USA > Alabama > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 7
USA > Georgia > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 7
USA > Mississippi > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 7
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To WILLIAM PANTON, Pensacola."
William Panton was under great obligations to McGillivray, for the power of the Chieftain had enriched him beyond mea- sure. He now had large trading establishments at all the prominent posts of Florida. His chief store was at Pensaco- la. It usually contained a stock of goods to the value of fifty thousand dollars, and he employed fifteen clerks to attend to
* The French officer who lived so long in the nation.
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it. Here he had extensive "skin-houses," where his valuable CHAPTER skins and rich furs were assorted, and packed up, for foreign XXI. markets. Besides his stores at St. Johns, St. Marks, St. Au- gustine, Pensacola and Mobile, he had trading establishments at the Chickasaw Bluff, upon the Mississippi. It is said that fifteen schooners, owned by himself, were constantly employed by him, in his business. How alarming to him, then, was the preceding letter of McGillivray, and how anxious was he that no treaty should be made with the Americans, that would affect his extensive commerce. McGillivray, on the other hand, was in a situation the most favorable to obtain honors and emoluments, and he could well threaten the Spaniards with "opening the eastern door"-the Americans with support from the King of Spain-and alarm Panton with the idea of a new commercial treaty. This able and ingenious Indian, Scotchman or Frenchman, (for who can tell which blood most influenced his disposition,) kept Panton, Spain and the United States in a state of feverish excitement, while Georgia was horribly harassed, and made to feel his malignant resent- ments, for the banishment of his father and the confiscation of his patrimony.
Washington was now President. He associated with Gen. Pickens, David Humphreys, Cyrus Griffin and Benjamin Lin- coln, as commissioners, to treat with MeGillivray. These three gentlemen, sailing from New-York, arrived at Savannah, with September 10 abundant provisions to feed the Indians, while at the treaty- ground. In a few days, they reached Rock Landing, upon the Oconee, where McGillivray, at the head of two thousand
-
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CHAPTER warriors, had been encamped for more than a week, on the XXI. western bank of the river. The commissioners pitched their camp on the eastern bank. The first two days were spent in private conferences with McGillivray, much to the satisfaction . of the commissioners, for they were treated by him with great courtesy and politeness. The latter also visited most of the Chiefs, who all appeared friendly, and glad to make their ac- September 24 quaintance. The commissioners crossed the river, to the western 1789 side, and, after partaking of the black drink, were conducted, by the Chiefs, with great pomp and ceremony, to the place of council. One of them made a speech to the Indians, promi- sing much liberality on the part of the United States, which was well received. Impressed with the favorable turn of things, as they supposed, they immediately read to the Chiefs a copy of the treaty, which they had drawn up. It stipulated that the boundary made at Augusta, Shoulderbone and Gal- phinton should remain ; that the United States would gua- rantee the territory, west of that boundary, forever to the Creeks ; that a free trade should be established with the Indians, from ports upon the Altamaha, through which the Indians could import and export, upon the same terms as the citizens of the United States. That all negroes, horses, goods and American citizens, taken by the Indians, should be re- stored.
September
The commissioners then retired to their encampments, and that night MeGillivray and his Chiefs went into a grand pri- vate council. The next morning the Chieftain informned the commissioners, by letter, that the terms they proposed were
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not satisfactory, and that the Indians had resolved to break up and go home. He promised to meet them again, at some future time, and to keep his warriors from acts of hostility, during the ensuing winter. The commissioners were astound- ed, for they had imagined that everything was in a proper train. But the termns they proposed were unaccompanied with a solitary equivalent, and exhibited an extremely nig- gardly spirit, from which the high-minded Andrew Pickens wholly dissented. IIe knew that a treaty could not be made, without liberal compensation for the valuable lands which the Georgians were then cultivating. The federal powers also knew this, and had instructed the commissioners to pay. the Creeks a fair equivalent for this territory. They now sought every means to induce MeGillivray to remain, and begged him to state his grounds of objection to the draft of the treaty. But - he broke up his encampment, and retreated to the Ockmulgee, from which place he addressed the commissioners the follow- ing letter :
"OCKMULGEE RIVER, 27th Sept., 1789.
