The "creek" could also mean the smaller creek in back(west} of the cabin, which would inhibit any flanking action from Cooper's men. There were no cannons used in this battle. Whoever did the allotment maps couldn't see the horsehoe, except by canoe maybe. Heck, you can't see it now! I've been there 35 years and I got my first look on an aerial map. I didn't know the real shape and I fish on the banks. As for a cabin on the west side of Bird, there are none in any records. This cabin was the only one at that time anywhere for miles around. It has all the geological features and has been recognized continuously since the war by locals, indians and Tulsa County historians as the actual battle site. If you had been at Bird Creek during one of its spring floods,(recently 4 in one year) you would laugh at any notion that anyone would build near this creek on the west. Bird has a 1000 square mile watershed.(U.S.Corp of Engineers) Two of its tributaries have sizable lakes for flood control now.(Skiatook and Birch) There appear to be smaller ones in the hills farther northwest. Another tributary, Mingo creek, floods one third of the city of Tulsa. The LARGEST flood control project of any city in the U.S. is the Mingo valley. (U.S. Corp and FEMA) I know you have seen Bird, so imagine it being between 2 to 4 MILES wide and over 30 mph near the channel. (U.S. C.O.E.) I have witnessed this and the roar is deafening. All the claims of a different site have to do with ulterior motives/ This pops up from time to time and NONE have any factual basis. This would not have happened if the long time owners hadn't been so low key. They still are keen to protect their privacy. They have never publicly challenged other "versions" of the site and have never tried to "cash" in. The battle appears to have stretched from Lewis-Delaware aves at about 96 st n. south to the cabin. Most of the heavier fighting started at the indian reservation on the north side of the horseshoe and around the tip of the shoe in the pasture between the two creeks.(Bird and the smaller creek in back of the house) Remember, the best account was written by the people there, Cooper and his officers. Although this was done several days later, from their best recollections. I doubt they were thinking about every direction change and studying the geologies in relation to the big picture, as they were in a life and death struggle on a chaotic battlefield. Cooper was rear of the action and relied on reports of runners, as his officers appeared to make most battlefield decisons on their own. Plus, they all condensed a nearly 4 hour battle into a few paragraphs, so the time line is somewhat skewed. Cooper's movements were better understood. He came north up the Verdigris to Caney creek, then nearly straight west to Bird creek which would be the other crossing spot of Bird at present day Skiatook. He recrossed the creek and came down(which would be south) on the east side. The cabin crossing spot is the "high shoal", just south of the tip of the shoe. The tremendous rush of the hundreds or thousands of floods cannot wash away solid rock. Therefore when the waters recede, it can be visible or even exposed. Early inhabitants of the area found it, named it for reference, and surely used it. The west side was at least 2 miles wide in bottom land with tremendous amounts of silt deposits. This was a forrest of huge trees and undergrowth,and still is in many places. Saw mills dotted the area early in the 20 century and oil wells were drilled on either side of the creek. There surely was a trail of the west side leaving the high shoal, branching off up Hominy creek since these were the highways of that time. Water was needed for the movement of livestock, horses, humans and game. Cooper stated in his report that Yahola had been spotted shortly after the battle camped on Hominy creek. The cabin was in a choice spot for the time. A rare crossing place on a major creek, out of harm's way of its devestating floods,pastures(prarie) a natural barrier creek in back, and trade and interaction with others traveling through.