Speech of an Indian

A storyteller carries a bag of memories and forever seeks new tales. Stories have lives, too. If someone doesn't share the story, it dies. Unless, like in this case, at least some fragment of the chronicle remains. Within these pages you will find the storyteller discovers a published 1824 speech that a 19-year old Chickasaw man gave at Jefferson College (MS) commencement about survival on the wild frontiers of early America. The story, long dead, begged for life. Strange that the speaker and storyteller had the same surname and were Chickasaw. The Chickasaw people were removed from Mississippi in 1837 to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The author from Oklahoma knew about James Perry, who founded Perryville. Yet to be discovered: Perryville would have been Perry Town except that James Perry knew that town existed near Natchez, MS. His descendants had come from there. Everywhere the author turned, some new exciting bit was added to the chronicle. Engulf yourself now in the pages of this full fascinating narrative that has been skillfully woven together.