" Gentlemen :- I am favored with you letter of yesterday, by Weatherford. I beg to assure you that my retreat from my former camp, on the Oconee, was entirely owing to the *want of food for our horses, and at the earnest entreaty of our , Chiefs. Colonel Humphreys and myself, at different inter- views, entered deeply and minutely into the subject of the contest between our nation and the State of Georgia. I ob- served to him that I expected ample and full justice should be given us, in restoring to us the encroachments we com-
CHAPTER. XXI.
1789 September
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1
CHAPTER XXI. 1:89 September
1
plained of, in which the Oconee lands are included ; but, find- ing that there was no such intention, and that a restitution of territory and hunting-grounds was not to be the basis of a treaty between us, I resolved to return to the nation, deferring the matter, in full peace, till next spring. Many of the principals have gone hunting-nothing further can be done. I am very unwell, and cannot return. We sincerely desire a peace, but cannot sacrifice much to obtain it. As for a statement of our disputes, the honorable Congress has long since been in possession of, and has declared that they will decide on them on the principles of justice and humanity. "Tis that we expect.
I have the honor to be, etc., ALEXANDER McGILLIVRAY. To the HON. COMMISSIONERS, Rock Landing."
1789 November
The commissioners repaired to Augusta, with their fingers in their mouths. They drew up a series of questions for Governor Walton, of Georgia, who answered them. IIe sta- ted that the lands between the mountains and the old Oge- chee line, north of the Oconee, were equally the property of the Creeks and Cherokees ; that, before the revolution, the lands in the territory of Wilkes county were ceded by these tribes to Georgia; that, during the war, the province had been attacked by these Indians, and, at the close of it, they were respectively called upon to make some satisfaction ; that, in the spring of 1783, the Cherokees came to Augusta, and signed a treaty, and the Lower Creeks came, in the autumn,
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and performed the same act, thus ceding to Georgia their CHAPTER respective rights to lands specified in these treaties. These XXI. treaties were laid before the legislature. These lands were surveyed, sold, settled and cultivated in peace; that the In- 1789 November dians made these cessions voluntarily, and received presents, in return, of value, and that, at the treaty of Galphinton, no unworthy use was made of the force which was sent upon the ground.
Governor Walton appended to this statement, a list of the Georgians who had been killed, and of the property stolen, du- ring the recent hostilities, which was alarming in magnitude .*
The first impulse of President Washington, upon the re- turn of the commissioners to New-York, was to wage a war of invasion against the Creeks and compel them to make a peace, and relinquish the Oconee lands. He was influenced to this course, against his judgment, by the urgent demands of the Georgia delegation in Congress. But when he found, from an estimate, that the expenses of the war would amount to fifteen millions of dollars, he abandoned the project, believing that the General Government could not sustain such an ex- pense, while it was still struggling with that incurred by a long war with England. He believed that the difficulties could yet be settled by negotiation, if he could once get Colonel MeGillivray into his presence. Col. Marinus Willett, a native of Long Island, New-York, and a distinguished offi- cer in the Canadian war, and the American revolution, was
i
1789
* American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 65-78. VOL. II.
6
THE
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CHAPTER selected by Washington, as a secret agent, to visit the Creek XXI. nation, by a circuitous route, and to endeavor to return, with McGillivray, to the seat of the Federal Government. He was strictly enjoined to keep his mission a profound secret from every one, except General Pickens, to whom he bore a letter. See Tim, Wanie Ins Colonel Willett sailed from New-York, with a servant and two horses, and, after a passage of fourteen days, arrived in Charleston. Leaving this place, he had not proceeded far, before the servant, manifesting much fear, was ordered back to New-York, while a German, of doubtful character, supplied 1790 April 13 his place. Colonel Willett reached the residence of General Andrew Pickens, on the Seneca river. General Pickens was a gentleman who had been engaged extensively, as we have already seen, in negotiations with the Indians, and one in whom Washington reposed great confidence. Obtaining from General Pickens an Indian guide, for the Cherokee country, April 19 and purchasing two additional horses, he sat out, to complete his lonely and difficult mission, after having enjoyed, for seve- ral days, the hospitality and kindness of that distinguished revolutionary character. Pursuing his journey leisurely, the Cherokee town of Santee, containing eighteen houses, and surrounded by mountains, was first reached. 'The route lay through Little Chote, and the town of Huntowekee, which embraced both sides of a branch of the Coosa, and contained about fifty houses. Along the banks of the Etowah, Colonel Willett entered Newcoheta, or Long Swamp, where he met Mr. Thomas Gogg, to whom he bore a letter from General Pickens. This gentlemau accompanied him to Pine Log.
