Muskogee's New Year, 1878

Early contemporary accounts of Muskogee events are scarce. Here are a few from an early newspaper around the time of New Year's Day.

Just like the weather of today, it was cold and freezing as New Year's Day of 1878 approached. Temperatures dropped well below freezing at night. Snow fell several days before the year's change. New Year Day saw a high of 37 degrees. That night the temperature reached a low of 23 degrees. So reported Sergeant George H. Crane of the U. S. Army's Signal Service stationed at Fort Gibson post.

There were no Black Friday sales in Muskogee following Christmas. Merchants in the small town may have offered sales on a few items after Christmas passed, but they placed no advertisements suggesting they offered large discounts. The only New Year's sales notice was for a watch, clock and silverware store in Denison, Texas.

The parties and dinners that celebrated Christmas apparently did not welcome in New Year's Day. The residents spent their efforts the week before and then treated the year's change over as another day. It was as if the celebrations of the week earlier had consumed the energies for partying in Muskogee.

There was only one party reported. Some small children in Tahlequah enjoyed attending a party on New Year's Day. Mr. Samuel Sixkiller's residence was the scene where "the little folk were pleasantly entertained." It is not clear that ushering in the New Year was the purpose.

The New Year of 1878 was a harbinger of change for Muskogee. The "Indian Journal" newspaper burnt to the ground on Christmas Day, 1876, in a fire that destroyed two other businesses. Because of financial support offered afterwards, the newspaper re-established itself in Eufaula. After almost nine months of publishing in that southern town, Marion P. Roberts announced that he was moving his press back to the larger town of Muskogee. News of the impending move was just beginning to spread as Muskogee townsmen celebrated New Year's Day.

Another announcement began circulating in the days before the beginning of the next year. Doctor R. I. Pearson of Fort Scott, Kansas said he would be traveling into the Indian Territory. His itinerary included stops at many of the communities in the northern half of the territory. He planned to visit Muskogee during January.

Dr. Pearson's arrival brought a surgeon dentist into the area. Dr. R. B. Howard of Fort Gibson recommended him. Dr. Pearson arrived by train. He took up residence in the Mitchell House, Muskogee's finest hotel located near the railroad depot. The hotel keeper saw patients arriving in pain and departing with fewer teeth.

Muskogee was continuing to attract residents and businessmen. Some of the new entrepreneurs were apparently operating without adhering to the letter of the law when dealing with Native Americans. In early January, the Office of Indian Affairs re-issued their instructions. The government admonished traders to follow all established rules and regulations when conducting their business.

This reminder came on the heels of tribal delegations from the Indian Territory visiting in Washington over the holidays. Members of each delegation sent their calling cards back to their hometown editor. The forerunner of the modern business card was commonly used in the nation's capital. In the Indian Territory, however, they were a novelty.