[M234, roll 237, frames 348-54, punctuation added]

Western Creek Nation
October 25 1831

To Our Father the
President U.S.

We have lately had a talk with W. McKoy the gentlemen you sent to run and lay off the lines between the Creeks, Cherokees, & Choctaws in the interview with him we made the following propositions Viz.

We told him we would except the Territory between the Verdagris and Canadian and its contents, but in case it should be out of the power of the President to give us that we then told him we would exchange with the Cherokees and take the lands north of the Verdagris and with the Arkansas river to Fort Smith then bounded on the north by the state of Missouri and if that could not be done the lands west of the Old Territorial line we hold by treaty. Since that we have been informed that the surveyors intend going up the Arkansas and Canadian how far we do not know above the Territorial line to make up the seven million acres ceded to the Cherokees. When our delagation was at Washington City in 1830 they then asked for more land knowing that we had not enough should we get all above the Territorial line and now to have the land between the Arkansas and Canadian taken from us and pushed out in the open prairie where it would be impossible for us to live. We cannot nor will we ever agree to. Our people have already settled the Country and do not intend to be removed without it is done by force. We have always taken the advice of our Father. When he told us to come to this country we came with the promise of having an unmolested home, having left behind us a country that we loved and where lay the bones of our Fathers and then to be a driven into the open prairie out of sight of timber and there to perish it is enough to make our hearts bleed at the though of it. We know if our Father could his eyes see our situation he would say to us you are right and shall have what you ask our Father.  The sixth article of the Treaty at Washington City the Twenty fourth January 1826 states that the emigrating party shall send an exploring party to view and select a country which exploring party did select and say that the lands between the Verdagris and Canadian was the country they selected for the Creeks to settle as will be proven by the certificates of Col. Arbuckle & Doct. Baylor. On the arrival of the first emigrants Col. Brearly thought it best for the people to settle between the Verdagris and Arkansas as it would be inconvenient to furnish provisions on the Canadian and that it would be too far from the garrison to render them any aid or assistance against the savages of the wild Indians. Col. Arbuckle also thought it best for the present but as our people emigrated we could then settle it and at this time there is at least one third of our people living between the Arkansas and Canadian. We ask our Father if it would not be hard to drive them from a comfortable home where they have good water and timber sufficient for them to a prairie where certain death would soon meet them, no wood no water for their subsistence. We will not. We would rather meet death here. We claim that country as our right guarantied to us by a treaty and to give it up we never can for a moment think of it and when we claim nothing but our own we know the magnanimity of our great Father will not suffer us to be imposed on or suffer the land to be taken away from us. We have already invited our Brothers and Friends from the Old Nation to come and live with us. How can we receive them? We have very little timbered country now and when that is taken away from us what shall we say to them? We cannot give them our houses and fields.  No, we must say to them, there is the prairie and there you must settle. If Col. Brearly the officer of the Government has made a report unfavorable to us we cannot consent to be the sufferers to our ultimate ruin and destruction. We hope our Father will take our situation into consideration and not think us troublesome when we make so reasonable a request.  All we want is land sufficient to live comfortably and raise our children. And should there be any land taken above the Territorial line from us our situation will be a bad one. Anticipating all will be settled to our satisfaction we respectfully submit the subject for your consideration.