Chapter 4

"Between Two Fires"

Jay Monaghan

The End of Secrecy and the Birth of the "Pins"

The militancy of the Jones' Baptists over the issue of slavery and the fact that their followers were moving from preaching to political organization became an increasing threat to the officials responsible for the Indian Territory. Federal Agent George Butler (a member of Fort Gibson Lodge #35) formally accused Evan Jones of being an abolitionist and Jones responded by demanding Butler cite the specifics of his charges.² In another instance, Butler noted the influence of certain individuals in late 1858: "there are a few Black Republicans, who are the particular fondlings of the abolition missionaries that have been, and still are making themselves officious upon the subject of slavery."³ Although Agent Butler did not identify these "Black Republicans," we must consider the message of liberation spread by black ministers such as Joseph Island, Old Billy, Brother Jesse, Monday Durant, and Uncle Reuben. We must also remember the work of the native ministers such as Evan Jones, Tannenolee, Kaneeda, and Smith Christie and their message to those that made up the Northern Baptist's congregations.

The Fort Smith Times on February 3, 1859 began to take notice not only of the "Black Republicans," but also of the Baptist missionaries who were allowing them to operate with such freedom within their churches. Evan Jones was particularly cited as being "an abolitionist, and a very dangerous man, meddling with the affairs of the Cherokees, and teaching them abolition principles."⁴ In late 1859, William Penn Adair (Flint Lodge #74), a member of the Cherokee National Council, declared that the Knights of the Golden Circle would have the Joneses out of the Cherokee Nation. They would do so even if they had to resort to mob violence to accomplish their purpose.⁵ Adair, after an earlier struggle with Evan Jones over a "runaway slave," noted that Jones's "abolition principles and doctrines...may 'gull' a few of the ignorant class...but I think the more enlightened parties would rejoice at his removal."⁶

On October 16, 1859, an event occurred in the East whose rumblings would be felt even in the Indian Territory. John Brown and a group of radical abolitionists raided Harper's Ferry with the expectation of instigating a slave revolt that would spread throughout the South. With an apocalyptic vision, he sought to instigate a conflict that would turn the tide of the struggle against slavery. Though the incident was in Virginia, its implications were felt throughout the land. Abolitionists moved from being a threat to the institution of slavery to a becoming a threat to the internal security of the country. Rhetorical abolitionism was a problem for the political authorities; militant abolitionism became an issue for the military ones.

In October 1859, Federal Agent George Butler had seen enough and ordered John B. Jones "to take my person and effects and remove them out of the Nation."⁷ Butler also ordered the sheriff of Goingsnake District to arrest John Jones, by force if necessary, and remove the abolitionist minister from the Cherokee Nation. When the sheriff set about to arrest Jones, word was sent out among the faithful, and the Keetoowah in the vicinity surrounded the mission. The sheriff was "deterred from executing the order by fear of the common people."⁸ If the federal government was acting against the will of the Cherokee people, then the "common people" would themselves become the will of the Cherokee Nation. The Keetoowah Society had taken a profound step towards the building of a new nation; it had acted in its own self-defense.

Emerging within the Keetoowah Society was a distinctive form of patriot, one whose struggle was not only for the preservation of the "old ways," but also one who was passionate in their concerns for the preservation of a sovereign nation. The "Pins," or "Pin Indians" as they came to be called, were an offshoot organization made up the militant branch of the Keetoowah Society. Whereas the Keetoowah Society was dedicated to the "white path of righteousness," the "Pins" would follow the "Red Path, the path of war and blood revenge."⁹ The "Pins" chose the United States flag as their symbol and wore crossed straight pins on the left lapel of their hunting jackets. This is the origin of the name "Pins;" it was used as a derogatory term by members of the Treaty Party.¹⁰

