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8. An Indian Chief Outwitted .- British agents told the Indians that England and the United States were about to go to war, and that the British would swoop down on the country and capture it. The Creeks sided with the British. A cunning chief, O' ce O' che Mot' la, from the falls of the Black War- rior, had been credited every year by Mr. Gaines to the amount of a hundred dollars. He had heard that the British were coming, and he tried to get credit for a thousand dollars, believing that no one would be at the trading-house to receive payment when it fell due. He offered his good friend, Tandy Walker, as security. Mr. Gaines mentioned the troubles with the British and refused the credit. The chief insisted. Mr. Gaines proposed to sleep over the mat. ter, and let each tell his dream in the morning.
1812
75
GEORGE STROTHER GAINES
Tandy Walker went off with the chief. Pretending to have left his knife, he returned to the store and made an engagement to meet Mr. Gaines secretly at midnight at "the Rock," overhanging the river's bluff. There he told Mr. Gaines how the chief in- tended to cheat him and how the Creeks were pre- paring for war.
The next morning Mr. Gaines told his dream to be that the United States and England would fight, that the English would be whipped, and that the northern tribes siding with the English would suffer; and that he must not give the large credit. He gave the chief the usual hundred-dollar credit and never saw him afterward.
9. Tandy Walker .- Tandy Walker was a hero. Hearing that a white woman had been captured in Tennessee and taken to the Black Warrior village, he went on foot to visit his friend, Oce Oche Motla. He secretly obtained a canoe, slipped off with the woman at night, and carried her down to St. Ste- phens. She was Mrs. Crawley. She was sick, and almost crazed from suffering and anxiety. Mrs. Gaines nursed her back to health, and then Mr. Gaines, Colonel Haynes, and Thomas Malone bought a horse, bridle, and saddle, and sent her with a party of gentlemen back to her home at the mouth of the Tennessee.
10. Mr. Gaines and General Jackson .- After the battles of Burnt Corn, Fort Mims, and other places, people left crops and stock to the chances of the hour and poured into the forts. Mr. Gaines sent Mr. Ed- monson to bear the story of battles and massacres to
1813
Sept., 1813
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ALABAMA HISTORY
Governor Blount and General Jackson in Nashville, The Creek War passed. General Jackson at Fort Claiborne ordered from Mr. Gaines blankets and clothing for his Indian warriors. Mr. Gaines com- plied, but requested a draft on the War Department for settlement. Jackson felt annoyed, but gave the draft. Shortly afterward he wrote Mr. Gaines to learn the author of an unsigned letter which he had , received. The letter charged Judge Harry Toulmin as being a spy and secret ally of the British. Mr. Gaines went to Mobile to meet the General and to explain the character of his friend. JJackson greeted him pleasantly and told him that no suspicion rested on his friend, closing with, "I only wanted to know the scoundrel that dared practice such an imposition on me."
11. Removal to Gainesville and Demopolis .- The trading-house was removed to Gainesville, Sumter county. This town was named for Mr. Gaines. Here he remained three years. He then became a mer- chant in Demopolis, and served Marengo and Clarke counties in the State senate from 1825 to 1827.
12. Friendship for the Indians .- By various trea- ties the Indians bound themselves to leave the hunt- ing grounds of their fathers and to go to the Indian territory set apart west of the Mississippi river. Mr. Gaines consented to help select the lands to which the Choctaws were to move. He also, as commis- sioner of the United States, accompanied the Choc- taws when they began to move; but he was so morti- fied because the United States failed to carry out its contract to furnish wagons for the women and
1816
1825 to 1827
77
GEORGE STROTHER GAINES
children and the infirm that he resigned his office. The Choctaws desired to make him their chief, but he declined.
13. Later Years and Death .- He lived many years in Mobile,* always in active business, and for a while was president of the Mobile branch of the State Bank.
He was one of the first to advocate the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. For years he taught, wrote, urged, travelled, and worked to arouse interest in this first railroad that linked Mobile to a far-stretching region of varied products and numerous interests.
In 1856, he removed to State Line, Mississippi, where he died in January, 1873.
