Searching for Red Eagle : A Personal title: Journey Into the Spirit World of Native America author: Wells, Mary Ann. publisher: University Press of Mississippi isbn10 | asin: 1578060303 print isbn13: 9781578060306 ebook isbn13: 9780585033051 language: English Weatherford, William,--ca. 1780-1824, Creek War, 1813-1814, Creek Indians-- subject Biography, Indians of North America-- Mixed descent--Southern States, Indians of North America--Southern States--Religion. publication date: 1998 lcc: E99.C9W438 1998eb ddc: 975/.00497 Weatherford, William,--ca. 1780-1824, Creek War, 1813-1814, Creek Indians-- subject: Biography, Indians of North America-- Mixed descent--Southern States, Indians of North America--Southern States--Religion. Searching for Red Eagle A Personal Journey into the Spirit World of Native America Mary Ann Wells University Press of Mississippi Jackson Copyright © 1998 by University Press of Mississippi All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America 01 00 99 98 4 3 2 1 The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wells, Mary Ann, 1944- Searching for Red Eagle: a personal journal into the spirit world of Native America / Mary Ann Wells. p. cm. Included bibliographical references and index. ISBN (invalid) 1-57806-030-0 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Weatherford, William, ca. 17801824. 2. Creek War, 18131814. 3. Creek IndiansBiography. 4. Indians of North AmericaMixed descentSouthern States. 5. Indians of North AmericaSouthern StatesReligion. I. Title E99.C9W438 1998 975'.00497dc21 [B] 98-16014 CIP British Library Cataloging-in-Publication data available To Samuel, who listens to my dreams Contents Author's Note ix Chronology xi Part One Two Fires, One Heart Chapter One An Introduction 3 Chapter Two The Quest 23 Part Two Red Eagle's Memoirs Chapter Three Sehoy and the Frenchman 39 Chapter Four Birth 53 Chapter Five Childhood 69 Chapter Six Uncles and the Would-be Director General 81 Page viii Chapter Seven Half Made Whole 95 Chapter Eight Promise of the White Sapling 113 Part Three Lessons of the Spirit Chapter Nine The Spirit Speaks 139 Chapter Ten Friends and Allies 164 Chapter Eleven Massacre 188 Chapter Twelve War 203 Chapter Thirteen Billy Comes In 229 Notes 245 Bibliographical Essay 261 Selected Bibliography 277 Page ix Author's Note This true story of Red Eagle-William Weatherford, a Creek mixed- blood warrior and a leader of the Red Stick faction in the Creek War of 181314, is told within the framework of a personal narrative: my own mystic journey into the spirit world of Native America. This journey crosses metaphysical boundaries, which, for many people, separate reality from imagination; it thereby enters the world of fiction. Page x A map of Georgia, in 1748, with parts of Florida, Louisiana, and Carolina. Eman Bowen, English Geographer Page xi Chronology The British, operating out of the Carolinas, establish contact with 1685 the Alabamas (Creeks). 1699 The French arrive on the Gulf Coast. 1702 The French establish contact with the Alabamas. 171516In the Yamasee War, fought in the Carolinas, the Creeks expel British traders. 1717 The Alabamas grant the French permission to build Fort Toulouse at the junction of the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers.