Name: Tipps-Holder, Sherry

E-mail: stipps@conwaycorp.net

Topic: Cadron Settlement and the Trail of Tears

Grade: 6-8

Time: one class period

Ark. Hist. Framework: 2.1.11,2.1.12

Objective: 1. Students will learn about the reason for the removal of the Cherokee and other Indian nations to lands reserved for them in the west.

2. Students will map the water route of the Trail of Tears from its origination in the east and through the Arkansas River Valley to Indian Territory.

3. Students will examine primary resources to learn about Cadron Settlement's role on the Trail of Tears through Arkansas.

Set: Explain to the students that in 1830, the United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act.

Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, was a strong proponent of the act which authorized the removal of the five civilized tribes of the southeastern part of the country to lands reserved for them in Indian Territory west of Arkansas.

The routes taken by the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southeast are called the Trail of Tears.  One of the tribes to be forced to migrate from their homelands was the remaining portion of the eastern Cherokee.  The Cherokee gave up all rights

to homes and property in the east and made the trip with U.S.Military escort.  Ask the students how many of them have heard of the Trail of Tears. Some groups of Cherokee made the trip by boat.   The U.S. Government made inadequate

provisions for the trip.

Materials: · Figure 1.  Transparency and class set of Map of the Water Route of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears.

Figure 2.  Transparency showing Geographic Regions of Arkansas with Cadron.

Figure 3.  Class set of article- "The Trail of Tears at Cadron" by Grant Foreman.

Figure 4.  Transparency of Cholera Fact Sheet.

Figure 5.  Class set of Cadron Trail of Tears Cemetery Roster.

****Figures 4 and 5 are posted with this lesson.  To obtain figures 1-3, please e-mail me for a copy.

Key Terms: Indian Removal Act, Andrew Jackson, Trail of Tears, cholera

Key Facts: The Arkansas River Valley was a major transportation corridor for westward migration.  In 1834, Arkansas was in the late Territorial Period, and there were scattered settlements along the Arkansas River Valley. Other than Cadron, the other settlements above Little Rock on the Arkansas River were Lewisburg (Morrilton), Point Remove, and Dardanelle.  The major economic concerns in the valley were still farming and hunting. Although Cadron was on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route connection between Memphis and Fort Smith, the town was on the decline by the time the remainder of the eastern Cherokee and other eastern Indian nations began the forced migration to Indian Territory. Railroads had not yet eclipsed

steamboat travel, and Cadron was a stop for steamers on the Arkansas River.  It was here at Cadron that one of the most tragic events of Indian removal through Arkansas occurred, a terrible cholera epidemic.

Activities: 1. Give each student a copy of (Figure 1.) the Map of the Water Route of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears.  Remind the students that some of the Indian nations traveled by land, but some traveled by water.  Give the students a few minutes to figure out what route the eastern Cherokee could have taken to get to Indian Territory by water. (They followed the Tennessee River north, and then they came down the Mississippi and up the Arkansas River.)  Have the students trace this route on their maps.

2. Tell the students that one of many horrible incidents the Cherokee suffered occurred at a place called Cadron.   Have the students locate Cadron on the (Figure 1.) map.  Ask the students in what geographic region of Arkansas Cadron is located.  Show the students (Figure 2.) the Map of the Geographic Regions of Arkansas locating Cadron in the Arkansas River Valley.   Explain to the students that the Arkansas River Valley became a major transportation corridor for the Trail of Tears land and water routes.

3. Tell the students that in April of 1834, about five hundred Cherokee who were already weakened by the grueling trip, occupied three river boats that were being towed up the Arkansas River by the steamboat, Thomas Yeatman.  Because of a drought, the river water was so low that the boats couldn't travel any further up river.  The party of Cherokee were forced to dock and make camp at Cadron until arrangements could be made by their leader and guard, Lt. Joseph Harris, for wagons to continue the trip by land.  Wagons were needed for those who were too weak to walk.

