USA > Alabama > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 9
USA > Georgia > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 9
USA > Mississippi > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 9
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CHAPTER Vannah. He was there a foot soldier, in one of the British
XXIII. regiments, but deserted from the army, when she fled with him to the Chattahoochie. He died at Cusseta, and his bold and adventurous wife continued to wander through the Creek 1793 nation, and finally settled in the territory of the present county of Montgomery, upon the eastern side of a creek, which still bears her name, for she was called by no other than that of " Milly." Here, among the Cuwalla Indians, she established herself, without husband, father, children, or even a single friend. Espousing one of the sons of the forest, she soon began to have comforts around her. Her stock of cattle became large, to which was added, in a few years, a large drove of ponies. For many years, Milly lived alone upon this creek. The trading-path, leading from Pensacola to Tookabatcha, passed by her house. But, at the period of ' 1792, her solitary hours were agreeably relieved by the prat- tle of a little white girl. In 1790, a party of Creeks ad- vanced to the Georgia frontiers, and, surrounding the house of one Scarlet, killed him and his wife and children. A little girl, named Tempey Ellis, about eight years old, the child of a neighbor, was in the house at the time, and, when the at- tack was made, she concealed herself under the bed. After all the family lay upon the floor, in the sleep- of death, a warrior discovered Tempey Ellis, and, dragging her out by the hair, raised his hatchet to kill her; but, reflecting that he could possibly obtain a handsome sum for her ransom, he placed her on his horse, and carried her to Auttose, on the Tallapoosa. Here she was often beaten, and made to bring
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water from the springs. One day Milly heard that the Aut- CHAPTER toses had a white girl in slavery. She immediately mounted XXIII. her pony, rode to Auttose, paid ten ponies and six head of cattle for T'empey, and, the next day, carried this unfortunate 1792 child to her house. For several years she acted the part of a most affectionate mother. Subsequently, the child was delivered to Seagrove, the Creek Agent, at St. Mary's, and was sent from thence to her friends in Georgia. Old Milly was exceedingly attached to Tempey, and gave her up with great reluctance .*
Near the prairies, within a few miles of this solitary wo- man, lived William Gregory, a native of one of the States, who had resided for years among the Indians. He was now a stock-keeper, and lived in a cabin, which contained his Indian family. As far as the eye could reach, over the beau- . tiful and gently rolling plains, his cattle and horses fed, un- disturbed by man or beast. It is said that William Gregory was a kind-hearted man, who fed the wanderer, "without money and without price," and who, even in a lawless land, possessed a heart which prompted him to be honest.
In 1785 came, also, into this neighborhood a Jew, named Abram Mordecai, a native of Pennsylvania, and who es- tablished a trading-house at the spot where now stands the house of Mrs. Birch, two miles west of Line Creek. Here,
·
* I have conversed with Tempey. Ellis. She is now a respectable old woman, the wife of Mr. Thomas Frizell, residing in Pike county, Alabama.
1792
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CHAPTER also, lived James Russell, another trader, who being a tory, XXIII. had sought this place to be rid of whig persecution. A tory, named Love, and Dargan, a Dutchman and notorious horse- 1792 thief, lived near the site of Mount Megs, where they carried on a small commerce. All these traders had Indian wives, ex- cept Mordecai, whose faithful spouse was Indian, considerably darkened with the blood of Ham.
At Econchate, Red Ground, now embracing the southern suburbs of the city of Montgomery, lived several white tra- ders. Charles Weatherford established a trading-house upon the first eastern bluff below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, and laid out the first race-paths ever known in East Alabama. Often would the noted horse-thief, fresh from the frontiers of Georgia, here, for the first time, try the speed of his stolen ponies.
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The most blood-thirsty, fiendish and cruel white man, that ever inhabited any country, was Savannah Jack, or, as he was universally called, by this outlawed world, " Saraner Juck,", who lived at Souvanoga, upon the Tallapoosa. He boasted that he had killed so many women and children, upon the Cumberland and Georgia frontiers, in company with his town's people, that he could swim in their blood, if it was collected in one pool.
Thus we see that the territory of Montgomery county, now the focus of so much wealth and intelligence, was then a wilderness, inhabited by Indians and the few singular charac- ters who have been named. Indeed, all over the territory of Alabama and Mis+sipri, wherever an Indian town of impor-
.
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tance was found, white traders lived. Some of them became CHAPTER wealthy ; but, like all property acquired in a commerce with XXIII. 1792 Indiana, it generally left the owner, in his old age. One of these up-country traders, " Woccocoie Clarke," living at Woc- cocoie, in the modern Coosa county, transported his mer- chandize and skins upon seventy pack-horses. His squaw, who was of great assistance to him, he called Queen Anne, for Clarke was an Englishman.
