John Dunn Hunter

John Dunn Hunter (ca. 1796–1827) was a close associate of the Cherokee people in Mexican Texas. He was a leader of the Fredonia Rebellion in Nacogdoches, Texas in December, 1826. As a consequence of his participation, he was executed the following year. Hunter claimed to be ignorant of his birthplace and that he was taken prisoner with two other white children by Native Americans who either belonged to or were associated with the Cherokee nation. However, Hunter also claimed ties with the Kickapoo. In any event, he traveled widely during his time with the native people, and received a good education. Not knowing his real name, Dunn Hunter took on the name of an English benefactor, one John Dunn. The "hunter" was added later in recognition of his prowess as a hunter. While in England Hunter wrote an account which was published in London in 1824 under the title of Memoirs of a Captivity among the Indians of North America.

He arrived in Mexican Texas in 1825, and developed a working relationship with Chief Richard Fields. Hunter acted as Fields' emissary to Mexico City when Fields sought to secure a land-grant in East Texas. When that failed, Hunter backed Fields' decision to negotiate with the leaders of Fredonia Rebellion. While the rebellion began in Nacogdoches, Texas in December 1826, the Mexican government sent agent Peter Ellis Bean to convince the Cherokee to break the alliance. Bean succeeded. In an effort to demonstrate the Cherokees' loyalty to Mexico, the Cherokee council ordered the deaths of Fields and Dunn. While both fled, they were each captured and hanged in February, 1827.

Richard Fields in "Hail! Hail!"
John Dunn Hunter, Chief Richard Fields, and the Cherokee had already agreed to help Haden Edwards and the Republic of Fredonia when the Marx Brothers arrived from 1934. However, Julius Marx convinced the Cherokee to stay in the alliance, thereby changing history.

After the Marx Brothers convinced first Adolphus Sterne and Haden Edwards of their identity, Sterne took them to the Cherokee. At this point, the Marx Brothers' only real plan was to make the Cherokee like them better than the Mexicans. Fields greeted them when they arrived, and Sterne explained who the Marx Brothers were and why they were there to meet. Fields agreed to listen and summoned Hunter.

The group ate a supper of grits and armadillo before talks began. Once again, Julius explained that he and his brothers were from 1934 and offered coins to prove it. A full-blooded Cherokee named Eightkiller also looked at the coins. All saw dates from the 1920s, and Eightkiller observed the "clock" on Julius' wrist as being far more advanced than anything he'd ever seen. Based on this, the Cherokee were tentatively convinced the Marx Brothers were telling the truth. Julius then explained that in the Marx Brother's historical record, the Mexicans convinced the Cherokee not to back Fredonia, and the rebellion failed. He further explained that, despite the Cherokees' change of heart, the Mexican government still mistrusted them, and that Fields and Hunter were hanged in the spring of 1827 as a result. Julius withheld the fact that the Cherokee people themselves did the hanging. Fields reasoned that if they threw in with Fredonia, they had to go all the way. Eightkiller pointed out that they could also just flat out refuse to help now, as well. The Cherokee began discussing in their own language their next course of action.

In order to sway the Cherokee, Sterne explained the white and red strips of the Fredonia flag symbolized whites and Indians working together. In response, the Marx Brothers sang the Freedonia anthem from Duck Soup. The Cherokee weren't wholly receptive to these idealistic exclamations, although the faux anthem didn't hurt. When Eightkiller asked what the best course of action was, Julius simply stated that sitting back as they had in the original timeline didn't work, but he made no guarantees as to what would happen if they backed Fredonia all the way. While the Cherokee had reservations about trusting Haden Edwards, the realized that the didn't really trust the Mexicans either, and so opted to back Fredonia, even chanting "Hail! Hail! Fredonia!" in a show of solidarity.