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THE SPANIARDS IN ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. 103
where he had long resided, as a trader among the Cherokees, CHAPTER and introduced him to Yellow Bird, the Chief, who not only XXI. received him with unaffected hospitality, but invited him to witness the novel and exciting game of the ball play. On the banks of the river, they reached Eustenaree, a city of refuge, to which the guilty were wont to fly, and be safe from punishment. No blood could be shed within the bounds of its sacred corporation. Here resided two Indian Chiefs, Badger and Jobberson, who gave him a warm reception, in- duced by the letters of General Pickens. The next morning, Jobberson and the interpreter, Mr. Carey, having agreed to accompany him to the Creek nation, the party all proceeded to Hihote, the last of the Cherokee towns in this direc- tion, crossed the Etowah in a canoe, swam the horses, and 1790 April 28 ascended the Pumpkin Posh mountain, which is nearly a day's travel from the river. The wealthy Mr. Scott, a Eu- ropean, who had long been a trader in the nation, resided in the first Creek settlement, which they now entered. Here, April 30 learning that McGillivray was then on a visit to Ocfuske, on the Tallapoosa river, Colonel Willett determined to join him at that place. Since he had left the borders of South-Caro- lina, more than ten days had been consumed in his solitary . march, over a wilderness country, which was the constant scene of murder and robbery. The expenses of the expedi- tion, chiefly for provender, were paid for in ribbons and paints. At the house of Mr. Graison, in the Hillabees, the secret agent had the good fortune to meet Colonel McGillivray. He de- scribes him as a "man of an open, generous mind, with a
.
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CHAPTER good judgment and very tenacious memory." Delivering the XXI. important letter of General Washington, two days were passed in conversation with this distinguished Indian personage, and here Colonel Willett, for the first time, witnessed the religious ceremony of the black drink. The party, accompanied by 1790 May 3 Colonel McGillivray and his servant, took leave of the hospi- table mansion of Graison, and, after ten miles travel, ap- proached the Fish Pond Town, where, in the evening, they were honored with a dance by the inhabitants. They soon May 4 arrived at the Hickory Ground, a large town, and one of the residences of Colonel MeGillivray. Here, it was understood that the Indians of Coosawda were engaged in a grand busk- ing for mulberries.
It was not long before Colonel McGillivray sent out ten broken days, for the Chiefs of the Lower Towns to meet at Ositchy, to consult on public business ; and, during this time, Colonel Willett amused himself in riding about the vicinity. He visited the old French fort, "Toulouse," the remains of which were scarcely visible. He tarried several days at Little Tallase, the birth-place of McGillivray, which was also called the "Apple Grove," situated on the east bank of the Coosa, five. miles above the Hickory Ground, a most delightful and well- mproved place. Ilere he fared sumptuously, on fish, veni- son, strawberries and mulberries. On the 12th May, the agent and McGillivray, with their servants, set out eastwardly, and arrived at the great town of Tookabatcha at four o'clock, in the evening, and passed the night with Mr. Curnells, the interpreter. Crossing the Tallapoosa, in company with their
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host, they went by the house of the Tallase King, and saw a CHAPTER Scotchiman, named James McQueen, who had been a trader XXI. for sixty years, in the nation. The next day, they passed the residence of the Hollowing King, and reached Coweta, upon the Chattahoochie river, where Mr. Deresau, the interpreter, sheltered them for the night. Many of this numerous popula- tion were engaged in drinking taffai, and the night was spent in
. much noise and carousal. Passing down to Ositchy, the next morning, these distinguished gentlemen remained there, await- ing the arrival of the Chiefs, when, at 11 o'clock, A.M., Col. Willett, the secret agent, delivered to the assembled wisdom of the Creek confederacy an address, the substance of which was, that he had been sent an immense distance, by our Great
ยท Chief, George Washington, to invite them to his council- house, at New-York, where he, with his own hand, wished to sign, with Colonel McGillivray, a treaty of peace and alliance. He stated to them that the United States wanted none of their lands, and that Washington would take effectual mea- sures to secure their territory to them, according to the treaty which he and Colonel McGillivray would conclude ; that the President was ready to promote their trade, by affording them means to procure goods, in a cheap and easy manner, and intended to perform other acts, which would promote the welfare and happiness of the Creek nation. Colonel Willett concluded his speech, by earnestly inviting them to embrace these terms, and to select such Chiefs as they chose, to accom- pany Colonel MeGiliivray to the great council-house of New- York, where Washington would make a treaty with their
1790 May 17
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CHAPTER XXI.