*The Mobile Register of June 19, 1872, said of him: "George S. Gaines, the just, pure man, the friend and counsellor of the red man, the wise and faithful pioneer of civilization in the Mississippi Territory-the patriarch of two States. . . . His life has been one constant and unbroken series of kind deeds, wise counsels, and enlarged thought for the good of his people. With remarkable and admirable business qualifications, he brought to his intercourse with the haughty and suspicious savages a consideration for their rights, a deference for their habits and feeling, an unvarying politeness that won their entire confidence, their perfect trust, until his simple word became their law, and his sympathy and kindness their abiding reliance. The part Mr. Gaines acted in the early history of Mississippi Territory, and subsequently upon its division into the States of Alabama and Mississippi, was one of untiring interest and of great advantage to the young communities in which he was equally at home. His position as Indian agent brought him in contact with the leading men of both States. His influence was either directly or indirectly felt in every measure of public importance for a long term of years."
1973
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ALABAMA HISTORY
SUMMARY
The United States had to do much business with the Indians, and it was necessary to have agents who combined fine business qualities with tact of manner and speech. George S. Gaines was among the successful agents to the Indians. His fairness and sincerity made him most useful in dealing with them. . He culti- vated their good graces by having the chiefs and their friends at great feasts, and by carefully advising the Indians of all defects in goods sold to them. By his knowledge of Indian character he secured treaties of lands and roadways. The Choctaws requested him to become their chief.
QUESTIONS
1. Give an account of Mr. George Strother Gaines's parentage and early life. 2. Relate the incidents of his trip to St. Stephens. 3. How were the Indian chiefs entertained, and why? 4. Nar- rate Mingo Homostubbee's story about the "greatest warrior." 5. What treaty was made with the Indians, and what were the terms of this treaty? 6. Describe Mr. Gaines's work at St. Stephens. 7. What assistance was given him by Major Pitchlyn? 8. When and to whom was Mr. Gaines married? To whom was his brother married? 9. How did Mr. Gaines outwit the Indian chief? 10. How and by whom was Mrs. Crawley rescued from the Indians? 11. At what places did Mr. Gaines live after leaving St. Stephens? 12. In what ways did he show his friendship for the Indians? 13. What matters occupied his attention during his later years ?
Mar. 3, 1817
CHAPTER VIII
THE FRENCH COLONY IN MARENGO COUNTY
1. The French Vine and Olive Company .- A year after the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo the United States Congress set aside for the French Vine and Olive Company one hundred and forty-four square miles of land in the Mississippi Territory. The price was fixed at two dollars an acre, and was to be paid within fourteen years.
The French Vine and Olive Company was com- posed of the families of French military officers and civilians who were exiles from France and friends of the defeated Napoleon. Among them were brave men who had won honors on the proudest battle- fields of Europe, and beautiful women who had graced the most cultured society of France. Their settlement within the wilds of the Tombigbee river forest has rarely been equaled in romantic history.
2. Search for Place to Settle .- Agents of the com- pany, hunting a place suitable for a settlement, visited the regions along the Arkansas river. Here they were joyously greeted by the Indians, who recalled the friendship of the olden time, styled the French their "Great Fathers," and declared them "as good as Indians."
They found the soil to be fertile and suited to a variety of crops. A kind of olive grew here, and this made the agents believe that olives imported from
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ALABAMA HISTORY
Europe would also thrive. "The Arkansas river is as beautiful as the Seine (san), and only wants a Rouen (roo an') or Paris," wrote one of the agents on his tour of inspection. This agent passed on to the Red river country and found it "the Nile of America," and "the vast and natural nursery of Bacchus* (bak'kus)." He was so charmed that he explained how flour, bacon, and whiskey could be transported across the Raft, that wonderful natural barrier to the navigation of the Red river.
The Mississippi and its branches offered navigable waters through fertile regions, but the climate was bad. The colonists did not desire to settle where the servant who called the doctor for his sick master would feel obliged at the same time to summons the priest to hear his dying confession.
The Tombigbee regions offered the three things necessary for a settlement-a fertile soil, a healthy climate, and a navigable waterway. It was decided to recommend this section of the country as the most suitable for a settlement.
While the agents of the company were in the West Nicholas S. Parmentier (par men te a') was in Wash- ington where he secured from Congress the grant of special privileges for lands for the colonists.
3. Arrival and Reception at Mobile .- In 1817, the schooner McDonough, bearing the distinguished immigrants, heaved into sight of Mobile Bay. Glid- ing gently under a pleasant breeze, it approached the land of promise, when suddenly it entered shal-
May, 1817
*Bacchus was the god of wine.
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THE FRENCH COLONY IN MARENGO COUNTY
low water and grounded. Its captain, John McLoud, quieted the passengers until Lieutenant Beall, the commandant at Fort Bowyer, and Captain Bourke, of the United States army, and four brave men of the garrison, put off with a life-boat into the surging sea and rescued them.
