Being of a curious nature, I like to know what took place before I arrived. This chapter is devoted to summarizing many of the events of the past which have been recorded by historians. Quite often the reference books do not agree in every detail of their reporting of the same event but, since we were not here, we must rely on these reportings to form our own opinions. Since the history of the United States is already well documented in many readily available publications, I will attempt to bring out some of those early events which bring us to the beginning of my story.

It is generally believed that our first inhabitants migrated here by way of a land bridge between Asia and the North American continent during the last Ice Age, perhaps some 40,000 years ago. At that time, a thick layer of ice covered the northern parts of what are now called Asia and North America.

During this time a land bridge some 1,000 miles wide joined Asia and the North American continent. Some of these people may have come by way of small boats along the coast but most of them probably came on foot, following large herds of animals. These people lived by hunting. They ate the meat and used the fur skins for clothing and shelter. Therefore we may assume that the American Indians are descendants of these original migrants from Asia.

It is said that when Columbus arrived in what we call America, there were some 800 tribes speaking some 300 languages here. The natives were called Indians because Columbus mistakenly thought he had discovered a new route to India. This was, of course, in 1492. During the 1600's, France was expanding and had established fishing and fur trading in the St. Lawrence River area. 

The Frenchman LaSalle sailed down the Mississippi River in 1682 and planted the French flag and cross at the mouth of the river and claimed for France all territory of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. This included the Arkansas River so that this area became a French territory. LaSalle called this territory Louisiana after King Louis the XIV of France. During the French-Indian wars of 1763, the territory was ceded to Spain.

The first permanent white settlement in what we know as Oklahoma was established by Major Jean Pierre Chouteau in 1796 at Salina. French traders had been here for many years. Spain relinquished its claim to the territory in 1800 so that it again belonged to the French. President Thomas Jefferson signed the papers with France to purchase the territory for the United States in 1803. This was the Louisiana Purchase. Shortly thereafter, by order of Thomas Jefferson, a group of white men began exploring the wilderness of the Arkansas river basin. This was the Lewis and Clark expedition.

In 1812, Thomas Jefferson decided to move the five civilized tribes from their homes in the southern states to Oklahoma. These tribes were the Creek, the Cherokee, the Seminole, the Chickasaw, and the Choctaw. 

Federal soldiers force-marched these people from their homes in Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana and other states in the South to their new homes in Oklahoma. Many died along the way but the moves continued until 1837. These moves were to become known as the Trail of Tears. During this same period of time, 1817, Fort Smith had become a trading post and French traders, pushing their flat bottom boats with poles, came up the Arkansas and Illinois rivers to Fort Gibson to trade their trinkets for furs.

In 1832, traveling with the U. S. Rangers, a documentary writer and artist named Washington Irving passed through Tulsa. He is believed to be the first white American civilian in this area.

By the year 1837, the movement of the Indians was essentially complete. These five tribes had been well established in their homes in the Southeast. They knew farming, knew the White Man's laws, had schools and churches, and were educated. Although 2,000 Creek Indians had come earlier, the Creeks from Lochapoka, Alabama, made a mass move to Oklahoma from 1834 to 1836. In coming up the Arkansas River, they passed Fort Smith and continued up river until they spotted a large oak tree near a bend of the river. 

A brave carrying ashes from the council fires of Lochapoka, a sort of sub-division of Tullasai in Alabama, made a huge fire under the oak tree. There seems to be a variety of opinions as to what the brave said, but it sounded like "Tulsey" and "Tulsey Town" was born. It is believed that the word spoken came from a contraction of Tullahassee, meaning "old town," as was their old town in Alabama. Thus the Creeks gave us the name which later would become Tulsa.

The Creeks laid out their ceremonial square and left the oak tree standing in one corner as was the ancient Creek custom. They cut trees surrounding the square and built public buildings. Dwellings were built around the public square and the council fire under the oak tree was the place for their religious and government meetings. This oak tree still stands near what is now 18th and Cheyenne Streets.

The Choctaw language is supposedly the source