USA > Alabama > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 4
USA > Georgia > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 4
USA > Mississippi > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 4
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* A mean New-England rum, the only spirituous liquor drunk, in those days, by the Indians.
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THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
the present county of Autauga, a few miles below the Big Island. Here the river was wide and deep, and its bottom rocky. But occasionally it was partially obstructed by small clumps of rocks, between which rushed the rapid current.
The feeble wanderers lay down upon the wild banks, with- out energy to construct a raft. Indeed, some believed that a raft would be torn to pieces by the rocks. Mrs. Dwight, who continued to infuse a spirit of resolution into the party, which had, thus far, overcome all difficulties, put herself forward, and declared that, if but one man would accompany her, she would attempt the passing of the river, when, perhaps, on the other side, they might find a canoe, or some better cross- ing-place. Her husband, roused by her intrepidity, swore that he would not suffer his wife to risk her life for the good of the company, without sharing in her perils. These two, with one other, then plunged their horses into the river, and the current carried them some distance down, to a dry bed of rocks. Proceeding over these, to the farther end of the ledge, the two horsemen plunged from a steep rock, and disappeared under the water, but presently arose, and their faithful horses carried them to the opposite shore. Mrs. Dwight, shutting her eyes, then made the fearful leap, and arose with her hands hold of the horn of her saddle. She, too, happily reached the opposite shore. Then the fearless party gave a whoop, to encourage their anxious friends, whom they had left be- hind. A mile above this they found a large, old Indian canoe, which had been stove against the rocks. Stopping the seams with whatever they could obtain, the two men went over the
CHAPTER XVIII.
1781 July
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CHAPTER XVIII.
river in it, to their comrades, leaving the spirited Mrs. Dwight with the horses. Then the wide and angry Coosa roared and lashed its shores, separating her from every friend she had upon earth.
In the course of that day and the next, the whole party were safely boated over. Proceeding some twenty miles farther, they approached the Creek town, called by the tra- ders the " Hickory Ground," embraced in the southern sub- urbs of the present Wetumpka, on the east bank of the same river which they had crossed. It is impossible to imagine a more forlorn band, or one more agitated by hopes and fears. This was the first Indian town which they had had the bold- ness to approach, since they left Natchez, for, indeed, during the whole of their travels, they expected, every moment, to be tracked out, and all suddenly butchered. They now held a consultation, and it was decided to despatch three of their most plausible men, as ambassadors, to implore the compas- sion and hospitality of the inhabitants. With palpitating hearts, these men rode on, leaving their companions behind, to await the issne. As they rode up to the square, the squaws were hoeing their green corn, and the warriors reposed by the sides of their cabins. The reader has often seen the fierce mastiff, as he slumbered in the yard, or the tiger of a menagerie, as he dozed in his cage, arouse out of his sleep, erect his ears, move his tail, and throw his fiery eyes upon strangers, as they entered. He can then imagine the sudden and fierce looks which the lusty warriors bestowed upon these haggard, way-worn and mi erable men. Colonel McGillivray,
1781 July
.
:
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unfortunately, was from home, for this place was one of his CHAPTER residences. The Indians scanned their saddles closely, and, XVIII. as they were like those of the Georgians, they believed they were whigs. In vain they asserted that they were royalists, and good friends of the Creeks. About seventy of the sava- ges formed a circle around them. In vain did they allege the defenceless state of themselves, their company behind, with their wretched women and children, their destitution of provisions, and the frank and friendly manner in which they 1781 July had entered their town. The expedition appeared to be mysterious, the motives which led to it inexplicable, and the unfortunate saddles, upon which they rode, contradictory to all their professions. A vehement debate began among the Indians, of which only a few ill-boding words were understood, such as Virginians! long knives ! no good ! From all ap- pearances, the fate of the wanderers was sealed. Instantly every warrior seized his knife, every face became distorted with wrath. every eye lighted up with fierce and gloomy ven- geance.
Colonel McGillivray had a body servant. He was a smart black fellow, named Paro, who understood the English lan- guage as well as he did the Indian tongue. He had been off on a journey, and, at this moment, rode up among the excited throng. He demanded the cause of the tumult. They re- plied that these strangers were Georgians, were bad men, no friends to them or to their father, the King of Great Britain. and ought to be put to death. The ambassadors now ap- pealed to the negro, and gave him an account of the nature
1
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CHAPTER XVIII.
