Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes

McKenny, Thomas & Hall, James & Todd, Hatherly & Todd, Joseph. History of the Indian tribes of North America: with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs. Embellished with one hundred portraits from the Indian Gallery in the War Department at Washington. Philadelphia: D. Rice & Co. 1872.

Menawa, Creek Warrior

Menawa, also known as Hothlepoya or “The Crazy War Hunter,” was a prominent Creek warrior and chief of the Oakfuskee towns along the Tallapoosa River in Alabama. Renowned for his daring feats and raids on the Tennessee frontier during the early settlement period, he was infamous for his horse-stealing expeditions. Over time, his reputation grew, and he became widely known and feared by settlers. With the influence of Tecumseh in 1811, Menawa’s role evolved from a marauder to a significant figure in the Creek War, ultimately earning the name Menawa, meaning “The Great Warrior.” His life was marked by numerous battles, including the pivotal Battle of Horseshoe Bend, and he continued to play a crucial role in Creek politics, advocating against further cessions of territory to the United States. Menawa’s legacy is one of fierce bravery, strategic prowess, and a complex relationship with both his Creek heritage and the encroaching American settlers.

McIntosh, Creek Chief

McIntosh

McIntosh, whose admirable likeness is before the reader, was a half-breed, of the Muscogee, or Creek nation. His father was a Scotsman; his mother a native of unmixed blood. McIntosh was intelligent and brave. In person he was tall, finely formed, and of graceful and commanding manners. To these qualities he probably owed his elevation to the chieftainship of the Coweta tribe. We know little of the early history of this chief. The first notice we have of him is after his junction with the American forces in 1812. General Floyd mentions him in his report of the battle, or, … Read more

John Ross, Cherokee Chief

John Ross

John Ross, on his mother’s side, was of Scotch descent. His grandfather, John McDonald, was born at Inverness, Scotland, about 1747. Visiting London when a youth of nineteen years, he met a countryman who was coming to America, and catching the spirit of adventure, he joined him, landing in Charleston, S. C., in 1766. While here, he heard of a mercantile house in Augusta, Georgia, which attracted him thither, and he entered it as clerk. His success in business inspired confidence in his employers, who sent him to Fort Loudon, on the frontier of the State, built by the British … Read more