Trail of Tears State Park
Trail of Tears State Park |
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Credit for the park's creation goes to the people of Cape Girardeau who voted to purchase the land and fund the development of the park. Nearly, thirty five hundred acres, the park contains a recreational lake, two campgrounds, historical displays and miles of beautiful hiking trails that weave their way through and over the bluffs along the river. A visit to Trail of Tears State Park has great potential: you can hike through one of Missouri's most beautiful natural areas, visit the river and Devil's Tower just north of the park, and then explore a wealth of history including the story of the Cherokee's forced march through the area, the story of the The photo you see below was taken in late Spring with the river high and turbulent. This section of the river is also the most dangerous. The last lock on the river is at Granite City just above St. Louis. From St. Louis to Cairo the Missisippi drops at its greatest free flowing rate. The river is wide and the view in the photo is deceptive. With a current exacerbated by Spring flooding, that tow boat pilot must react within minutes making steering decisions that will negotiate the current and river bends. A mistake two miles up river could easily result in 60 thousand tons of boat and barges slamming into the river bank. Referred to as "the graveyard," this section of river contains the remains of over 900 steamboats that failed to navigate the treacherous waters. Every few years when the water level drops in late Fall you can see some of their skeletal remains poking out of the mud.
At the turn of the century (19th century) the U.S. was still a very young nation. Those running the show however were not at all naive in matters of high finance and big business (graft and thievery). The one thing this new nation had to offer that promised to make a hard working person prosperous or a scoundrel wealthy was land. More land, you would think, than they knew what to do with -- you'd be wrong. Politicians in control handed out or sold government land grants for bribes and favors. Governor George Mathews managed to award over two and half million acres of the state of Georgia; an impressive enough feat in its own right except that all two and half million of those acres were in a county less than a half million acres total. Our story continues when, in 1831, a small amount of gold was discovered in north western Georgia. Rumors spread that DeSoto's treasure had finally been uncovered. Back then north western Georgia extended all the way to the Mississippi River. This region was home to the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee were already under pressure to leave the region. As early as 1802 the Federal Government had promised Georgia they would clear out the Cherokee. In 1830 President Jackson pushed through Congress The Indian Removal Act which gave Jackson the power to negotiate treaties with the native american tribes that would grant them western lands if they agreed to pack up and go. In the following seven years of his term in office Jackson cleared the lands east of the Mississippi of nearly 50,000 native americans, coercing them to surrender twenty five million acres of lush forest and farm land for parched western reservations. Tribes that would not sign like the Creek and Seminole were forced out at gun point or dragged out in chains.
It's worthwhile to note that not all U.S. citizens were as racist or greedy as their President. There were many who sided with the Cherokee and voiced their opposition to Jackson's policies and brutal actions. Davy Crockett of Alamo fame sided with the Cherokee at the expense of his career in politics, indeed at the expense of his life as he left Washington for Texas where he got mixed up in another of President Jackson's criminal escapades. The Cherokee refused to honor the sham treaty and so in 1838 seven thousand Army troops descended upon them, rounded them up at gun point and placed them in stockades. That Autum sixteen thousand Cherokee began a forced march toward the Mississippi. The winter of 1838-39 was harsher than usual and ice in the river prevented their crossing. Many died that winter in camps along the river. The conditions of the march were brutal. Once across the Mississippi they were marched through Missouri to the Oaklahoma territories -- a wasteland that the U.S. believed would never be worth anything (another story). All told four thousand Cherokee died during the ordeal -- The Trail of Tears. They were gentle and civilized people. They were betrayed by savages. It was the early 19th century and the Cherokee were not alone. Around the globe from India to Africa, from the Phillipines to Afganistan indigenous peoples were beset upon by savages who would commit any crime to satisfy their lust for wealth and power. Over a century later we still suffer from the wanton destruction they heaped upon our world. The Cherokee Nation, then, is a distinct community, occupying its own territory, with boundaries accurately described, in which the laws of Georgia can have no force, and which the citizens of Georgia have no right to enter but with the assent of the Cherokees themselves or in conformity with treaties and with the acts of Congress. The whole intercourse between the United States and this nation is, by our Constitution and laws, vested in the government of the United States. |
Two counties west of Cape Girardeau, the Missouri Ozarks reach their maximum height. 1,772 feet isn't much of a mountain, but Taum Sauk peak is nearly three times higher than any other high ground remotely near the Mississippi. Through central Missouri the Mississippi forms the state line as it runs alongside the eastern end of the Ozarks. Across the river are the flat flood plains of central Illinois. It's a dramatic landscape. An escarpment as high as 700 feet rises at times straight up along the river's west side while a few hundred yards across the river, miles of flat flood plain stretch as far as you can see. In the USGS aerial photo at right you can see how the river separates these two radically different landscapes. When people talk about the scenic bluffs along the Mississippi they are usually referring to the section of the river that extends from Prescott Wisconsin down to Dubuque Iowa. The views there are indeed beautiful, but they lack the dramatic impact of the vistas available in central Missouri where the height of the bluffs contrast so abruptly with the expanse of flood plain just across the river. The river overlook at Trail of Tears State Park is breathtaking. 
Saxon Lutherns' immigration into the area and, just a short drive north, the story of the early French settlement in the valley at Kaskaskia Illinois and St. Genevieve Missouri. Finish the trip with a stop at the St. Genevieve Winery and you have a near perfect weekend.
The story for which the park is named is a tragic one. Given its direct relationship to the country's government, the display at the park's visitor center does a fair job of telling the tale. What they gloss over or neglect to say outright can be read between the lines. It's a classic old tale of human greed and racism that we can find recounted over and over through history with simply the location and players changed; you can find it in the Bible or on CNN this afternoon.
Such large distributions of imaginary land where just the thing to attract the most unethical of businessmen. Men like Patrick Henry who spoke so eloquently about the liberty he needed to rob poor farmers and settlers of their life savings -- like Bill and Hillary Clinton did in Arkansas' "Whitewater" development deal if you'd like to consider a modern example. It's an old and simple scam; you set up a corporation that promises to give regular poor folk a great deal. You collect all the money you can from as many poor folk as possible and then you suffer a business failure. It's terrible to loose a new business, fortunately your new three million dollar home in Bermuda and half million dollar boat are already protected from creditors -- little comfort, but if you must you could sell the boat. Gee, tough break for those poor folk. If you'd like some more details about this historical period, break out the history books and look up Georgia's Yazoo Land Fraud.
European settlers were encroaching on Cherokee lands in ever increasing numbers and in 1831 the Cherokee went to the U.S. Supreme Court with a case that pleaded for the state of Georgia to recognize their sovereignty. In 1832 The Supreme Court sided with the Cherokee (see quote below) but both the state of Georgia and President Jackson refused to enforce the ruling. That same year Georgia ran a land lottery to manage the ensuing gold rush and deeded away the Cherokee homelands. No matter that the Cherokee were still there -- their fate by now was sealed. Jackson was a virulent racist willing to break the law, violate national borders and murder in his quest to rid the U.S. of its original inhabitants. Given the recent Supreme Court ruling, Jackson knew he would need a signed treaty in order to move the Cherokee. Chief John Ross, leader of the Cherokee, was unwilling to sign such a treaty. No matter, it's easy to find someone who will sign a treaty, and so in 1833 Jackson produced The Treaty of New Echota. The document was a fraud, a fact the Cherokee nation made very clear upon its presentation, but in 1836, supported by "presidential" lies, it was ratified.