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The Bowl (also Chief Bowls); John Watts Bowles (
Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
: ''Di'wali'') (ca. 1756 – July 16, 1839) was one of the leaders of the
Chickamauga Cherokee The Chickamauga Cherokee refers to a group that separated from the greater body of the Cherokee during the American Revolutionary War. The majority of the Cherokee people wished to make peace with the Americans near the end of 1776, following se ...
during the
Cherokee–American wars The Cherokee–American wars, also known as the Chickamauga Wars, were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles in the Old Southwest from 1776 to 1794 between the Cherokee and American se ...
, served as a Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation–West, and was a leader of the
Texas Cherokees Texas Cherokees were the small settlements of Cherokee people who lived temporarily in what is now Texas, after being Trail of Tears, forcibly relocated from their homelands, primarily during the time that Spain, and then Mexico, controlled the ter ...
(''Tshalagiyi nvdagi'').


Early life

Di'wali was born around 1756 in Little Hiwassee, a Cherokee town in current-day North Carolina near Tomotla. His mother was mixed blood Cherokee, Ghigoneli Boles, and his father was a Scottish trader John Watts. Emmet Starr, an early historian of the Cherokee, describes Bowles as "being decidedly Gaelic in appearance, having light eyes, red hair, and somewhat freckled." At the age of 11, when his maternal Grandfather John Knight Boles was murdered, he tracked down the men and killed them. In tradition of Indian naming patterns he took the name of Boles becoming John Watts Boles. The Osage word for Bowl is Diwali which is what history has recorded him as.


Young warrior

Di'wali was a follower of
Dragging Canoe Dragging Canoe (ᏥᏳ ᎦᏅᏏᏂ, pronounced ''Tsiyu Gansini'', "he is dragging his canoe") (c. 1738 – February 29, 1792) was a Cherokee war chief who led a band of Cherokee warriors who resisted colonists and United States settlers in the ...
, one of the founders of the
Chickamauga Cherokee The Chickamauga Cherokee refers to a group that separated from the greater body of the Cherokee during the American Revolutionary War. The majority of the Cherokee people wished to make peace with the Americans near the end of 1776, following se ...
who supported the British during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. He fought under Dragging Canoe and John Watts during the Cherokee-American wars. During this time, Di'wali had become the chief of the Running Water Town (present-day
Whiteside, Tennessee Whiteside (formerly Aetna, Etna and Running Water) is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Tennessee. It was originally settled as a Cherokee town in the late eighteenth century. After Indian Removal, European-American settlers moved i ...
). After the destruction of the Chickamauga settlements by the Americans in 1794, Di'wali returned to Little Hiwassee.


