H. B. Cushman the son of missionaries working at Mayhew a Choctaw Indianstation in Mississippi observed the Indians heartbreaking removal fromMississippi betwee... » 

H. B. Cushman the son of missionaries working at Mayhew a Choctaw Indianstation in Mississippi observed the Indians heartbreaking removal fromMississippi between 1831 and 1833. Later in life he continued to be associatedwith them when he lived in Texas just across the Red River from the Choctawsand Chickasaws.In 1884 in an attempt to criticize white exploitation of the Indians Cushmanembarked on writing his History of the Choctaw Chickasaw and Natchez Indiansfrom the Indians point of view. He spent six years renewing contacts visitingcemeteries observing Indian councils and studying Indian records in theoriginal languages. Published in 1899 his history is extremely valuable forhis firsthand observations on the removal and later history of the Choctaws andChickasaws as well as for its material on the Natchez Indians about whomlittle is in print.Because the original edition was repetitious and contained homilies andirrelevant literary allusions Angie Debo abridged edited and indexed thework. Her 1961 edition with a new introduction by Clara Sue Kidwell is herepublished in paperback for the first time. «