How they were entertained may be judged by the following extract from a letter of one of the com- pany: "Not content with rescuing us from the danger of wreck, they conducted us into the fort, and with an affection the most unaffected, taught us to forget the dangers we had escaped, and to bless the circumstances which enabled us to enjoy their generosity, hospitality, and kindness."
The schooner, lightened of its load, floated into deep water. Later it sailed with company and cargo up to the city of Mobile. There, also, the com- pany received the most cordial welcome and kindly attentions. Mr. Gibson, Mr. John Toulmin, brother of Judge Harry Toulmin, and Mr. Addin Lewis, col- lector of the port, showed them special favors. They introduced them to the first business houses of Mobile, and acquainted them with the conditions of the country. Mr. Lewis kindly lent them the govern- ment revenue-cutter, in which they began the ascent of the Tombigbee river under the United States flag.
4. Passage up the River .- The immigrants made brief stops at the forts along the river, enjoying the hospitality of Judge Harry Toulmin and his son-in- law, General E. P. Gaines. From these gentlemen they learned that the Tombigbee river was preferable to the Alabama for their settlement because its
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ALABAMA HISTORY
higher banks were a protection against overflows, and its deeper channel was better suited to boats. For these reasons, the colony decided to settle some- where on the Tombigbee river.
Mr. Young Gaines, the father-in-law of Mr. George S. Gaines, gave to the colonists the use of his planta- tion free of rent while the commissioners were ex- ploring the country to determine a place of settle- ment. . Colonels Dale, Fisher, Dinsmore, and Whar- ton, and Mr. Malone explained the character of the country. They described the soil, the climate, the trees and the birds. The colonists were told that a squatter agent was about to arrange for the estab- lishment of a company on lands which were prob- ably those that had been chosen by the French com- missioners.
5. Arrival at White Bluff .- Mr. George S. Gaines, then living at Gainesville, advised the French to settle at White Bluff, which was afterwards named Demopolis by Count Re al', of Philadelphia. They acted upon the advice of Mr. Gaines. Their landing at White Bluff was an occasion of much joy. The prospect pleased, though the uncleared wilderness would require years of axe, spade, and plow, of saw, chisel, and hammer before it would be a settlement of comfortable homes.
Colonel Parmentier wrote to a friend in Philadel- phia at the time, "White Bluff is one of the finest situations I ever saw in my life, and lands lying around it are of the very finest quality. Nature here offers us everything. If we profit by these advan- tages, we must be happy."
July, 1818
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THE FRENCH COLONY IN MARENGO COUNTY
The colonists were happy in a measure, but they did not prosper. Reared among the luxuries and conveniences of France, the immigrants were un- suited for pioneer life.
5. Land Titles Defective .- The United States government made several mistakes about the lands. It delayed a long time before the lands were par- celled out. After the colonists had built their cabin homes and cleared their patches, it was discovered that they were on the wrong lands. When the meri- dian line was run, it was found that the town of Demopolis was outside the limits of the territory granted to the French.
The French Association at Philadelphia, dealing directly with the treasurer of the United States, did not know how to describe the lands so as to let every one keep the improvements which he had made. Count Desnouettes (da noo et') went to Philadelphia to clear away these troubles, but he failed to do so. As a consequence many had to leave their cabins and patches, and go deeper in the forest, and build and clear again.
6. Difficulties and Failure .- It is a sad history that for devotion to Napoleon these people were ban- ished from France, torn from all the pleasures of society, and exposed to the rough forest life of American pioneers. Nature promised them the re- ward of future comforts, but life presented many changes. Fine ladies who had moved in the best circles of society and who had enjoyed all the good things that money could buy, were forced to milk
1819
84
ALABAMA HISTORY
cows, scrub floors, cook meals, and wash clothes. Gentlemen who had fought by the side of Napoleon were compelled to do the work of common laborers in order to make a living for their families. Despite the difficulties and hardships, the French kept up their cheerful spirits. No matter how hard the day's work might be, at evening-time they met, chatted, and danced to the sweet strains of music.
