Personal Narrative: The New Frontier
Traveling into the Indian Territory, we were being angrily chased down by three Indians furiously shouting at us. Dashing through the thick forest, the savage Indians were throwing spears and shooting arrows that narrowly missed us. Although neither Gideon nor I was mortally injured, I did suffer from a nick from an arrow piercing near my ear. Thankfully, a group of burly fur traders approached from the side, which frightened the Indians to run away. Acknowledging that Gideon and I were inexperienced travelers in the west, they offered us protection in exchange for some valuable possessions. As a consequence, knowing that they were our best alternative for survival, we gave them our antique gold pocket watches and assumed the identities of novice fur traders. From that point on, we followed them through the west and adopted their skills for efficiently hunting animals and keeping warm in the harsh, cold weather. During one of our rest points, we approached a large Cherokee settlement located in Park Hill in which our group leader was friends with the Cherokee leader John Ross. Hearing about our “business” venture, Ross was eager to personally meet us as way of passing information with western states’ legislatures in regards to the Cherokee’s land ownership rights. Although he was a leader of the Cherokee Nation, he held himself with the air of a well-educated southern man with his European features and pale skin. Perhaps the Cherokee elected him as their leader due to his ability to speak well with whites, such that I was even impressed. While the others set up the tents and fed the horses, I approached Ross in his elaborate Rose Cottage to interview his recent experiences of traveling from Georgia, across the Mississippi Rover, and finally to Park Hill. He began his story from the beginning of his political career as a leading Cherokee leader of Indian rights. Moreover, he discussed his difficulties of persuading others by overcoming obstacles of his white