Near the
Watula Creek, close to the old Watoola church, in Opelika, Alabama, there is a
dense forest covering many acres of land. All private property today, the land
was once the burial grounds of Creek Indians who lived in the area. Most
notably, Paddy Carr, a half Creek - half Irish native who lived near Fort
Mitchell during his adult hood. Carr’s history is a bit of a mystery since his
father allegedly returned to Ireland just after his birth in 1807, leaving his
Creek mother to care for him and his siblings. He later deferred the European traditions
of Christianity and took three wives of his own. The Creek tribe, his mother
hailed from, was from the Watooa area (which is today Watoola). The settlement
was located near the Watula creek and the burial mounds of Paddy Carr’s ancestors
were buried throughout the location.
 |
| Paddy-Car Half Creek Indian and Irish interrupter |
Somewhere,
within the vicinity of the settlement and the burial mounds, there was a small
hill where the chieftains were buried. Within the burials were clay pots, made
by the natives, filled with silver. The silver coins were given to the town’s
chiefs as partial payment for land by the American government. Of course the
Native American’s had no use for American currency and instead of trading it, they
buried it to avoid it be stolen by rival tribes or other white settlers.
After 1836,
the location was known as “Dog Scratch Hill”. Once settlers and pioneer people became
aware of the rumored buried treasure, despite the Indian curses associate with burial
sites, they flocked to the mounds to unearth the clay pots in search of silver
coins. Paddy Carr’s Creek grandfathers were buried on the hill, and he was
particularly upset to find that the “grave of his fathers” had been disturbed,
and more importantly that the deposits of silver were also missing. It was
noted that certain parties, living within the areas were met with a sudden
stroke of good fortune and that no one reported the removal of any Native antiquities
in the area. The clay remains of the pots were reported to be visible up until
1846, but no record or indication as to where they are or were located outside
of that report has ever been documented.
The last
written testimony to the treasure was listed by Rev. Francis Lafayette Cherry
in The History of Lee County.
“ I have referred to the above only
from the fact that it is believed by some that there are still large deposits
of coin hidden by the Indians in that locality, which have never been reclaimed
by the depositors, and consequently the “place of their sepulture in unknown to
this day.” Some lucky farmer boy may run his plowpoint into one of those long
hidden Indian treasure pots when these old “clay-roots” and hollow stumps have disappeared
and “left no sign”. “
Rev. Cherry
lived with the Creek tribes of Lee and Russell County for more than a decade
and recorded their history. Verbal traditions and ancestry were spread through
generations but most of America’s Native American history is lost because it
wasn’t recorded. Paddy-Carr (Patrick Carr) lived well into age and was very influential
as a translator and interrupter for the Creek tribes and European settlers. As
for the buried silver near the Watoola creek, one could only guess today where
the treasure could be found, or if it was ever there at all. Still the story
stands as part of a legend in Lee County and more importantly, one that was
written down and documented by historians.
 |
| Maps and demographics of Creek territories in Alabama vary but tell little of the minor settlements that were established throughout the rural south, before removal of Native Americans in 1836 |
No comments:
Post a Comment