On the move

In order to enjoy better hunting grounds and escape the pressures of growing white settlements in the southern states, Di'wali led the first large
Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
emigration west across the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
in 1794, where he and his followers established a settlement in the
Louisiana Territory The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of the ...
along the
St. Francis River The St. Francis River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, about long, in southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas in the United States. The river drains a mostly rural area and forms part of the Missouri-Arkansas state line along the ...
(near present-day
New Madrid, Missouri New Madrid ( es, Nueva Madrid) is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,787 at the 2020 census. New Madrid is the county seat of New Madrid County. The city is located 42 miles (68 km) southwest of Cairo ...
). Continued problems with the Osage resulted in efforts to get the Shawnee and Delaware to relocate to Arkansas as well. The Osage name for Bowl was Duwali. When the tribal government was organized in 1809 with the arrival of additional ''Old Settlers'', he was elected the first Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation–West. In 1812-13, Di'wali moved the people south near present-day
Conway, Arkansas Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. Although considered a suburb of Little Rock, Conway is unusual in that ...
. Di'wali was succeeded as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation–West in 1813 by
Degadoga Takatoka, (, ) ( – 1824), was the second Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation—West (1813–1817) established in the old Arkansaw Territory. Life Takatoka
. Responding to the influx of white settlers into the
Arkansaw Territory The Arkansas Territory was a territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas. Arkansas Post was the first territor ...
, in the winter of 1819-1820 Di'wali led about 60 Cherokee families into
Spanish Texas Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. The term "interior provinces" first appeared in 1712, as an expression meaning "far away" provinces. It was only in 1776 that a lega ...
, settling for two years in
northeast Texas Northeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Texas. Geographically centered on two metropolitan areas strung along Interstate 20—Tyler in the west and Longview/Marshall to the east, the areas ...
along the Red River. The community elected Di'wali as Head Chief (''ugu''). With the influx of white settlers into the Red River area, Di'wali once again moved his community, this time to the valley of the Trinity River, near where present-day
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
lies. They moved again the following year into a region fifty miles north of present-day
Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchito ...
. At this time, Richard Fields succeeded D'wali as the leader of the "Cherokee and their associated bands." After entering into a November 8, 1822 agreement with José Felix Trespalacios, the governor of the Province of Tejas, calling for "peaceful possession" of lands in east Texas, Fields and Di'wali traveled to Mexico City the following winter, and petitioned the
Mexican government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republi ...
for a treaty to be allowed to permanently settle there. In his 1898 essay, "the Cherokee Nation of Indians," V. O. King reports: Enforcement of the 1822 agreement with Mexico was difficult, and on April 15, 1825, a white immigrant, Benjamin Edwards, was given a grant by the Mexican government to settle in Cherokee claimed lands in east Texas. The dissatisfaction with the Mexican authorities found an outlet when a number of aggrieved white settlers in nearby Nacogdoches revolted against the Mexican government in what became known as the
Fredonian Rebellion The Fredonian Rebellion (December 21, 1826 – January 31, 1827) was the first attempt by Anglo settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico. The settlers, led by Empresario Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and created the R ...
. While Fields, as
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
(or war) chief, and John Dunn Hunter, as white (or peace) chief, together opened negotiations with the Fredonian leaders, Di'wali urged the Cherokee not to cooperate with the rebels. He believed that loyalty to Mexico would lead to final enforcement of the 1822 treaty and recognition of the Cherokee land claims. Di'wali was convincing, and the Cherokee remained loyal to Mexico during the rebellion. Fields and Hunter were executed by the Mexican government on May 8, 1827 for their support of the Fredonian Rebellion, and Di'wali succeeded Fields as war chief.


Attempts to secure land rights

In remaining loyal to Mexico,
Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...
and other Mexican officials praised Di'wali and the Cherokee in the wake of the Fredonian Rebellion. Di'wali was summoned to Nacogdoches and given a commission of lieutenant-colonel in the
Mexican Army The Mexican Army ( es, Ejército Mexicano) is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National De ...
on July 19, 1827. During this time, Di'wali continued to work toward securing a written guarantee of rights over the Cherokee lands from the Mexican government, but the Mexican government repeatedly withheld written agreement. By 1830, an estimated 800 Cherokee lived in up to seven settlements in Texas. They became known as the Texas Cherokee, or ''Tsalagiyi nvdagi''. When the Texas Revolution came, the Texas Cherokee decided to remain neutral, but
Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...
(who had married into the Cherokee tribe and had a long-standing relationship with Chief Di'wali) sought an alliance with the Cherokee. Seeking to give them what the Mexican government had refused and empowered under authority of the new government, General Houston negotiated a treaty with the Cherokee and other associated groups, granting over 2.5 million acres of land in east Texas: Given the prospect of finally having a secure homeland, the Cherokee agreed, and Di'wali signed the treaty on behalf of the Texas Cherokees near present-day
Alto, Texas Alto is a town in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. With a population of 1,027 at the 2020 U.S. census, Alto is the closest municipality to the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site, an archaeological site dating back to 800 CE, featuring a prehist ...
on February 23, 1835. Consequently, the Texas Cherokee remained supportive of the Texans against Santa Anna. On December 20, 1836, within the first two months as President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston told the Texas Senate, I "most earnestly recommend he treaty with the Cherokees ratification. You will find upon examining this treaty, that it is just and equitable, and perhaps the best which could be made at present time." The Senate of the
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...
, however, refused to ratify the treaty, citing that the Cherokee had not actively fought with Texans in the revolution and that the treaty conflicted with a grant given to
David G. Burnet David Gouverneur Burnet (April 14, 1788 – December 5, 1870) was an early politician within the Republic of Texas, serving as interim President of Texas (1836 and again in 1841), Vice President of the Republic of Texas (1839–1841), and Se ...
. Over Houston's objections, the Senate formally nullified the treaty on December 16, 1837. Almost immediately, the Land Office began issuing patents to lands within the Cherokee lands. Though the relations between the Texas Cherokee and the Republic of Texas was strained, Houston and Di'wali remained close friends, and Di'wali served—at Houston's request—as a representative of the Texas government in negotiations with the
Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
in the western plains. In a further attempt to secure permanent recognition of Indian lands in east Texas, Di'wali again looked to Mexico when Vicente Córdova attempted an insurgency against the Republic of Texas. The government of Mexico sought an arrangement with the Cherokee for their support in an insurgency in exchange for title to their land. Di'wali permitted Córdova's militia to operate within Cherokee lands in 1838. When a member of the Córdova militia had been killed in May 1839, documents were uncovered by Texas officials that suggested a conspiracy between the pro-Mexican forces and the Texas Cherokee. Though the
Córdova Rebellion The Córdova Rebellion, in 1838, was an uprising instigated in and around Nacogdoches, Texas. '' Alcalde'' Vicente Córdova and other leaders supported the Texas Revolution as long as it espoused a return to the Constitution of 1824, It erupted i ...
had been suppressed quickly, coming to a head in August 1838, the newly discovered documents led the new President of the Republic of Texas,
Mirabeau Lamar Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (August 16, 1798 – December 25, 1859) was an attorney born in Georgia, who became a Texas politician, poet, diplomat, and soldier. He was a leading Texas political figure during the Texas Republic era. He was elec ...
, to make charges in December 1838 that Di'wali had surreptitiously collaborated with Córdova.


