In 1973, Mary Hill of the Muskogee Indian Nation told an interviewer some of the stories her grandmother Sallie Farney had told
her about the Trail of Tears. Read the given excerpt from the interview. The command for a removal came unexpectedly upon most of us…Wagons stopped at our home and the men in charge commanded us to gather what few belongings could be crowded into the wagons. We were to be taken away and leave our homes never to return.
Many fell by the wayside, too faint with hunger or too weak to keep up with the rest. The aged, feeble, and sick were left to perish by the wayside…
The little children piteously cried day after day from weariness, hunger, and illness. Many of the men, women, and even the children were forced to walk…Death stalked at all hours, but there was no time for proper burying of ceremonies… There were several men carrying reeds with eagle feathers attached to the end. These men continually circled around the wagon trains or during the night around the camps. These men said the reeds with feathers had been treated by the medicine men. Their purpose was to encourage the Indians not to be heavy hearted nor to think of the homes that had been left. Some of the older women sang songs that meant, "We are going to our homes and land; there is One who is above and ever watches over us; He will care for us." This song was to encourage the ever downhearted Muskogees.
Based on the excerpt, what are the two ways the Muskogee tried to help the people of their tribe remain positive during their journey?
1) By circling the wagon Trains at night holding Treated Feathers to remind the Natives that perhaps they should not think of the homes they left behind, but rather hope that what they were heading towards would be better. The feathers had the added property that they were treated by the Medicine Man.
2) The older wise women sang songs that resembled hymns to encourage those on the trail that the One above them would be watch over them.