1
1781 July
of their journey. He expressed himself fully satisfied, and endeavored to disabuse the minds of the savages. But they remained inflexible, when Paro called them fools and mad- men. On account of their fear of McGillivray, they did not resent his offensive language, but assured him that the death of the strangers, and their friends behind, was resolved upon. A warrior, more moderate than the rest, said to. the white men, "IF YOU TELL THE TRUTH, MAKE THE PAPER TALK.", The ingenious Paro caught the idea, and asked the men if they had not kept a journal of their travels. They replied, No! He then asked if they had any paper about them, with wri- ting on it, and said anything would do. One of them found an old letter in his pocket, which, according to the directions of Paro, he pretended to read, slowly and solemnly, giving a complete history of their flight from Natchez, and the cause of it. Paro, all the time, interpreted it to the Indians, with great animation. As the recital went on, their countenances gradually softened, and, before it was finished, the gloom gave way to a smile, and the ferocity was succeeded by friendship. The whole body put up their knives, and coming, one by one, to the ambassadors, shook them cordially by the hand, and welcomed them to the town. They presently brought in the whole caravan, lodged them in their houses, fed them at their tables, and " poured oil upon their wounds."
When this party of royalists had sufficiently recruited, they proceeded on their route, crossed the Tallapoosa, Chat- tahoochie and Flint, and then divided their company, and separated. One of the parties shaped their course down
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THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
towards East Florida, and finally reached Savannah in safety. CHAPTER The other party were taken prisoners by the whigs, but, shortly XVIII. 1781 August afterwards, were released. Strange to say, not one died, or was killed, upon the whole route from Natchez, which was accomplished in one hundred and forty-nine days.
Several of the Lymans, called the "unhappy family," were in this singular expedition. Two of the daughters of the late General Lyman died after reaching Savannah. Three of . . his sons were also in company. When the British evacuated Georgia, one of them went to New-York, another to Nova Scotia, and the third to Providence. They all died with Broken hearts. Few have been born to higher hopes; few have begun life with a fairer promise of prosperity than their honorable father, and, for a time, no American possessed a more extensive reputation .*
Colonel Hutchens, with some of his friends, also fled from Fort Panmure to the swamps. Receiving information that the Indians were in pursuit of him, he set off, with twenty men, upon horses, intending to overtake the larger party, whose peregrinations we have just described. They left their families and most valuable effects. Hutchens abandoned an excellent plantation, with twenty workers upon it, an im-
* Travels in New-York and New-England, by Theodore Dwight, S.T.D., LL.D., late President of Yale College, vol. 1, pp. 306-316. Memoirs and Adventures of Phelps, Appendix, pp. 2-17. I also held conversations with several old Indian-traders, of the Creek nation, two of whom, when youths, were at the Hickory Ground when these re- treating royalists arrived there.
1781
1. 1
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THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 1
CHAPTER XVIII.
mense body of land, and seventeen hundred head of cattle. The Spaniards confiscated the whole of it, except a bare sup- port for his wife. On the second night of their flight, the Choctaws overtook them, and killed all of them but Hutchens and one other man, who fled towards Georgia, and arrived there naked, sunburnt, starved, and worn down with fatigue. John Alston, and another small party, escaping to the Creek nation, were there arrested by the Indians, carried to Mobile, and from thence to New-Orleans, where, after being tried for rebellion, they were condemned to die. But the governor pardoned them. During the fall of 1781, the property of all these unfortunate people was confiscated .*
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1779
In the meantime, the wild region upon the Cumberland river was explored, and some temporary establishments formed at the bluff, on which is now situated the city of Nashville. Captain James Robertson was the hero of these bold adventures, and had several times, with a small party of men, cut his way from extreme East Tennessee to that coun- try, passing over the lofty Cumberland mountains and through dangerous Indian settlements. Returning to the Holston, after having made several of these trips, he raised a large com- pany of emigrants, and built boats at Long Island. When they were nearly ready to be launched, he placed himself at the head of a horse-party, and set out, over the mountains, for the Cumberland, intending to leave signs upon the trees, at the head of the Muscle Shoals, after going from Nashville
* L'helps' Memoirs, Appendix. pp. 17-19.
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to that place. These signs he intended for the purpose of CHAPTER letting the voyagers know whether it would be practicable XVIII. for them to disembark at the Muscle Shoals, and go to the Cumberland by land. -
1779
A large number of flat boats, filled with emigrants and December 22 their effects, began the voyage from Long Island, upon the Holston. Those recollected will be mentioned, for the grati- fication of descendants. The large Donaldson family, who, after reaching the Cumberland, settled upon Stone's river, and . became connected, by affinity, with General Andrew Jackson, all embarked on this occasion. Among the others, were Ro- bert Catwright, Benjamin Porter, Mary Henry, Mary Pur- nell, James Cain, Isaac Neely, John Cotton, -- Rounsever, Jonathan Jennings, William Cutchfield, Moses, Joseph and James Renfroe, Solomon Turpin, -- Johns, Francis Arm- strong, Isaac Lanier, Daniel Dunham, John Boyd, John Mont- 1779 gomery, John Cockrill, Mrs. Robertson, the wife of Captain Robertson, John Blackman and John Gibson. These persons had families with them, besides slaves.
In consequence of great difficulty in descending the Hol- ston, and many unavoidable delays, the rude fleet did not reach the mouth of the French Broad until March 2d. It was then the habit to tie up at sunset, encamp upon the banks, and around large fires, and to make the wild forests resound with noise and merry peals of laughter. All were now happy, and filled with the most pleasing excitement. But when they approached the Cherokee towns below, they observed great caution. When near Nickajack, they were
1780
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THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER fired upon, from both banks of the river, by the savages ; XVIII. but, keeping in the middle, received no material injury. However, unfortunately, a boat belonging to Stewart, con- taining his family and negroes, amounting to twenty-eight souls, who had been compelled to keep behind a few miles, 1780 on account of the small-pox, which they had taken, were all killed by the Indians, while their companions, in advance, could afford them no assistance. In passing the celebrated "Suck," the boats were again fired upon, when several of the voyagers were severely wounded. In the midst of the dis- may and confusion, a young woman, named Nancy Glover, seized the oar of her father's boat, and steered it safely through the narrows, exposed to all the firing, and receiving a severe wound, of which she never complained. When the terrified voyagers had passed this place, they entered a wide and smooth sheet of water, and were out of danger. But, just at the termination of the narrows, the boat of Jonathan Jen- nings was stove upon a large rock. The voyagers were forced to leave these unhappy people. The Indians coming upon them, all the effects were thrown out of the boat in great haste, and it was shoved off, with Mrs. Jennings and Mrs. Peyton in it, who singularly made their escape. The Indians captured Jennings, his son, a negro and a young man with them, and carried them to Chickamauga, where they soon burned the latter to death, by a slow fire. They knocked Jennings down with a club; but his life was spared by Rodgers, a trader, who ransomed him. After being again attacked, near the head of the Muscle Shoals, they finally
1
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THE BRITISH IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
reached those cataracts, where a consultation was held. Being unable, upon a diligent search, to find the signals of Captain Robertson on the north bank, they resolved to trust their boats to the angry waves below. Fortunately, the swollen state of the river carried then safely over the extended shoals. Reaching the mouth of the Tennessee, on the 20th of March, an affecting and painful separation took place-Colonel Don- aldson and more than half of the voyagers going up the Cumberland, and the remainder to Natchez and the Illinois .*
* Haywood's History of Tennessee, pp. 85-94. Mrs. Rachel Jack- son, the wife of General Jackson, and the daughter of Colonel Donald- son, who was then but a little girl, was with this party.
CHAPTER XVIII. 1780
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THE SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER XIX.
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THE SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER XIX.
1782 November 30
ENGLAND, having lost her West Florida provinces by the victories of Galvez, and having the American whigs, as well as the natives of France, Spain and Holland, arrayed against her, was finally forced to retire from the unequal contest. A preliminary treaty of peace was signed, at Paris. England there acknowledged our independence, and admitted our southern boundary to be as follows : A line beginning at the Mississippi, at 31º north of the equator, and extending due east, to the Chattahoochie river; down that river to the mouth of the Flint, and thence to the St. Mary's, and along that river, to the sea. Great Britain also expressly stipulated, in that treaty, our right to the navigation of the Mississippi river, from its mouth to its source.