Conflict with Texas Republic

In 1839, in his first formal address as president, Lamar urged that the Cherokee and Comanche tribes be driven from their lands in Texas, believing that the “total extinction" of the Indian tribes was necessary to make the lands available to whites. Lamar instructed the Texas military to construct a military post on the Great Sabine (in the southwest corner of present-day Smith County), with Di'wali warning that such a move would provoke a violent response. Lamar sent word that the Cherokee were to depart or suffer removal by force, but Di'wali was resolute that Texas should honor its 1836 treaty. John H. Reagan, an emissary of Lamar's administration, met with Di'wali in early July, delivering Lamar's charges and providing a few days for Di'wali to consult with his Council. Of the second meeting with Di'wali, Reagan writes:


Final fight and last stand

On July 14, Lamar sent troops, under the command of Gen. Thomas Rusk, to occupy the Indian territory. Fleeing their town and forced northward into present-day
Van Zandt County Van Zandt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, in the northeastern part of the state. As of the 2020 census, its population was 59,541. Its county seat is Canton. The county is named for Isaac Van Zandt (1813–1847), a mem ...
, the Cherokee halted on July 15 and prepared defenses at the
Neches River The Neches River () begins in Van Zandt County west of Rhine Lake and flows for through the piney woods of east Texas, defining the boundaries of 14 counties on its way to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, ...
. On the morning of July 16, though severely outnumbered, Di'wali confronted his pursuers. Di'wali "exhorted the Indians to fight bravely. During the last battle he could be heard repeatedly encouraging them, and more than once urging them to charge." But eventually, with his troops depleted of ammunition, Di'wali ordered retreat, although he remained. Sitting on his horse, wearing a military hat and sword given to him by Sam Houston, Di'wali faced the advancing Texans. The Texan forces shot his horse and then injured the chief, shooting him in the thigh and the back. Unable to walk but raising himself to a sitting position on the ground, Di'wali was singing a war song when Capt. Robert W. Smith approached Di'wali and shot him in the head. Smith then took the sword from D'wali's body and swaths of skin from his arm as souvenir. Of Di'wali, John H. Reagan recalls, "I had witnessed his dignity and manliness in council, his devotion to his tribe in sustaining their decision for war against his judgement, and his courage in battle." As he had requested, Di'wali was left on the battlefield according to tradition. A historical marker now stands at the site of Chief Di'wali 's death. A funeral for Di'wali was held by the descendants of the tribe in 1995, on the 156th anniversary of his death.


References


Sources

* * * Birth of the Ozarks 1794-1839 Freda Cruse Hardison publisher Morris Publishing


External links


Picture of The Bowl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowl, The Chickamauga Cherokee Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907) 1750s births Year of birth uncertain 1839 deaths 18th-century Native Americans