Query: Creek don't rise

[Gerald Cohen]

    I've received a second request from a colleague for information on
the expression "Good Lord willin' an' the Creek don't rise." He had
heard (as did I, independently) that the expression originally
referred to the Creek Indians, not to a creek with water. But I no
longer remember who gave me that information and which U.S.
presidential candidate in the 19th century supposedly started the
expression.

    Before I tell my colleague that I can provide no additional
information, I thought I'd run the query by ads-l once more. So,
might anyone have any idea about which 19th century political figure
first used the expression?

---Gerald Cohen