Great Chief, "as strong as the hills and lasting as the rivers."
Retiring for an hour from the vast assembly, whom he left to deliberate upon his overtures, Colonel Willett was again called in, when he received the following speech, from the Hollowing King, a fine-looking man and great orator :
" We are glad to see you. You have come a great way, and, as soon as we fixed our eyes upon you, we were made glad. We are poor, and have not the knowledge of the white people. We were invited to the treaty at the Rock Landing. We went there. Nothing was done. We were disappointed, and came back with sorrow. The road to your great council-house is long, and the weather is hot ; but our beloved Chief shall go with you, and such others as we may appoint. We will agree to all things which our beloved Chief shall do. We will count the time he is away, and, when he comes back, we shall be glad to see him, with a treaty that shall be . as strong as the hills and lasting as the rivers.' May you be preserved from every evil."
1790 May 17
Having negotiated this business, to the mutual satisfaction of himself and the warrior, Colonel Willett returned to Cow- eta that evening, and the next morning assumed the retro- grade march for Tookabatcha, where he arrived on the 21st, partook of the ceremony of the black drink, and received a speech from the venerable White Lieutenant, as the voice of the Upper Creeks, breathing sentiments similar to those deli- vered at Ositchy. Late in the evening of the next day, McGillivray and the agent arrived at the Hickory Ground.
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From this place Colonel W''illett despatched a letter to the CHAPTER . Secretary of War, by the hands of Mr. Carey, the Cherokee XXI. interpreter.
Finally, Colonel McGillivray, with his nephew and two servants, accompanied by the secret agent, set out from Little Tallase, for New-York. They were all mounted on horseback, and accompanied by several pack-horses. Taking a north- eastern direction through the wilderness, they arrived at the Stone Mountain, in the present State of Georgia, and were . there joined by the Coweta and Cusseta Chiefs. Reaching the house of General Pickens, the party received the warmest welcome, and, after being joined by the Tallase King, Chin- nobe, the "great Natchez warrior," and other Chiefs, the ex- pedition again set ont, with three wagons, in which rode twenty-six warriors, while four were on horseback. Colonel McGillivrav and suite were mounted on horses, and the agent rode in a sulkey. At Guildford C. H., North-Carolina, a truly affecting scene occurred. Some years before this, the Creeks had killed a man, named Brown, and captured his wife and children, whom they brought to the nation. Colo- nel MeGillivray, moved at their unfortunate situation, re- deemed them from slavery, by paying the price of their ransom, as he had done many others, and maintained them at his house over a year. Mrs. Brown, hearing of the arri- val of Colonel MeGillivray, rushed through the large assem- bly at the court-house, and, with a flood of tears, almost overpowered him with expressions of admiration of his cha- racter, and gratitude for his preservation of her life, and that
1796 June 1
June
6*
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CHAPTER of her children, while alone in a land of savages. The party XXI. passed through Richmond and Fredericksburg, where they were treated with much kindness, while Colonel McGillivray was received by the most prominent citizens with distin- 1790 July 17 guished consideration. Arriving at Philadelphia, Colonel Willett and his party were there entertained, for three days, in a manner which could not fail to please. Entering a sloop at Elizabethtown Point, they landed in New-York, where the Tammany Society, in the full dress of their order, received them in splendor, marched them up Wall street, by the Federal Hall, where Congress was then in session, and, next, to the house of the President, to whom they were introduced with much pomp and ceremony. Then, visiting the Minister of War, and Governor Clinton, a sumptuous and elegant entertainment, at the City Tavern, finished the day .*
1790
When it became known that McGillivray had departed for New-York, great excitement arose in Florida and Louisiana. A correspondence began with the Captain-General at Havana, and ending by his despatching, from East Florida, an agent, with a large sum of money, to New-York, ostensibly to buy flour, but really to embarrass the negotiations with the Creeks. Washington, apprised of the presence of this officer, had his movements so closely observed, that the object of his mission was defeated.
