Foot-loose and fancy-free By Angie Debo
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| Map Thirty-Seven:
Three Forks Region No place in Oklahoma has a stronger appeal for students of history than the area surrounding Three Forks. For many years it was the center of exchange for products of the trappers—Indian, French, American pioneers, and others. Trading posts were established by men whose names were known in St. Louis and New Orleans, as well as to the Indians, who seldom ventured from the security of their remote homeland. Colonel Hugh Glenn and Jacob Fowler knew the place as traders and pioneer caravan leaders on the long trail to New Mexico. Nathaniel Pryor, the noted explorer of the upper Missouri with Lewis and Clark, was the partner of Colonel Glenn for a few years. Brand and Barbour, French and Rutherford, Jean Pierre Chouteau, Auguste Pierre Chouteau, Jesse B. Turley, and Benjamin Hawkins, a leader of the McIntosh Creeks, were all identified with the trading activities of the Three Forks area. Fort Gibson, constructed in 1824, gave an impetus to trade and road building in the Three Forks region. Fort Davis had a brief existence as a Confederate stronghold during the Civil War. The Texas Road [Eastern Shawnee cattle trail] crossed the Arkansas below the mouth of the Verdigris, and an early cattle trail, prominent in the northern drive, made use of the same ford. Important agencies were established from time to time in the area. Great mission schools flourished and declined in the vicinity of Three Forks. Most famous, perhaps, was the academy at Tullahassee, where Alice Robertson attended classes and began the career which was to add fame to a great family. As the daughter of Ann Eliza Robertson and the granddaughter of Samuel Austin Worcester, Alice Robertson was expected to render effective public service. Her membership in Congress was only a small part of her useful career. Bacone Indian College, founded by Almon C. Bacone as Indian University at Tahleguah in 1880, was moved near Muskogee and continued as a junior college. It has achieved a secure position in the field of Indian education. Among its famous alumni are Alexander Posey, the Creek poet, and Patrick Hurley, formerly United States Secretary of War. The Negro settlement at Marshall Town on the “Point” between the Arkansas and Verdigris rivers was a turbulent spot for many years, especially between 1878 and 1885. Cattle theft was common in the region, and occasionally some of the Cherokee cattlemen attempted to take the law into their own hands to recover their cattle and punish the thieves. Generally, light-horse police in the Muskogee District were black, and racial antipathy was added to the bad relations between the young Cherokee cattlemen and the Creek law officers. The clashes were frequent and sometimes fatal. In August, 1879, for example, a fight between the Cherokees and the black police resulted in the death of John Vann, a prominent member of the Indian tribe. The battle was a continuation of another clash, on the previous Christmas, in which a policeman was killed and three of his men wounded. An Indian police force established for the Five Civilized Tribes by an act of Congress was instrumental in finally bringing an end to the worst of the disorders.
Agricultural Regions of Oklahoma Most of the early settlers of Oklahoma, both Indian and white, were primarily interested in agricultural activities. Many of the Indians who moved over the “Trail of Tears” into eastern Oklahoma had long engaged in growing various crops. When they settled in their new land, they tried to continue farming. Large cotton plantations developed on the Red River plains, and well-cultivated and well-stocked farms were fairly numerous in the Three Forks and Ozark areas. Most of the pioneers who later moved into the Unassigned Lands, the Cherokee Outlet, and the various reservations as they were opened to settlement were farmers. Often the agricultural activities resulted in failure because the settlers did not know how to farm in the environment into which they had moved. Oklahoma can be divided into five agricultural land-use areas, chiefly on the bases of climate, soils, and topography. In each area the farmers grow about the same groups of crops in about the same way. Boundaries between the areas are not clearly defined lines but rather are zones in which a somewhat gradual transition takes place. Livestock is the common denominator for all the agricultural regions since the most common land use in all parts of Oklahoma is for pasture. Six areas of Oklahoma—the western Panhandle, the western Canadian River valley, the Osage Hills, the Wichita Mountains, the Arbuckle Mountain area, and the Ouachita Mountains—grow very few crops other than hay. All these area are too rugged or too dry for intensive or even extensive cultivation. Wheat is the dominant crop in the northwestern quarter of the state and is Oklahoma’s primary export. Farms are large, and much of the work is mechanized. Winter wheat makes good pasture during the winter season; thus the grazing of feeder stock is common throughout the area. Grain sorghums are the second most important crop of the northwest. In southwestern Oklahoma cotton competes with wheat for land use, especially in those sections where water is available for irrigation; grain sorghums to be used for feed are the third crop of the southwest. In the region south of the Ouachita Mountains more acres are planted in soybeans than in cotton, but the crop having the greatest acreage is hay. Peanuts are also a common product of this region. In the northeastern part of Oklahoma grain sorghum, corn, wheat, and soybeans are important crops. The northeastern region is also an area of specialty crops, such as vegetables, fruits, and berries. Again, however, more land is planted in hay than in any other crop. Like the northwestern part of the state, livestock grazing is common in all the other regions. 
Map Seventy: Directory: pages -> uploaded files uploaded files -> Mr. Donald S. Moss Du Quoin Community Unit District 300 Educational Foundation 2011 Excellence in Achievement Award uploaded files -> Professional experience uploaded files -> National & State Scholarship List Due Scholarship Information Amount uploaded files -> Program of activities uploaded files -> Advanced Computer Applications Mulvane High School uploaded files -> Social Studies Study Guide uploaded files -> Atlas Mountains runs through Morocco north of the Sahara Desert uploaded files -> Chester W. Nimitz Bio uploaded files -> Cross Country – Boys’ uploaded files -> Team score of top three teams: Glenwood 40 pts., Carol Kuemper 60 pts., Harlan 90 pts Download 8.6 Mb. Share with your friends:
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