Why, then, did settlers continue to come? Vast tracts of land with deep, rich soil for cultivation awaited any who could muster the courage and capital to make the trip. And for the less fortunate, reasonably good land and loans from shaky and sometimes shady lenders could be obtained. Life might be hard but moving west seemed, to many, the best way to open new opportunities for both themselves and their children.
Creek Indians controlled much of this region—a matter of perpetual concern. But relations generally had been amiable between whites and Indians in the past. If differences arose, settlers reassured themselves that the Louisiana land purchase of 1803 was being settled in an orderly way with no Indian wars. Surely a similarly cordial accord could happen in the Mississippi Territory, could it not?