1783 January 20
Great Britain and Spain entered into a treaty. The former warranted and confirmed to the latter the province of West Florida, and ceded to her East Florida .*
But although England, by the treaty of 1782, assigned to
* American State Papers, Boston edition, vol. 10, p. 132.
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THE SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
the United States all the territory between the Mississippi and the Chattahoochie, lying between the parallels of lati- tude 31° and 32° 28/, embracing the same portion of the territory of Alabama and Mississippi, which lay in the British province of West Florida, yet it was not surrendered to us, by Spain, for years afterwards. Spain occupied it, contending that Great Britain, in the treaty with her, in 1783, warranted the province of West Florida to her, not defining its northern limits, and that England had no right to restrict her limits, even if she had attempted it, for Spain had, before the nego- tiations commenced, acquired all of West Florida, by con- quest, through the victorious arms of Don Galvez.
Turning to Georgia, with which this history will now be much connected, we find that that province continued to con- sist, as at the time of its colonization by Oglethorpe, of a narrow strip of country, between the Savannah and Ogechee rivers, until 1773, when, as we have already seen, Governor Wright acquired from the Creeks and Cherokees a strip of country north of this, extending above Broad river. The Legislature of Georgia elected commissioners, who met a delegation of Cherokees at Augusta. The latter ceded to Georgia the country upon the western side of the Tugalo, including the head waters of the Oconee. A small delega- tion of the Creeks also assembled at Augusta, and agreed to the boundary made with the Cherokees. Thus, as Georgia supposed, the lines between her and those tribes were, for a while, determined. But the treaty made with the Creeks was denounced by a large majority of that nation, as ob-
CHAPTER XIX.
1783 May 31
November 1
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CHAPTER XIX.
tained unfairly, and with the representation of scarcely any of the towns .*
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1
But, before entering upon these exciting topics, it will be necessary to recur once more to the close of the war. It has been observed, that Lachlan McGillivray, previous to the revolution, owned extensive trading-houses in Savannah and Augusta, and plantations upon the river. He was an active and influential royalist, and the whigs of Georgia and Caro- lina sensibly felt his weight. When the British were forced to evacuate Savannah, he sailed with them to his native coun- try, having scraped together a vast amount of money and movable effects. His plantations and negroes he abandoned, in the hope that his son, Alexander, his two daughters, and his Indian wife, Sehoy, then living upon the Coosa, might be suffered to inherit them. But the whigs confiscated the whole of this valuable property, with the exception of a few negroes, who fled to the nation, and were added to those already at the residence of Sehoy. Thus, Col. Alexander McGillivray was deprived of a large patrimony, while his affectionate father was forced to flee the country. Another Scotchman, remarkable for his great commercial enterprise and capital sense, must also be introduced.
William Panton was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and, at an early period, sailed for America, and landed in Charles- ' ton. He became an extensive Indian merchant, and owned large estates, in South-Carolina and Georgia ; but, at an early
* American State Papers, Indian Affairs, folio edition, vol. 1, p. 23.
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THE SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
period of the war, was driven from these provinces, and his CHAPTER estates confiscated. He then established himself upon the XIX. St. Mary's., In 1781, when the Spaniards took Pensacola, he was residing there, owning an extensive trading-house. He soon formed a commercial treaty with Spain, which enabled him to become enriched, while the government of Florida was strengthened. by his influence with the Indian tribes south of the Tennessee. IIe had formed an acquaintance with Colonel McGillivray, and was struck with the power of his mind. Knowing that he had been deserted by the Bri- tish, he sought to place him under the wing of Spain, for the personal advancement of the great Chieftain himself, who bø expected would, in return, promote his Indian commerce. IIe introduced him to the Spanish authorities of West Flo- rida. According to arrangement, Colonel McGillivray went to Pensacola, and entered into a treaty of alliance with Spain. 1784 June 1 Spain was represented by Don Miro, of New-Orleans, Gover- nor of West Florida, Don Arthur O'Neill, Commandant of Pensacola, and Don Martin Navarro, Intendant-General of Florida. Colonel McGillivray represented the whole Creek and Seminole nations. It was stipulated, that the Creek and Seminole Indians should defend and sustain the cause of his Catholic Majesty, and obey his orders, through his Captain- General of the provinces of the Floridas and Louisiana, in those points which are compatible with Indian character ; that Spain should proportion among the Indians a desirable and permanent commerce, at the most judicious places ; that the Creeks should establish a general peace with the Chicka-
VOL. II.
