Sketch of the Creek country in the years 1798 and 1799, [n.d.]

Mss.970.3.H31

Date: n.d. | Size: 1 volume(s), 1 volume, 174 p.
Special Request | On-site Photography Request
Collections Home | APS Home

Abstract

One of three manuscript copies in Hawkins' hand, the other two being in the Georgia Department of Archives and History. A listing of towns and villages of Muskhogee and especially Creek Indians together with a discussion of customs, the Busketau, and answers to queries proposed to an old Creek Indian. Addenda on war parties, 1813 and treaties, 1773-1796.

Background note

Benjamin Hawkins was a senator from North Carolina, 1789-1795, and Indian agent for all tribes south of the Ohio River, 1796-1816.

Collection Information

Physical description

1 volume, 174 p.

Provenance

Presented by Thomas Jefferson and accessioned, 1816 (8876).

Alternate formats available

This item is also available on microfilm (Film 1288).

General note

There is a printed version taken from another manuscript in the Georgia Historical Society's Collections 3: 1 (1848).

Early American History Note

This document is a copy of Benjamin Hawkins report on the Creeks. In the essay, Hawkins tries to give a nearly complete picture of the Creek confederacy. He details the various Creek towns and their character, describes some individuals, conveys the oral history of an elder, and provides commentary on Creek culture, government, and tactics of war.

This copy is one of only three extant. This one was donated to the APS by Thomas Jefferson. Hawkins was from North Carolina, served as the state's Senator, and then served as the federal government's Indian agent for southern Indians.

Another copy of this manuscript was printed by the state of Georgia in the 1840s.

Indexing Terms


Genre(s)

  • Manuscript Essays
  • Native American Materials
  • Official Government Documents and Records
  • Oral History

Subject(s)

  • Creek Indians -- Government relations
  • Indians of North America -- Government relations
  • Native America