preceding 1810. At the latter date we find him living on the Tombigbee River, for the time oblivious of war and arms, and glorying principally in being the crack ball player of the Choctaw Nation.

But not for long. Soon there came rumors of the outbreak of a great "white man's war," and the fiery-tongued Tecumseh came down from the North, eager to inflame the hearts of all the redmen against the race that rested not in driving them from their homes and hunting grounds. The Creeks listened to him, so did the Chickasaws, the Osages, and the Seminoles. The Choctaws hesitated and called a convention of their nation to deliberate the matter. The sentiment of the assemblage was against an alliance with either side, and a neutral stand was urged by all except Pushmataha. This leader did not speak until the last day of the meeting. Then he rose and said:

The Creeks were once our friends. They have now joined the English, and we must follow different trails. When our fathers took the hand of Washington, they told him the Choctaws would always be friends to his nation, and Pushmataha cannot be false to these promises. I am now ready to fight both the English and the Creeks. I and my warriors are going to Tuscaloosa, and when you hear from us again, the Creek fort will be in ashes."

Pushmataha fulfilled his own prophecy a few weeks later, and throughout the war fought the Creeks and also the Seminoles, with energy and success, thus rendering valuable aid to the Americans, and winning for himself a general's uniform and title, of which he was ever after proud. General Jackson spoke in terms of high praise of the value of Pushmataha's service to the American cause, and the Legislature of Mississippi gave him a vote of thanks, a "rifle-gun" valued at $50, and an annuity of $50 for five years. All this as "a testimonial of the high opinion which the citizens of the Territory entertained of his friendly disposition toward the white people and of the services rendered by him in our late war." The original draft of this resolution may be seen among the relics kept in the Hall of Fame in the Mississippi State Capitol.

Pushmataha was wont to claim-his biographers assert-that he chose his name, and to translate it, "his warrior's seat is finished." But the historian, Halbert-undoubtedly the highest authority on matters pertaining to the Choctaws-declares that this is all nonsense. He contends that the name was in all probability given to him in boyhood, and

that it was no doubt originally " A Pushimataha," readily translated "the sapling is ready for him."

A number of authors have classed with the fine speeches of unlettered Indians the following apocryphal incident, concerning our warrior:

Pushmataha, when once asked who his parents were, replied: 'I had no father, I had no mother. The lightning rent the living oak and Pushmataha sprang forth a warrior.'"

(Had Longfellow heard of him when he wrote the similar story of the birth of Wattawamat?-Ed.)

In some instances this speech is expanded with metaphors, leading, as Halbert satirically remarks, "to the suspicion that Pushmataha had spent some of his leisure hours in learning, the songs of Selma." Halbert further says: "This speech, purporting to have come from the mouth of Pushmataha, with various poetical versions for nearly two generations, has been palmed off on the credulity of the reading world. But tracked back to its birth and viewed in its swaddling clothes, it is a very commonplace affair."

The historian then identifies this legend with an anecdote told by Dr. Gideon Lincecum, who knew the Choctaw warrior well. The doctor states that Pushmataha, in his later years, was notoriously given to drunkWhen on his big sprees he was wont, especially if any white people were present to laugh at it, to get off the following speech: “I no had any father, I no had any mother; lightning hit a stump and Pushamataha came hopping out this way."

enness.

In December, 1824, Pushmataha went to Washington with a Choctaw delegation, their object being, in Indian phrase, to "brighten up the chain of peace" between the nation and the American people. The delegation was received with favor by President Monroe and Secretary Calhoun, and also went to call on General Lafayette. Indeed, the most distinguished consideration was given to Pushmataha on all sides, also far too many drinks for one of his proclivities. He was more or less drunk all of the time, and contracted a severe cold by an all-night bout when the thermometer stood at zero. This developed a quinsy, and attacks of croup followed, in one of which he strangled to death on Christmas Eve. His last coherent words were: "When I am gone, let them fire the big guns over me."

A procession over a mile long, on December 27, followed the dead warrior to his place of burial in the Congressional Cemetery, and, in accordance with his wish, a volley of musketry was fired over his grave. This grave is marked by a fine monument, erected by the warrior's brother chiefs of the Choctaw nation. On the stone, in addition to the facts of his birth and death, there is inscribed the following tribute, written by John Randolph of Roanoke: "Pushmataha was a warrior of great distinction. He was wise in council, eloquent in an extraordinary degree, and on all occasions and under all circumstances the white man's friend."

Pushmataha was an Indian of striking appearance, though not tall. Lincecum says that he was about five feet six inches in height, noticeably erect, and heavily built, becoming quite fleshy in his later years. He had both the faults and virtues of his race. Though a relentless enemy, he was also a generous and loyal friend, capable of generosity toward those in need, and scrupulously observant of his promises to his tribe and his friends. No doubt General Jackson was justified in speaking of him as "the greatest and best Indian he had ever known."

Certainly an Indian chief who could win such praise from a man like Jackson, and receive the honor of a military funeral, burial in the Congressional Cemetery, and an epitaph from the pen of John Randolph,

was no common man.

