Thousands of Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Muscogee Creek Indians passed through Jacksonville as they were forced from their ancestral lands in the east and made the hundreds of miles journey to Indian Territory, in modern-day Oklahoma. Hundreds died during the trek, and thousands of others did not survive the hardships of establishing their new homes. An 1831 Arkansas Gazette report said the route for Choctaws and Chickasaws was not yet fully determined, but that many would likely cross the Mississippi at Helena, cross White River at the Mouth of Cache, and proceed on the Memphis Road toward Jacksonville. Local settler Samson Gray, whose home stood northeast of Jacksonville, contracted with the United States government to supply corn, beef, and salt for the displaced Native Americans, as well as oxen to pull their wagons and fodder for their livestock. The forced removal of these tribes made Arkansas, for a time, a thoroughfare for their march west.