Ann’s parents rented land
from the Choctaws starting in the summer of 1873. Some of these permits are
shown on the Choctaw Records. Ann and William had eleven children, 10 of these
lived to adulthood. Their 6th child, Carrie, born 1891 lived less
than 2 years.]