The Texas farmers had suffered the biggest defeat as blood shed and sweated labors existed and the blame went mostly to the slaves who were a helpless segment of the peoples. While it may not be recorded, the battle was a cost to the Cherokees as they were enlisted to fight also. They found rest with the Mexicans in Matamoros after they took part in the fight against the northern troops. The Matamoros area population was approximately 40,000.

One northern historian commented that what the Yankees achieved was not a triumph of middle class ideals but of middle class vices and that the shoddy aristocracy of the north and the ragged and orphaned children of the south. It was suggested by this historian that "Among the masses of Americans there were no victors, only the vanquished."

Today as we study and are privileged to see both sides one-hundred-fifty years later, we can most certainly see the great sense of pride in our young men that come in our local business talking about the great sacrifices that have taken place in our lives, but how these sacrifices have been abused and twisted around by the shoddy politics of our time.

Not only did the people of Texas suffer from the loss of their money, deposits and bank stocks during this struggling period, they also suffered a prime loss of their slaves. This loss was described by many as illusive and the ideal was profound. The Texas economy virtually was in ruins.

I have told you how the Onega Methodist church survived with the spirit to go on during these difficult and tiring times. The politics of this time were even more heartbreaking as the effort to rebuild was at the end of the long road. The local people here in Onega were settled into change their identity from the native American culture to that culture of just simply living with what they had and to work to produce what they could produce with their friends, neighbors and relatives as was the custom of the tribe to share their possessions with everyone until better times began to roll around.

The local church was instrumental in helping each other to provide with the same of what each possessed. That generosity was plain and evident in just about every surviving family of the Civil War. It created a close-knit atmosphere as everyone was equal to the greater degree. This area didn’t see the fighting that existed elsewhere. It was at this time that the cross ties were being made and the trains began to come through the area providing a market for the cotton and other goods that were produced in the area.

One-fourth of the white male population of Texas was dead. The real wealth of everything except the land was just about destroyed. Original hand written letters from my early day family members during the Civil War provide me with facts that existed on the front line and the real hardships that were present from both sides (the north and south – one big family of people). Some of these letters describe the love and faith in our human network. They described the days and nights as they lasted for four or five years.

My cousin Billie and I have spent countless hours examining the contents of the old letters that were written with a feather that was sharpened into a pen with clothes bluing as ink. Some people today does not know what clothing’s bluing is, but our mothers used it as a bleach to help whiten our clothing as it was being laundered. The line and the writings of the old letters are now faded into a brown appearance.

The comments that I receive daily from customers in the hardware store are some of the most valuable assets I have possess, and each new day brings in more valuable grass roots of American talk and friends that have roots in the beginning of our Onega settlement.

Last week I began to quote our Texas Cherokee Chief as he described words in the Cherokee language for comparison to the words in English and the pronunciation of the words. I will attempt to offer more of these words as the Chief corresponds with the tribe membership. His wishes are that our tribe membership expand and that we should be able to speak a little bit of the language. I am certain the words have never been spoken in this neighborhood before, because our ancestors were required to deny and stop the use of the words of their native language in order to survive.

Next week we will talk more about the Texas Tribal council meeting.