The cold winter killed the young grapevines and olive-plants. Often the shipments from France were delayed in passage, and the plants died before reach- ing the colony. Try as they would, the French at last learned that it was impossible to cultivate sue- cessfully the vine and the olive on the lands which had been granted them. They were annoyed all the time by land thieves and squatters. Newspapers began to advertise forced sales of lands, and the dis- heartened colonists made the best bargains they could. Some saved a little from the sales, but most of them lost their all. Ma ren'go, Ar co'la, and Lin- den will ever preserve the memory of this most worthy and distinguished, but most mifortunate colony .*
7. Recall of the Exiles .- The Bourbons of France, who had driven the colonists into exile, finally got
*Among the distinguished names of these French immigrants are Victor, the son of Marshal Grouchy (groo she'), Count Charles Lefebre (leh favr'), Count Desnouettes, Colonel Nicho- las Raoul (rowl), J. J. Cluis (clue'), Count Bertrand Clausel (klo sel'), General Henry L'Allemand (lal män') and his brother Charles, Simon Chaudron (sho dron'), Nicholas S. Parmentier, and others. Three hundred and forty-seven are registered as having lands assigned to them.
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THE FRENCH COLONY IN MARENGO COUNTY
over their anger and invited the leaders back to their native homes. Some returned to France and held high office. A few of the colonists remained about Demopolis, but most of them sold their lands and returned to France or scattered in the cities and sections of the great Southwest.
SUMMARY
After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at, Waterloo, many of his officers and friends with their families were exiled from France. The United States granted these exiles 144 square miles of land in Mississippi Territory. After a long voyage they settled at White Bluff, which was afterward named Demopolis. There were numerous blunders in parcelling out lands, and many of the colonists were forced to give up the improvements that had been made. In spite of the many hardships and difli- culties, the French spirit of gaiety remained to give cheer after each day's work had been done. The colony, however, did not prosper, and finally ended in failure. Some of the exiles went back to France, and others removed to Mobile and other places.
QUESTIONS
1. For what purpose was the French Vine and Olive Company formed? 2. What kind of people were the French colonists? 3. Give an account of the search of the agents for a place to settle. 4. Describe the arrival and reception of the French at Mobile. 5. Why did the colonists select White Bluff as the place of settlement? 6. Describe their arrival at White Bluff. 7. On what terms were lands granted to them by the United States? 8. What troubles did they have about these lands? 9. What caused the failure of the colony? 10. Name some of the distin- guished men among the colonists. 11. What became of the exiles? 12. What names in Alabama preserve the memory of the French colony?
CHAPTER IX
ALABAMA IN POLITICS (1763-1819)
1763
1. Under English and Spanish Rule .- The Treaty of Paris in 1763 gave to England all of Spanish Florida and all French territory east of the Missis-
95°
TWELVE NILE STRIP CEDEDAYS, C. ROZ ADDED TO MISS. TY. 18043
1
1
1
NATION
NATION
GEORGIA CLAIMS
94ª
CEDED TO V,S. 1802
ADDED TO MISS. TY. 1804
1
RIG BLACK A.
NATION
32 228'
3228'
NOBALESO
MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY
32
AS ORIGINALLY ORGANIZED IN 1798
DWASHINGTON
JATEREZY
3. FORT MAMA
91
lo
31º
SPANISH
WEST& FLORIDA
ADDED TO LA. 1812
TO
M15S.
TY.4612
MISS. SOUND
0
35
30°
GULF OF MEXICO
PERDIDO PENSACOLA
Mississippi Territory and Adjacent Claims
sippi river, except the Island of Orleans, on which is the city of New Orleans.
The king of England divided Florida into two
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est
TENNESSEE TERRITORY
CHICKASAW
CHEROKEE
A
YAZOO R
CHOCTAW
33º
GREEK NATION
PEARL AN
32º
.87
ALABAMA IN POLITICS
provinces, East Florida and West Florida, which were separated by the Appalachicola river. He fixed the northern boundary of West Florida on the line of 31º north latitude, but finding that Natchez and other settlements were north of this parallel, he made 32° 28' the northern boundary-line. West Florida then extended to the Mississippi river and embraced a large portion of southern Alabama, while the province of Illinois embraced the larger section of the northern territory of the State. The dividing line began at the mouth of the Yazoo river, and passed eastward a little south of Demopolis, a little north of Montgomery, and south of Wetumpka.
During the Revolutionary War, West Florida was loyal to Great Britain. The Spanish subjects in Louisiana had for several years sided neither with the American colonists nor with the British; but Oliver Pollock, of New Orleans, had regularly aided the Americans and their friends in Louisiana. It is said that on his journey to Mobile with Captain James Willing he distributed . many copies of the Declaration of Independence. Captain Willing had tried in vain along the Mississippi river to arouse interest in the American cause. He was captured at Tensaw and put in irons until exchanged for Colonel Hamilton, of Detroit, in 1779.