4. Pass out the class set of (Figure 3.) the article titled "The Trail of Tears at Cadron".   Read this as a class and discuss the content.  At the point in the article where cholera is mentioned, show the class (Figure 4.) the transparency of the Cholera Fact Sheet, then continue with the reading and discussion.

5. Tell the students that the Cherokee buried their dead on the bluff at Cadron which overlooks the Arkansas River.  Pass out the class set of (Figure 5.) the Cadron Trail of Tears Cemetery roster.  Have the students make some observations about the cemetery roster. (Who from the article do they remember?   Who did the epidemic hit the hardest?  How many children are on the roster?)

Figure 4.

Cholera Fact Sheet

What causes cholera?

     Contact with the cholera bacterium which infects the

     intestine  (People in 1834 didn't know about bacteria.)

Where can cholera bacterium exist?

     *Contaminated drinking water and water of brackish

      (salty or briny) rivers

     *Raw or undercooked shellfish

     *Inadequately treated sewage and feces of a person with

      cholera

What are the symptoms of cholera?

     *Profuse watery diarrhea

     *vomiting

     *leg cramps

What happens if the person does not receive treatment?

     Victims often experience rapid loss of body fluids which leads to dehydration and shock.  Without treatment,

     death can occur within hours.

Do people get cholera today?

     Yes, people do get cholera today, but usually only in countries where there are inadequate or no sanitation systems to provide clean, safe drinking water and in places where there are inadequate sewage systems.

How can you prevent getting cholera?

Rule of thumb: Boil it…cook it…peel it…or forget it!

* In 1834, very little could have been done to treat the Cherokee who were stricken with cholera.

Figure 5.

Trail of Tears Cemetery

Cadron Settlement Park, Faulkner County

Township 5 North, Range 14 West, Section 6

The following were among the dead Cherokee who were buried on the bluff overlooking Cadron:

_____________Bird                                     Miller's child

_____________Bird's wife                            _____________Morgan

_____________Brewer's child                      _____________Morgan's

_____________Butler                                   Alex M'Toy

Sarah Ch______k                                          Alex M'Toy's child

Thomas M. Daniel's child                                Thigh Nave

Joseph Dobson's child                                     J. Peckerwood

William England                                                _____________Richardson's wife

Mrs. William England                                        _____________Richardson's child

Black Foxes' wife                                             Dr. Jesse Roberts

Black Foxes' five children                                 Dr. Ross' child

_____________Henson's child                        Spencer Shelton's child

L. Holloway                                                     Robin Shelton's wife

_____________Horsefly's child                       Robin Shelton's child

Charley McDaniel                                             Jackson Smith's child

Charley McDaniel's wife                                   Mariah Spaniard's child

Daniel McDonald's child                                   Polly Spaniard's child

Arch McGregs                                                 Bear Track's child

Will Tucker's child                                            T. Wilson's child

William Vann                                                   William Wilson's child

William Vann's three children                            John Woodward's child

_____________Water's child                          Ailee______________

   36 unidentified

*These names are inscribed on a marker at Cadron Settlement Park near Conway.  Note that many of the Cherokee had adopted Anglo-Saxon names.   Cherokee children were usually not given a permanent name until around age seven.

the route taken by the Cherokee that led them to Cadron.

Assessment: Ask the students to write a paragraph telling about the Cadron's role on the

Trail of Tears. (They can refer to handouts.)

Resources: Foti, Thomas and Gerald Hanson.  Arkansas and the Land.  Fayetteville: University of

     Arkansas Press, 1992.

Foreman, Grant.  "Trail of Tears at Cadron."  Faulkner Facts and Fiddlings  Spring and

     Summer 1998: 14-17.

Ross, Margaret Smith.  "Cadron: An Early Town That Failed."  Arkansas Historical Quarterly  Spring 1957: 3-28.

"Trail of Tears Cemetery."  Faulkner Facts and Fiddlings  Spring and Summer 1999: 35-36.

Christ, Mark K. and Cathryn Slater.  Sentinels of History. Fayetteville: UP, 2000.

-----------------