4
1
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THE SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
CHAPTER saws, Choctaws and Cherokees ; that all strangers, introducing XIX. themselves among the Indians, for the purpose of stirring up rebellion against the King of Spain, should immediately be 178 seized, and conveyed to the Governor of Pensacola ; that the Indians should admit no white person into . their country, who did not bear a Spanish permit; that they should aban- don the practice of taking scalps, if engaged in war; that they should deliver up all white prisoners, subjects of the United States, and not adinit into their nations fugitive slaves, from the provinces of Louisiana and Florida, but should ap- prehend and deliver them to the commandants .*
Colonel McGillivray was induced to form an alliance with the Spaniards, for various reasons, the chief of which were, that the whig's, as he contended, had confiscated his estates, banished his father, threatened him with death and his nation with extermination, and were constantly encroaching upon Creek soil. The Spaniards wanted no lands-desired only his friendship, and had not encroached upon him or his people. Besides, they were the first to offer him promotion and commercial advantages. When he had signed the treaty, they made him a Spanish commissary, with the rank and pay of colonel.
Great dissatisfaction arose, as has been stated, in conse- quence of the treaty at Augusta, and the occupation of the Creek lands. Border war commenced. The Spanish autho-, rities fomented these discords between the Creeks and Geor-
* American State Papers, Boston edition, vol. 10, pp. 223-227.
1785
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THE SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI.
gians, for the purpose ce monopolizing the entire commerce CHAPTER of the nation. Colorei McGillivray exerted himself to defeat XIX all attempts at peacealle negotiation, now undertaken by those who had charge of our national affairs.
The Provisional Compress appointed Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, Joser . Martin and Lachlan McIntosh, com- missioners, to treat with the Southern Indians. Pickens ad- dressed a letter to Colonel MeGillivray, urging him to meet them at a convenient ;dace. at the head of all the Chiefs of the nation, to enter into treaties of friendship. The Alabama Talleyrand replied, and we will publish his able and ingenious letter, as the reader can better understand from it the charac- ter of the man, and of the times of which he writes, than by a narration from the author.
" LITTLE TALLASE,* 5th Sept., 1785. " Sir :- I am favored with your letter by Brandon, who, after detaining it near a month, sent it by an Indian, a few days ago. He, perhaps, had some reasons for keeping him- self from this region.
"The notification you have sent us is agreeable to our wishes, as the meeting is intended for the desirable purpose
* Little Tallase, four miles above Wetumpka, on the east bank of the Coosa, was one of the residences of Colonel McGillivray, and from that point he wrote most of his able letters. Colonel Howell Rose now owns the site of Little Tallase, which is embraced in a cotton plantation.
1785
-
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CHAPTER of adjusting and settling matters, on an equitable footing, XIX. between the United States and the Indian nations. At the same time, I cannot avoid expressing my surprise that a measure of this nature should have been so long delayed, on your part. When we found that the American independence
1785 September 5 was confirmed by the peace, we expected that the new government would soon have taken some steps to make up the differences that subsisted between them and the Indians during the war, to have taken them under their protection, and confirmed to them their hunting-grounds. Such a course would have reconciled the minds of the Indians, and secured the States their friendship, as they considered your people their natural allies. The Georgians, whose particular interest it was to conciliate the friendship of this nation, have acted, in all respects, to the contrary. I am sorry to observe that violence and prejudice have taken place of good policy and reason, in all their proccedings with us. They attempted to avail themselves of our supposed distressed situation. Their talks to us breathed nothing but vengeance, and, being en- tirely possessed with the idea that we were wholly at their mercy, they never once reflected that colonies of a powerful monarch were nearly surrounding us, to whom, in any ex- tremity, we might apply for snecor and protection, and who, to answer some ends of their policy, might grant it to us. However, we yet deferred any such proceeding, still expecting we could bring them to a true sense of their interest; but still finding no alteration in their conduct towards us, we' sought the protection of Spain, and treaties of friendship and
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