The supplies from New Orleans to the Americans show that although the Spaniards who held the city pretended to be neutral, yet they wished a check on the British conquerors in the southern colonies. France openly made known her interest in the cause of American independence. England declared war
Oct. 7 1763
Feb., 1761
1765 to 1783
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ALABAMA HISTORY
1781
against her. Spain offered to be a peacemaker. England rejected the offers, and declared war against Spain. The king of Spain, angry because his offer had not been accepted, recognized Ameri- can independence; he ordered Galvez, the young and gallant colonel in command at New Orleans, to drive the English from Louisiana and Florida. By right of his conquest, Spain occupied West Florida.
Sept. 3, 1783
2. Overlapping Claims .- In 1783, at the Treaty of Paris, England acknowledged the independence of the American colonies, and agreed that their south- ern boundary should be the line of 31º north lati- tude. England transferred West Florida to Spain without defining its limits. Spain then claimed the country to 32° 28', as that was the northern boun- dary of West Florida under British control. This overlapping of claims caused trouble between Spain and the United States for many years. Finally, by the Treaty of Madrid, the United States secured an agreement that the boundary should be the line of 31º north latitude from the Mississippi river east- ward to the Chattahoochee. In this same treaty Spain agreed to open the Mississippi river to Ameri- can trade and to allow the Americans to store mer chandise in warehouses at its mouth.
1795
Apr. 11, 1798
Andrew Ellicott, a civil engineer, began making a survey along the parallel of 31° on April 11, 1798. He started near the Mississippi. The next year he finished the survey to St. Stephens, and in 1800 com- pleted it to the Chattahoochee. The Spaniards were much astonished when Ellicott's line showed St. Stephens to be in the United States. Spanish gen-
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ALABAMA IN POLITICS
tlemen living in the town were very angry, and rather than live under American government moved down to Mobile so as to be within Spanish territory.
Georgia claimed the country that afterwards formed the Mississippi Territory, except a twelve- mile strip along the northern portion, which be- longed to South Carolina. In 1785, it established Houstoun county out of its portion of present Ala- bama lying north of the Tennessee river. The Geor- gia legislature made laws for the rascally sale of : large tracts of land in the territory which afterward formed a part of Alabama. These sales, known as the "Yazoo Sale," did scarcely anything more than advertise the excel- lent soil and climate. When it became known that they had been dis- honestly made, there was Winthrop Sargent great excitement. The next legislature repealed the law.
3. Mississippi Territory Formed .- That portion of our country lying between latitude 31° and 32° 28' north, and stretching from the Mississippi river to the Chattahoochee, was formed into the Mississippi Territory by act of Congress, approved April 7, 1798.
4. Governor Sargent .- President John Adams ap- pointed Winthrop Sargent, of Massachusetts, the first governor of the Mississippi Territory.
Apr. 75 1798
1793 to 1801
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ALABAMA HISTORY
Apr. 2, 1799
June 4, 1800
By proclamation, Governor, Sargent divided the district of Natchez into two counties, Adams and Pickering. He established Washington county, which included in its bounds all the region between 31° and 32° 28' north latitude lying between the Pearl and the Chattahoochee rivers. From its origi- nal territory have been formed thirty counties in Alabama and sixteen in Mississippi.
1800
Wm. C. C. Claiborne
One of the nine rep- resentatives that met at Natchez in the general assembly, on the first Monday in December, 1800, was from the new county of Washington. This assembly was the first body of representa- tive white men that ever met to make laws for Mississippi Territory.
Governor Sargent's harsh measures made the people dissatisfied. Presi- dent Jefferson, in 1801, appointed in his stead Wil- liam C. C. Claiborne, a native Virginian, who was living in Tennessee.
1801 to 1805
5. Governor Claiborne .- Mr. Claiborne's courteous manners, his strong character, and his wide experi- ence made him a useful and popular governor. During his term of office, the legislature adopted for the use of the Territory the first regular code of laws; by the treaty of Fort Confederation the Choc- taws ceded a narrow strip of land between the Tom-
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ALABAMA IN POLITICS
bigbee and Mobile rivers on the east, and the Chick'- à så hay river on the west; the United States, in 1802, paid to Georgia $1,250,000 for all her claims to lands within the Mississippi Territory, thereby setting at rest the long quarrel between the Federal govern- ment and plucky little Georgia; 35° north latitude was made the northern boundary of the Territory. With General James Wilkinson as joint-commis- sioner, Governor Claiborne received, on behalf of the United States, the formal transfer of Louisiana from France. The purchase of this immense Louisiana territory had been concluded with Napoleon on April 30 of this year.
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