Washington, communicating with the Senate, advised that
* A Narrative of the Military Actions of Colonel Marinus Willett, pp. 25-113.
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the negotiations with McGillivray should be conducted infor- CHAPTER mally, as all the overtures hitherto offered by the commis- XXI. sioners had been rejected. Embarrassments existed, because the commerce of the Creeks was in the hands of a British company, who made their importations from England, into 1790 Spanish ports. It was necessary that it should be diverted into American channels ; but McGillivray's treaty, at Pensa- cola, in 1784, could not be disregarded, without a great breach of faith and morals on his part.
But finding, from the informal intercourse with them, that McGillivray and the Chiefs were ready to treat, upon ad- vantageous terms, Henry Knox was appointed to negotiate with them, and a treaty was concluded by him, on the part of the United States, and, on the other side, by McGillivray and the delegation, representing the whole Creek nation. It sti- pulated that a permanent peace should be established between the Creeks and the citizens of the United States; that the Creeks and Seminoles should be under the protection, solely, of the American government, and that they should not make treaties with any State, or the individuals of any State ; that they should surrender, at Rock Landing, white prisoners and ne- groes, taken during the recent hostilities, in default of which, the Governor of Georgia was authorized to send persons in the nation, to claim and demand them; that the boundary line between the Creeks and Georgia was to be that claimed by the latter, in the treaties which she had made at Augusta and Shoulderbone.
Thus did Alexander McGittivray at last surrender the Oco-
August 7
.
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CHAPTER nee lands, about which so much blood had been shed, and so XXI. much negotiation wasted. And for what ? For fifteen hundred dollars, to be paid annually to the Creek nation, with also some goods, to be distributed among the Indians, which were then in the warehouses of Augusta. The Federal Government also gua- ranteed to them their territory free from future encroachments .*
1790
Did the proud, the powerful, the shrewd Alexander Mc- Gillivray surrender these valuable lands for the pitiful amount already mentioned ? Ah !- but the reader must not be too fast. There was a secret treaty between him and Washing- ton, which now, for the first time, comes to light, in history. It provided that, after two years from date, the commerce of the Creek nation should be carried on through the ports of the United States, and, in the meantime, through the pre- sent channels ; that the Chiefs of the Ocfuskees, Tookabatchas, Tallases, Cowetas, Cussetas, and the Seminole nation, should be paid annually, by the United States, one hundred dollars each, and be furnished with handsome medals ; that Alexan- der McGillivray should be constituted agent of the United States, WITH THE RANK OF BRIGADIER GENERAL, AND THE PAY OF TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER ANNUM! that the United States should feed, clothe and educate Creek youth at the North, not exceeding four at one time.
Thus Colonel McGillivray secured to himself new honors, and a good salary, by a secret treaty, which left him in a position to return home and to intrigue with Spain. Even
* American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 81-82.
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in the presence of Washington and his able cabinet, the CHAPTER Chieftain pushed hard for favorable terms, and received them .* XXI. 1790 August 18 . Receiving half of his salary in advance, McGillivray left New-York, with the Chiefs, for the bright waters of the Ala- bama. A veil of silence covers the acts of the august Chief- tain, for several months, and we hear nothing more of him, until he was visited, in the nation, by Lieutenant Heth, who bore with him two thousand nine hundred dollars, in gold, the balance due to the Chiefs, agreeably to the treaty. He brought this money, on pack-horses, from New-York, around by Virginia and East Tennessee. Heth was instructed to remain with MeGillivray a long time, and endeavor to get him to carry out the provisions of the treaty, in regard to the restoration of prisoners and negroes, and the running of the line between the Creeks and Georgians.
--
* I am indebted to Colonel John A. Campbell, an eminent lawyer of Mobile, and to Mr. Alfred Hennen, a distinguished member of the New-Orleans bar, for placing in my hands papers filed in the District Court of Louisiana, containing the letters of Alex. McGillivray to Panton, dated at Little Tallase, September 20th, 1788, and August 10th, 1789. which have been copied, in this History, at length. I also found, among this file, the " secret treaty," written upon sheep-skin, and signed by Washington, Knox, McGillivray and the Chiefs. A celebrated law-suit, brought in this court, by Johnson and other clain- ants, under the heirs of MeGillivray es. the heirs of Panton, was the means of the preservation of these important historical papers.
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