Between 1936 and 1940, the linguist Mary R. Haas did extensive fieldwork on Natchez and Muskogee (Creek) in eastern Oklahoma. For Muskogee, she made arrangements with James H. Hill of Eufaula to write some 140 stories and other language samples. She then checked those with other speakers and sometimes recorded stories by dictation.
In 1992, Haas allowed Jack Martin to have photocopies of her field notes. In 2014, Jack Martin, Margaret Mauldin, and Juanita McGirt published an edited version of the stories, sermons, and other texts that Haas and Hill had collected. The citation for that work is as follows:
- Haas, Mary R. and James H. Hill. 2014. Creek (Muskogee) Texts. Edited and translated by Jack B. Martin, Margaret McKane Mauldin, and Juanita McGirt. UC Publications in Linguistics. Berkeley: University of California Press. Link
We are grateful to the family of James Hill, who provided encouragement and advice throughout the process. We especially thank Robyn York for her patience and encouragement.
The editing of these texts was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities (RZ-50020-03) and the American Philosophical Society (where Haas’s field notes are now housed).
The texts below are a selection of those in the Haas and Hill volume. The recordings are of Margaret McKane Mauldin reading the texts. The recordings have been archived at the Sam Noble Museum.
Photo of Arthur E. Raiford and family courtesy of Felix E. Raiford (child in center).
1. Rabbit and the Tar-baby, by Arthur E. Raiford | PDF
2. Poisoning Fish, by Arthur E. Raiford | PDF
3. Story of Raiford’s Father, by Arthur E. Raiford | PDF
4. The Origin of Corn, by J. Hill | PDF
5. [Civil War], by J. Hill | PDF
6. The Owl and the Dog, by J. Hill | PDF
7. The Mice Plot Against the Cat, by J. Hill | PDF
8. A Mouse Deceives a Cat, by J. Hill | PDF
9. The Lion and the Frog, by J. Hill | PDF
10. The Fearless Terrapin, by J. Hill | PDF
11. About the Customs of Conjurers, by A. E. Raiford | PDF
12. How Deer Fooled Rabbit, by T. Marshall | PDF
13. The Effect of the Civil War on the Indians, by J. Hill | PDF
14. The Lion and the Little Girl, by Tucker Marshall | PDF
15. A Note on Creek Leaders, by I. Field | PDF
16. A Visit of the Shawnee, by I. Field | PDF
17. Belief About the Ehosa, by I. Field | PDF
18. How a Chief Used to Talk to his Citizens, by I. Field | PDF
19. The Boy who Turned into a Snake, by I. Field | PDF
20. The Orphan Boy who became Thunder, by I. Field | PDF
21. Description of Hilabi Round House, by J. Hill. | PDF