Besides skins, of various kinds, the traders bought up bees-wax, hickory-nut oil, snake-root, together with various medicinal barks, and transported them to Augusta and Pen- sacola on pack-horses, and to Mobile and New-Orleans in large canoes. The pack-horses used in this trade were gene- rally sinall ones, raised in the nation, but were capable of sustaining heavy loads and of enduring great fatigue. A saddle, of a peculiar shape, was first placed upon the pony. The load consisted of three bundles, each weighing sixty pounds. Two of these bundles were suspended across the saddle, and came down by the sides of the pony, while the third was deposited on top of the saddle. The whole pack was covered with a skin, to keep off the rain. Thus the pony sustained a load of one hundred and eighty pounds. Even liquids were conveyed in the same manner. Taffai, a mean runt, was carried on these horses, in small kegs. In- deed, these hardy animals transported everything for sale, and even poultry, of all kinds, was carried in enges, made of reeds, strapped upon their backs. A pack-horseman drove ten ponies in a lead. . Ho used no lines, but urged them on
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. CHAPTER XXIII. 1792
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with big hickories and terrible oaths. Accustomed to their duty, they, however, seldom gave trouble, but jogged briskly along. The route and the stopping-places became familiar, and, as evening approached, the little fellows quickencd their trot, with new life and activity. When the sun retired over the hills, the caravan stopped ; the packs were taken off, piled up in a heap, and covered with skins; the horses were belled, and turned out to find their food, which consisted of grass and young cane. It was usually late the next morning before the horses were collected and packed, for no person, in an Indian country, is fool enough to regard time. An attack from the natives, upon traders, was of rare occurrence. They imagined that they needed the supplies which they brought into their country, and, regarding these singular merchants as their best friends, did not even rob them. A pack-horseman always drank taffai-it cheered him in the forest, and em- boldened him in distress. With a bottle slung by his saddle, he often indulged, while those before and behind him followed his custom. Those going to Pensacola and other places, were frequently in want of the stimulant, and it was custom- ary for the traders, whom they met, coming from market, to halt, and treat, and interchange jokes. The trader who sud- denly rushed by a thirsty party, was long remembered, as a mean fellow.
. Nothing stopped these men on their journey. They swam all swollen crecks, and rafted over their effects or produce. Where they had no canoes, rivers were crossed in the same manner. If they reached a stream, having large cane on its
r
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banks, these were presently cut, ten feet long, and tied up CHAPTER into bundles, about three feet in circumference, which were XXIII. placed in the water. Across these others were laid, which 1792 formed an admirable raft, capable of sustaining great weight. Logs were, also, often employed in the construction of rafts. Guided by long grape-vines, they were generally dragged safely across, to the opposite side, where the wet ponies stood, ready to receive their packs again. Then all hands drank taffai, and journeyed on, with light hearts and laughing faces. The average travel was twenty-five miles a day. The route from Pensacola was a well-beaten path, leading up the coun- try, and across the fatal Murder Creek, and thence to within a few miles of the Catoma, when it diverged into several trails, one of which led to Tookabatcha, along the route of the old Federal road, the other to Montgomery and We- tumpka, by the Red Warrior's Bluff, now Grey's Ferry, upon the Tallapoosa. This trail continued to the Tennessee river .*
Northward, there were no white settlements between the Alabama river and the vicinity of Nashville. Here, in 1792, the Creeks committed many depredations. They pushed their hostilities to the very doors of Nashville. They attacked the house of Thompson, a wealthy and respectable man, killed the whole family, except his interesting daughter,
* Conversations with Abram Mordecai, James Moore, and many other old traders; also conversations with Iliram Mounge , of Washing. ton county, Mrs. Sophia MeComb, Mrs. Howse and Lachlan Durant. In many things, they are supported by the reports contained in Indian Affairs, vol. 1.
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CHAPTER XXIII. 1792
just arrived at womanhood, whom they carried in captivity to Kialigee, upon the Tallapoosa, together with an amiable lady, named Caffrey, with her little son. The unhappy prisoners found, in this town, a young woman, named Sarah Fletcher, who had, several years before, been captured, in the Miro district, which was also called Cumberland district. Miss Thompson was ransomed by Riley, a trader, for eight hun- dred weight of dressed deer-skins, worth two hundred and sixty dollars, and was treated with kindness by her benefactor, and restored to her friends. Mrs. Caffrey was separated from her son, beaten with sticks, scratched with gar's teeth, and made to work in the fields. After two years, she was also carried to Nashville, but without her boy. The little fellow became an Indian in his feelings, and, when he had been in the nation five years, it was with difficulty that Mordecai could separate him from his Indian playmates, and carry him to Seagrove. That gentleman sent him to Governor Blount, and he finally reached his mother's arms. The bloody Coosawdas, who lived upon the Alabama, were frequently out upon the Cum- berland, engaged in the massaere of the settlers and the plunder of their effects. Captain Isaacs, the Chief of this town, returned, in 1792, with Elizabeth Baker, a young lady from Cumberland. How miserable and lonely must have been the journey, with these sanguinary warriors, who bore the sealps of her father, mother, brothers and sisters, daily suspended upon poles, before her eyes. When she arrived in Coosawda, the savages hung their trophies upon the coun- cil-house, and danced around them with exulting shouts.
