PERRY, HENRY Bketfoh. IHT3HVISW #4702 59 GO

PERRY, HENRY BKEtfOH. IHT3HVISW #4702 _ 59 GO

• Form A-(S-149)

Indian-Pioneer History project for Oklahoma

PERRY, :1S:RY ri I TtKVISV, 4702

Field 77orkorrs name Robert I!» Boatmen,

This report made on (date) June 29, 193

'l trm T

2. Post Office Address mqnph»rfl 'QiAhnm, Bgntft ::n. P 3. Residence address (or location) 4 miles S. a. Elanchard ^

4. DATE 0? BIRTH: "onth li^rch Day 15 Year 1855

5. Piacs of fc.irthDoaksville , Indian Territory

6. Name of Father lalyin : erry Place'of biStH Territpry

Other infornation shout father

7. Name of Mother CreBaie J&rter Place of birth Territory Other information ibout mother

Notes or complete narrative by the field worker dealing with the life and story of the porson interviewed. Refer to Manual for suggested" subjects and questions. Continue oh blank sheets if necessary and attach firmly to this form. Number of sheets -attached 6 INTERVIEW • 470£

Bobert H« Boatman, Field Worker, June S9, 1637,

An Intervi ew tri. ilenry Bel ton terry, i>egrot ^ .. Route lio. S, 4 Miles S. i.. HLanchard,- Blanchard, O

I was feorn in the Choetaw Oration ..ear old Boaksville.

iiarch 15, 1855, Lv aksville was an old Indian trading post

of t2i& thoctaws and Chickasaws.

}&r. Perry's mother -T^B orte-»nalf Choctaw.

As a boy I led .a life of leisure aa the j^eople then

^ in tbat country v/ere mostly -jidians ana did very little

work.

The people lived in little ii.^'huts ebout ten feet-

square and generally the cabins wer-, built in sight of

each°"other.~ All the farming that was done was sn&ll In-

dian corn patches used to warn Turn Fuller.' The squaws al-

ways tended these corn patches. It eas the mty of tbe

buck to keep t.B irseat anJ- generally -he. kept u], a good,

supply of venison. The Indians ere very fo?td of deer meat.

If an Irsdiau found a deer feeding aud his bead was doimt he

would walk right siojig, t>ut when the Q&QT switched his tail BESET Sh&iQ'J UlMt?IS* 4?Q2

i meant -the deer was going to raise bis head,* rihen: the deer started feeding again .he continued his a^proacji. The ran seldom brought in their kill. They usually just cane hor-e and the woieen would go bring ir whatever they hod killed. They did

•most of their hu ting with bo^s and arrows. The hows were from lour to six .feet long, with a big rawhide string, # The arrows were painted. The longer bows were for long range shooting, '.

I never went to school very naich, Vshat schooling

I did get was ot old rort Arbuckle, That-was^ Govern--

UKsit school. There was one store9 a schoolhouse, and the old Fort where the soldiers stayed, A Mr. Grant- kept the store. Some of the old buildings of the >ort are still th83?e, but in a very dilapidated condition,

.>hat few supplies we bought s?e got at Atoka, There

•were one or two stores there, fort Arbuckle is located o the siashita Kiver rn^r the .'-.rbuckle Mountains,

. When I was about sixteen years old I began riding range and running cattle for .%ute Burnett, Jack Brownt and Ike Jones* They had -all the range near Kosedele and PERKX, KEKPT BSLTOK IKT>.R?IE$ , ." 4702.

Eiy&rs* There was a stoare fifr* Ho.3e&fcle that furnished supplies for their outfit, byars was not knosm»- Johasonville

• * was two miles .north of 'Khere -^©rs is noa. The town, took its n&m fr -m o bi^ rancher, r«^» .Johnson.' kyars took, its nr.no from !.ath Bjrsrs* * * , •

1 vrorked for Burr^ott, Jones, end Brown for eighteen years.

