Lucinda Davis facts for kids

Lucinda Davis (born around 1848, died after 1937) was a slave who grew up in the Creek Indian culture. She spoke the Muskogee Creek language very well. Most of what we know about her comes from an interview she gave in the summer of 1937, when she was thought to be 89 years old. Lucinda's parents were owned by two different Creek Indians. Because she was enslaved when she was very young and separated from her parents, she never knew where or when she was born. Lucinda was raised by the Creek family who bought her.

Tuskaya-hiniha: A Creek Leader

Tuskaya-hiniha means "head man warrior" in the Creek language. He was a farmer who grew and sold corn from his large farm. His farm was about 2 miles (3 km) north of the Elk River and 25 miles (40 km) south of Fort Gibson in what is now Oklahoma.

Just before the American Civil War, Lucinda's master became blind. Because of this, many of his slaves ran away. However, Lucinda stayed with her master throughout the war and even after she became free. She was young and had no other place to go. Tuskaya-hiniha first bought Lucinda to help take care of the family's baby. The baby was too young for a name, so they called him "Istilusti," which means "little man." Naming boys was an important tradition in Creek culture.

Creek Indian Life and Traditions

Tuskaya-hiniha's house was made of logs with a dirt floor and a roof made of bushes. All the food was cooked and eaten outside in big pots. One common dish was called sofki. To make sofki, corn was first pounded into a fine powder. Then, it was mixed with water, and the outer skin was drained off. After that, the grits were soaked, boiled, and left to sit until they were ready to eat. Sometimes, they would add pounded hickory nuts to the sofki.

This meal was made in large amounts, and anyone who was hungry could have some. If guests visited, they were expected to eat as much as they wanted. If they didn't, Tuskaya-hiniha would be upset.

Creek Dances

The Creek people had different types of dances called banga. One dance was the chicken dance, known as Tolosabanga. Another dance was the Istifanibanga, where people dressed up to look like skeletons and "raw heads" pretending to scare others.

Slavery Among the Creeks

The way the Creeks treated slaves was different from how white Americans, Cherokee, or Choctaw people treated them. It was often seen as a kinder form of slavery. Slave families could work for different owners and did not always have to live on the same property. Slaves worked hard and were paid, but they had to give most of their earnings to their owners, keeping only a small amount for themselves.

Lucinda was treated like a member of the family and did her duties. Her main job was taking care of the baby, and she also helped with cleaning and cooking. She was not beaten or disrespected. She understood what was expected of her and followed along.

Lucinda's Journey Through War

Lucinda saw many important events, including the Battle of Honey Springs, which happened near her home in the summer of 1864. Honey Springs was a trade town located down the main dirt road her master used to trade corn and get clothes. By this time, Tuskaya-hiniha was blind, and most of his slaves had run away.

One morning, before the sun came up, Lucinda was with the baby boy, pushing him on a swing. A man on a horse rode over the hill, shouting a battle cry to warn everyone about the coming fight. Tuskaya-hiniha heard him, and the family, including Lucinda and the remaining slaves, quickly gathered important things like meat, pots, corn, and blankets. They loaded these into a wagon and left. The rainy weather made the roads muddy, so the family had to stop and wait. While they waited, Confederate soldiers passed by with large guns. The Yankees burned down most of Honey Springs. The night was filled with the sound of gunfire, and the family headed back home the next day. When they arrived, they found their chickens and hogs were safe, and everything else was fine. It seemed the soldiers didn't have time to take anything.

The war was not over, so the family packed up again and moved to a safer place. The road was full of wagons, and it started raining again. Wagons traveled in groups, and if one group got stuck in the muddy, rutted road, everyone would put their horses and mules together to pull the wagon out. The road was very rough because many soldiers had marched on it. At night, everyone would share meals. All the women and slaves cooked food in large pots. The men were so tired and hungry that by the time they finished eating, there was often no food left for the women and slaves.

The family traveled north, hoping to reach Canada. They arrived, but there were no empty houses or places to stay, as soldiers had already taken them all. Some soldiers camped outside, and the Indians camped near them. Lucinda did not learn any English until after the war; she only knew the Creek language. The soldiers were singing, and Lucinda didn't understand what they were singing about, so she asked an elder. He replied, "I wish I was in Dixie, look away, away." Lucinda then asked, "Where's Dixie?" The old Indian laughed and talked to the soldiers, who also laughed, and Lucinda was told nothing more.

The next day, their travels brought them to a big river that was swollen from all the rain. Lucinda had never seen so much water. The men got some boats to put their things in, then floated the wagons across while the mules and horses swam alongside. Lucinda thought they would drown because she had never experienced such a crossing.

The place they arrived at had many empty homes, probably because many people had left due to the war. The families Lucinda was with would always send scouts ahead to check if a home was empty and safe to live in. They also needed to make sure another scout wasn't already there. They didn't stay in houses that had fresh graves nearby. One time, Tuskaya-hiniha's wife looked into a house and saw that the previous owners were still inside, lying dead on the floor. They quickly decided to move on to another house.

Finally, they found a good little cabin. Lucinda was now the only slave left with Tuskaya-hiniha's family. They lived there for over two years and harvested two crops of corn. They had a neighbor named Mr. Walker, who would hunt wild boar in the forest and catch fish with his bare hands after using a special root. So, the family had plenty of meat.

The war eventually ended, though Lucinda wasn't sure exactly when, especially since she was living so peacefully again. Lucinda was freed but stayed with her master until one day, three men on horseback came and spoke with Tuskaya-hiniha. After their talk, Tuskaya-hiniha told Lucinda she would go with the men to find her family. Before the group crossed a river, the men tied her to her horse so she wouldn't fall off. Again, she thought she might not make it to the other side alive.

Thanks to the Creek agency, she was reunited with her mother and father. She stayed with her parents until she was an adult and they had passed away. Lucinda married Andrew Davis at the Gibson station. They had many children, though only two were still alive in 1937.

As she grew older, Lucinda became blind. After her husband died, she moved in with a woman named Josephine, where she wouldn't have to do much work. Josephine's children were often loud, which bothered Lucinda's sensitive ears. She didn't like their manners because they were different from the Creek traditions she had grown up with. Lucinda remembered that if children had been with the Indians, the elders would have gently corrected a child if they did wrong, "because the elders knew best."

One source suggests that Lucinda died in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while being cared for by her daughter.

See also

• Slave narrative
• African American literature