A century before Oklahoma became the 46th state, Lieutenant James Wilkinson met with Osage chief Cashasegra at the confluence of the Arkansas, Grand and Verdigris rivers, later known as The Three Forks, the cradle of Oklahoma. Soon the Osage were pushed out by thousands of Cherokees relocated by the United States government to Indian Territory in Northeastern Oklahoma. A new Cherokee Nation was born. Internal strife developed first as a result of tribal disagreement over the Treaty of New Echota, followed by devastation from the American Civil War and then a period of unprecedented lawlessness. Despite the chaos the citizenry formed a democratic government, established the first school system west of the Mississippi and developed a system of laws as the economy improved until the nation was finally absorbed into what became the State of Oklahoma. 1806 describes the development of these events, relating anecdotes that involve some of the prominent personalities and describing communities and cities that merged into the early years of the 20th century.