The first doctor that came,-.£c • that country 7?as Dr»

0. 'I. White. ' • '" ' - .. -

lb?> father bod-a big herd of -ponies on *the raitge and if he wanted to trade off son© of tfeeni-, he \7ould- go see

-the. Indian Agont at inader'ko. T\ere--woro three agencies in the Territory then, one at -^nadarko, one a"t I»ort Sill, end one it Fort Reno.

One time a bunch of tomanthe Indians stole some of our ponies 'a.d aterted tovrerd /6rt Sill Tdth them. v>e got on- their trail and kept fojloisln?; them. .'After three or four days we came upon them on Big Beaver Creek, fcear wnare Iawton is now. They had the ponies staked along the b&nk of the creok end were swimming in the creek* .-*••'• . • fi4 PBHB3T,. HEHHT HELTON - 'IHT^TIEtf ' ' • 47Q2

-4- '

When-they saw ua they began to' scram acd opened fire*

fte returned the ire* V/e killed four of them and tlie

' rest of them got away* Hone of our men were hurt. i»'e

got our ponies and returned home*

- ill the Indians were pretty friendly except the

Cosj&ncnes and Kiowas. We had to watch theca pretty '

.. closely* . . ^

'I.avne was a whiskey peddler who V7as in this part

iffould be coning and'also knew about wfeen the United

States ivjarshal. *?oula come* IVhen Payne vrould be in the

country we sould have out two or three spies to watch '

for the .marshals. They always came through in a covered

.wagon* ^.Tiie. spies were always indiBns, as they had jan eye

for the business and tf.ey would te stationed at different

points,*-In the top of a tree-pn some Hill av' could see'

the Wagon two or three ailes away* ..hen1 they saw the®

c ;njing- they would send a runner and'by the time the laws

got there everything ivould be just fine and thev peddler * be two miles gone* However, the rsarshali ^e PERRY, ITI4JRY.BELT0N "* INTERVIEW ' 4702

up with j^yne h&rth of where EQLanchnrd is and killed him.on a creek ?/here threo atreams come- together * Thot place t-0> the i'.rne of f**iplo Hell find is -still known by the same ueme. . -

About ttiia tisie I left tt.e Territor:.' and went to

Mississippi 8r.d ataved a year. At that time the Gov-

.emment be.^n'n ellotmrnt of lend rtftd I started back to the Territory to geit ccqy allotiacnt. I came up.the

Arkansas "iver on a anaXI steamboat*.'me. «oaalee« Thetpe wes a bunch of p<-oplo on it" cosiinf hecre eni the; G^ng * and dfcnced all tlie way. They celled the ncsalee the. molasses boat end said this country would be as easy to ^et tn a.barrel of mflesses would Le i* issiBSippi,

• whe"n I returned qul'te a fev* settlers h,ad already cone* in end1 Vsd erur. to sottJe on the bes* l^nd, I was enrolled ^.3 one-qunrte;- OVctatf-prid finnlly rot •• acres of lend' nenr RlancharJ* I-'bujltt; lo% h Bnd ' . /cleared nost oil of it out«v 1 rcnBined hare and .", \ ' \ 21 rmisU,?mri raised ny fnmily.

Our, clothinp we mndo ourselves. .>e would j^ick the seed-from thy cotton b^ hand. Then the cotton would be . , ,'. l PERRY, n::w BELTON itwim.m 4702 \

carded by hand and nBd$ into rolls. ^ spinning wheel was used to spin it into thread, and a loom th'en isove the thread into cloth., wool cloth was cade in the same way, The wool cloth was ^celled iinsey a;xi the cotjkon cloth was jeans, and you just couldn't wear them out. of course, all the sewing or at least icOBt of it, was done by hand.

AS years passed, inore and iB"»re people came and

-the country wcs settled ao'lL'aat sr.d everything along with it thai we nsrdly kne?* how it all happexiod*

.' •» INTEBVIBff,