Garvin County Indian Pioneer Interviews - H.C. Laird

submitted by Brenda Choate bcchoate@yahoo.com
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H.C. Laird



Interview # 

Field Worker: Maurice R. Anderson

Date:  

Name: Mr. H.C. Laird

Residence: Pauls Valley, Oklahoma

Date of Birth: 1860

Place of Birth: Illinois

Father:  M.J. Laird, born in Illinois

Mother: Elizabeth A. Yearian, born in Illinois 





I was born in Illinois in 1860.  My father, M.J. Laird, was born in 

Illinois, as was my mother, who was Elizabeth A. Yearian.



I first came to the Indian Territory in 1886.  I located at Skullyville 

in the Choctaw Nation.  I came to the Territory for my health. Around 

Skullyville at that time it was very wild.

  

There was lots of wild game and plenty of fish.  I did quite a lot of 

hunting and fishing but I couldn't seem to make any improvement in my 

health.  At that time I had the tuberculosis and as I was a phusician, 

I knew then I had to find some other climate, so I left the Indian 

Territory and went to Wyoming.



In Wyoming I met lots of Indians, but they were not like the Choctaw Indians 

I met while on my short stay in the Choctaw Nation.



The climate in Wyoming surely was a help to me and after a short time 

I was on the road to better health.  I stayed in Wyoming and Arizona 

for several years, then I returned to the Indian Territory and settled 

at old McGee, in the Chickasaw Nation.



A Mr. Harris operated a hotel there, so I opened my office in his hotel.  

In those days when I was called out in the country I had to go horse back, 

as there were no roads to speak of, just cow trails and a few winding 

roads around through the country. 

 

I have waited on the Indians around McGee.  The full blood Choctaws 

and Chickasaws both.  The full bloods were a very queer king of people.  

In most cases when some one of their family took sick they would bring 

him or her to see me, instead of sending for me and they would come 

into Mr. Harris' hotel, the whole family and sometimes some of their 

friends along with them.  If it happened to be muddy weather they wouldn't 

even clean their shoes off and they would all try to talk at the same time.  

After making a examination of the sick one, I usually found nothing much 

the matter with him, but they would pay whatever I charges.  I found the 

full bloods to be very honest.  If they said they would pay me at a certain 

time, they were always right there with the money.



Since statehood I have made my home at Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.