In conclusion, I may quote Halbert's words concerning this somewhat remarkable character:

“Pushmataha was a genuine patriot, and in all his official words and acts he was moved by the highest regard for the interest and welfare of his people. He died just about the time when the old order was passing away, and the new order, with its missionaries, its schools, its churches, and its translations of the sacred Scriptures, was coming in to revolutionize all the ways and ideas of the Choctaw. Had Providence decreed for him a later existence under the light of a Christian civilization, he might have achieved for himself a higher and a nobler fame, and his magnificent patriotism might have prompted him to work out for his people a higher and happier destiny than that by which they are at present environed. Pushmataha, no doubt in his public capacity and in the light of his surroundings, did the best he could. Let us forget his frailties and cherish his memory as one of the great aboriginal heroes of the South." A. C. CHASE.

NEW ORLEANS, LA.

MINOR TOPICS.

COMMODORE PERRY'S OFFICERS.

Of all the officers who were on the various ships which accompanied Commodore M. C. Perry on his famous expedition in 1852 with an American squadron to the China seas and Japan to open the ports of the latter country to commerce, there are only six officers who are now on the Navy's rolls. These are Rear-Admirals George B. Balch, John H. Upshur and Oscar F. Stanton; Chief Engineers Edwin Fithian and Edward D. Robie, and Lieut.-Commander George F. Morrison. Chief Engineers Fithian and Robie also have the rank of rear-admiral, which was conferred upon them under the provisions of the Naval Appropriation bill of the last session of Congress. Rear-Admiral Balch has been in the service longer than any other officer now on the rolls of the Navy, entering in 1837, when sixteen years old. He took part in the war with Mexico, and was on the sloop Plymouth under Perry, with the rank of lieutenant. During a visit of the Plymouth to China Lieut. Balch was placed in command of the outpost at Shanghai, and in a fight between the rebels and Imperialists was wounded in the hip. Rear-Admiral Balch also fought throughout the civil war, was superintendent of the Naval Academy from 1871 until 1881, and was retired for age in January, 1883. He is now residing in Ridgewood, N. J. Rear-Admiral Upshur was born in Virginia, December 5, 1823, and entered the Navy in 1841. He was with the home squadron during the Mexican war, and was a passed midshipman on the storeship Supply in Perry's expedition. He took part in the civil war, and was retired on his own application in 1885, after a service of over forty years. Rear-Admiral Upshur is now living in Washington.

Rear-Admiral Stanton was a midshipman on the frigate Susquehanna in the East Indies, China Seas, and in the Japan expedition, also serving on the Saratoga of that squadron. He entered the service in 1849, served on the Pacific squadron, West Indian flying squadron, and West Gulf and East Gulf blockading squadrons during the civil war. He was retired on his own application in 1894, receiving the rank of Rear-Admiral, and is now in New London. Chief Engineer Fithian entered the service from New Jersey as a third assistant engineer in 1848, and was on the Susquehanna as a second assistant engineer in the expedition to Japan. During the civil war he was a construction engineer. He was made a chief engineer in 1859, and was retired for age in 1882. He is now at Bridgeton, N. J. Chief Engineer Robie is a native of Vermont, and entered the service as a third assistant engineer in 1852. His first assignment was to the steam frigate Mississippi, the flagship of Commodore Perry. He assisted in building the first steam railroad, and in running the first locomotive in Japan. He was commissioned chief engineer in 1861, took

part in the civil war, and was retired in 1893. During the war with Spain he was engaged in selecting vessels for the auxiliary naval force. Chief Engineer Robie is now in Washington. Lieut.-Commander Morrison entered the Navy as a midshipman, and was on the Plymouth of the East India squadron from 1851 until 1855. He was promoted to master in 1855, being retired in February, 1860, for disability not incident to the service. He was given the rank of Lieutenant-Commander in 1867, and is in St. Elizabeth Asylum in Washington.-(N. Y. Evening Post.)

LINCOLN AND STEPHENS

The Hampton Roads Peace Conferenec of 1865, at which Alexander H. Stephens, Judge J. A. Campbell, and R. M. T. Hunter met Lincoln and Seward in an effort to establish peace between the North and South, and so to put an end to bloodshed had ended in failure. Lincoln and Stephens had met in 1847, when both were members of Congress, and something very like warm personal friendship had developed between them; this was strengthened at Hampton Roads. When they came to say good-by, the President of the United States remarked with feeling to the Vice-President of the Confederacy:

"Well, Stephens, there has been nothing we could do for our country. Is there anything I can do for you personally?"

"Unless you

Nothing." Then the Vice-President's pale face brightened. can send me my nephew, who has been for twenty months a prisoner on Johnson's Island."

Mr. Lincoln's face also brightened. "I shall be glad to do it. Let me have his name.' He took the name down in his notebook.

When he returned to Washington he telegraphed to Johnson's Island, directing that Lieut. Stephens be put on his parole, with orders to report at once to President Lincoln in Washington.

An officer came into the prison and called out:

"Lieut. John A. Stephens, of Georgia."

The Lieutenant had no idea what was wanted of him; he thought he was being called out to be shot. He had been captured at the siege of Vicksburg, and had been imprisoned five months in New Orleans, and then carried to Johnson's Island.

When he reported at headquarters he was told that he was to report at once to President Lincoln. So he was driven across the ice on Lake Erie in a sleigh twenty miles to Sandusky, and went on to Washington.