Chicken Trotter, Cherokee Captain

Section 1

Chicken Trotter was a Cherokee man

Conflation

Numerous web sites claim that Chicken Trotter was the same man as a Cherokee named Devereaux Jarrett Bell, who went by "Jarrett" or "D.J." Bell. "Chicken Trotter" signed the Treaty of Bird's Fort with an "X" in 1843; Jarrett Bell was clearly literate and there are examples of his signature on documents in Indian Territory in the early 1840's. [1] Chicken Trotter is documented in Texas at the same time Bell is documented in Indian Territory.

(Geni Curator note: See the Geni profile for Devereaux Jarrett Bell for a discussion of his life history. Please be aware that the family of Jarrett Bell as shown has not yet been confirmed as of 02/26/2023, dvb. See Jarrett Bell aka J. D. Bell?)

Biography

Chicken Trotter was probably born in the Cherokee Nation about 1800. Nothing is known of his origins or of any family. He apparently went west with Duwali/John Bowles, arriving in Texas (then part of Mexico) in 1820.

Duwali and a number of other Cherokee signed a treaty with the Texans in 1836, but Chicken Trotter was not included as a signatory. [2] After Duwali was killed at the Battle of the Neches in 1839 [3] a few of the surviving Cherokee including Duwali's son Wagon and Chicken Trotter stayed in Texas. The Texas Indian Papers record Chicken Trotter as the "Captain" of a group of 20 Cherokee that included 11 "warriors."[4] He became a spokesman for the group, participating in a series of meetings with officials from the Republic of Texas and leaders of several other Indian tribes. Those meetings culminated in adoption of two treaties, the Treaty of Bird's Fort which Chicken Trotter signed in 1843 [5] and a Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1845. Although Chicken Trotter was present at the talks for the second treaty, he did not sign it. [6]

When Texas became part of the United States in1845 a delegation from the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory was sent to the Comanche in Texas to urge them to join with other tribes in a peace agreement. One of the ambassadors was Elijah Hicks, a Cherokee. He kept a journal of the entire trip and recounted an incident where one of the members of the party wandered off and wasn't found for several days. Eventually the lost "boy" turned up with Chicken Trotter. Chicken Trotter claimed a reward of $100 although the lost-and-found man claimed that he had found Chicken Trotter, not vice versa. [7] The payment to Chicken Trotter was duly recorded in accounts of monies paid out to various Indians in 1846. [8] There is no further record which names him.

Sources

1. ↑ Letter from Joseph Vann to John Ross. 4026.1044-.1. John Ross Papers. November 14, 1842. Tulsa: Gilcrease Museum, https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/40261044-1 (02/22/2018).
2. ↑ Treaty Between Texas Commissioners and Cherokee Indians, 1836 1836 Treaty
3. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Neches
4. ↑ Winfrey, Dorman H. & Day, James M. The Indian Papers of Texas and the Southwest 1825-1916: Volume 1, book, 1995; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth786490/: accessed February 27, 2023), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; . p. 281
5. ↑ Treaty of Bird's Fort, Republic of Texas, 1843 image at Treaty
6. ↑ The Indian Papers of Texas and the Southwest, Vol. II, 1844-45 Digitized at talk
7. ↑ Journal of Elijah Hicks, transcribed in The Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. XIII, No. 1, pp. 67 ff. Digitized at Hicks
8. ↑ Report of the 2nd Auditor of the Treasury May 30, 1848 p. 48 payment

Source: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cherokee-324
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Section 2 Other Source Material

• 29 Sept 1843 – The Treaty of Bird’s Fort was “signed”. A Cherokee named Chicken Trotter left his mark on the treaty. There were about 30 Cherokees present and they were in desperate condition. They had recently returned from Mexico and had been robbed of all their possessions, including their clothing. The family of The Bowl refused to attend the council until the women and children were given proper clothing.

1839 Republic of Texas Map from the book, Taming Texas, by Stephen L. Moore

Bird's Fort Treaty Ratification Proclamation, 1843, showing that Chicken Trotter “signed” with a mark @ https://www.tsl.texas.gov/treasures/indians/birds-01.html

To view a complete copy of the original treaty see here: Bird's Fort Treaty Ratification Proclamation, 1843 @ https://www.tsl.texas.gov/treasures/indians/birds-01.html

• 15 May 1844 – There was a council meeting of Indians and agents in the Republic of Texas. Cherokee Chicken Trotter spoke on the third day. He said all the Cherokees in Texas were there and asked about the daughters of Chu-ti-koo who had been taken by a different tribe.

Talk of Chicken Trotter, the Cherokee Captain, pg 56 of "The Indian Papers of Texas and the Southwest 1825-1916, Vol. 2

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth786487/m1/72/zoom/?r...

• 21 Feb 1846 – Chicken Trotter delivered a lost white boy to the camp of Elijah Hicks. (for which he is paid $100)

1848, p. 29. Report of the 2nd Auditor of the Treasury May 30, 1848
For the complete document see here: Senate Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Public Documents and Executive Documents: 14th Congress, 1st Session-48th Congress, 2nd Session and Special Session. United States, n.p, 1847.

• 23 Feb 1846 – Elijah Hicks assisted Chicken Trotter at the trading post.

From the journal of Elijah Hicks this date read "Monday Febry. 23rd. Commsrs. paid off Seven or eight packman Whites & Cherokees & left camp. Chicken, Cherokee who had brought in lost boy, reed, a draught on Bernard & Co. for goods amt. $100.00

Source: Hicks, Elijah. “The Journal of Elijah Hicks.” CHRONICLES OF OKLAHOMA, Volume XIII, Mar. 1936, pp. 68–99., https://ia800308.us.archive.org/21/items/chroniclesofokl1319okla_0/.... Accessed 26 Feb. 2023.

• After an exhaustive search, Chicken Trotter was not found in records after 1846.

Source: Carey B…, T. (2021, October 27). Who were the TEXAS ' CHEROKEES? [web log]. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from http://www.pollysgranddaughter.com/2021/10/who-were-texas-cherokees....
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