As the "Pins" were dedicated to the "red path" in an increasingly dangerous Cherokee Nation, they developed their own security measures. The pins on their lapel were worn "in the event that hand-to-hand combat against one another, they were not to harm anyone wearing the cross pins."¹¹ They developed secret signs such as touching the hat as a salutation or taking their left lapel and drawing it forward and rightward across the heart.¹² When meeting each other in the dark, the first asked the other, "Who are you?" The reply or pass was "Tahlequah -- who are you?." The proper response was, "I am Keetoowah's son!"¹³

By the middle of 1860, the panic that was sweeping the country made its way to Indian Territory, and the Keetoowah Society became a source of great concern. The "Pins" with their militant activism aroused great attention among the government and the press. The Fort Smith Times (Arkansas) issued the following alarm:

Commissioner of Indian Affairs A.B. Greenwood responded by dispatching agent Robert Cowart, formerly of Georgia, to investigate the Keetoowah Society and to proceed "at once to break it up," as it was now deemed a threat to national security, "It is believed that the ultimate object of this organization is to interfere with the institutions of that people, and that its influences will extend to the other tribes upon the Western border of Arkansas. This scheme must be broken up: for if it is permitted to ripen, that country will, sooner or later, be drenched in blood. You are aware that there is a large slave property in the Cherokee country, and if any steps are taken by which such property will be rendered unsafe, internal war will be the inevitable result, in which the people of the bordering states will be involved." ¹⁵ Cowart was also informed that if "any white persons residing in the Nation are in any way connected with this organization, he will notify such person or persons forthwith to leave the Nation." Entering the Cherokee Nation, he knew "that the Secretary of War will be requested to place such force at his disposal as may be necessary to enforce any order he may deem it his duty to make."¹⁶

Upon arriving in Indian Territory, Cowart was to find that his reliance upon the Secretary of War would not be necessary. The forces of the Knights of the Golden Circle were already mobilized to accomplish his goals. Stand Watie and William Penn Adair had started a petition among the Knights of the Golden Circle, calling for the eviction of John B. Jones from the Nation, "The said Intruder is an abolitionist and as such is scattering his principles of Abolitionism like fire brands throughout the country. It is needless to say...that our whole system of Government recognizes the institution of African slavery.... Our present unhappy state of affairs has to a very great degree been brought about by the doctrines that this intruder is daily promulgating under the guise of preaching to the Cherokees the Gospel of Jesus Christ.¹⁷ The petition further excoriated the Northern Baptist churches for supporting abolitionism by excluding slaveholders from the church. Though it accused Evan Jones of preaching the doctrine of abolitionism, it, interestingly enough, did not call for sanctions against him.

In his efforts to gain information about the Keetoowah Society sufficient to call in Federal troops, Cowart was less successful, "As regards those Secret Societies, I firmly believe, that they are gotten up with a view to aid in conveying those abolition plans of operation, to a successful termination. Allow me to say -- that I shall continue to travel in and through the Nation until I establish those charges if it can possibly be done."¹⁸ There were also different kinds of problems associated with interfering with the affairs of the Keetoowah, "Fifty men with guns appeared to watch after Geo. Smith and Chas. Rooster to protect them, though unauthorized by law. These fifty men were "Secret" men, and seemed to present rather a defiant front.... We need not expect any quarters from our enemies.¹⁹

On September 7, 1860, Cowart wrote a letter to John B. Jones that concluded, "I have petitions by some 500 citizens asking for your removal from the Cherokee Nation by the 25th of this present month...otherwise Military Force will be employed to remove you."²⁰ Fearing that the military force would take him to Arkansas where a waiting mob would tar and feather him, John B. Jones and a contingency of several Keetoowah guards set forth for Kansas: "I feel my forceable expulsion from the Cherokee Nation to be a great outrage. I feel that I have been deeply and grossly wronged. I have the sympathies of a large majority of the Cherokees. Many of them expressed their great indignation at the treatment I had received. They felt that Colonel Cowart, the U.S. Agent, had usurped authority over their country and was attempting to establish a precedent, which if followed up, would override their government and rob them of their sacred rights.²¹