1
:
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But she found a friend in Charles Weatherford, who lived CHAPTER across the river. He ransomed Miss Baker, and placed her XXIII. in charge of his wife, Sehoy, the half-sister of General McGil- livray, and the mother of the celebrated William Weather- ford, who will figure in this history hereafter. The unfortu- nate captive ultimately reached her friends. It would be an endless task, to enumerate all the instances of murder and cap- tivity which occurred upon the frontiers of Georgia and Ten- nessee .*
* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 431-433-270-274-634.
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CHAPTER XXIV.
DEATH OF McGILLIVRAY-BLOODY SCENES.
THE Spanish authorities of Louisiana and the Floridas were accused of producing the bloody scenes, to which allusion was made in our last chapter. Great jealousies and difficulties ex- isted between them and the south-western people of the United States, and even between them and the Federal Government. John Jay, on the part of the latter, and Don Guardoqui, repre- senting Spain, began a correspondence at New-York, then the seat of the Federal Government, as early as 1785, for the pur- pose of settling the matters in dispute. Jay insisted upon the right of the people of the Union, now fast settling upon the head branches of the Tennessee, the Cumberland and the Ohio, to navigate the Mississippi, to the Gulf, with their commerce, · free of duty, and also the right to occupy, exclusively, all the territory east of that river, as low down as the line of 31", all of which, he contended, was consistent with our treaty with England, made in 1782. Guardoqui resisted these claims, with great show of reason. Hle contended that Don Galvez, in 1780, by his victories, took from England, Mobile, Baton Rouge, and Fort Panmure, at Natchez, with all their depen-
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dencies ; that, at the same time, Captains Parre and Villars, CHAPTER with Spanish troops, took formal possession of the English XXIV. posts on the Upper Mississippi, east of that river, one of which was situated two hundred and twenty-two leagues above St. Louis ; that, in 1781, Don Galvez completed these conquests, by the reduction of Pensacola ; that the territories now in dispute were, at the time of the signing of the treaty between England and the United States, solely in the occupa- tion of Spain, and that England had no right to negotiate in re- gard to them, and, in fact, did not really do so, but rather " tacitly left safe the territorial rights of His Catholic Majesty." These positions were met by Jay, by a reference to the treaty which Spain made with England, seven weeks after the latter had made the one with us. In the eighth article, Spain agreed to restore, without compensation, all the English territories con- quered by her, except the Floridas, the northern limit of which, he asserted, was 31° ; that Spain was bound, by this article, to have delivered up to England (who was to deliver to the United States) all the territory elaimed by Georgia, from the Chattahoochie to the Mississippi, between 310 and 35°. But there was the rub. Which was the northern boundary of Spanish West Florida ? We have impartially examined this subject. The charter of Charles IL., to the lords proprietors of South-Carolina, under which Georgia claimed all the pre- sent States of Alabama and Mississippi, that monarch had no right to make. The territory of these States was discovered (to say nothing of the conquest of De Soto) by the French, under Marquette and La Salle, and then by Iberville. Ala-
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CHAPTER bama and Mississippi were immediately occupied by France. XXIV. That power continued to hold possession for sixty-two years. We have seen that she did not surrender these territories to England until 1763. These territories were occupied, then, by England, from 1763 until 1780 or 1781, when they fell, by conquest, into the hands of Spain, who immediately occu- pied them with her troops, and extended over them her government. Well, now, where was the just claim of the United States for Georgia ? Did England have any right to transfer to us, in a treaty, territories of which she had three years before been deprived, by Spanish conquest ? Nay, Eng land not only had no right to do that, but she admitted she had no right, when, seven weeks afterwards, she concluded a treaty with Spain, and confirmed to her West Florida, the British northern line of which was 32º 28/, and not 31º, as con- tended for by Jefferson, Jay, and various American historians.
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1792 March
The negotiation between Guardoqui and Jay resulted in nothing, and the navigation of the Lower Mississippi remained closed against American citizens. In the meantime, Spain became alarmed. The treaty with McGillivray, at New-York, and the movements of the first Yazoo companies, aroused her. She asked for a renewal of negotiations. The President re- -sponded, by sending to Madrid, Carmichael and Short, who entered into negotiations once more with Guardoqui, who had been recalled to Spain, and was then Secretary of Foreign Affairs .* After much correspondence, in which both powers
* American State Papers, Bo-ton edition, vol. 10, pp. 131-137 ; also Foreign Affairs, vol. I, pp. 252-255.
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. frequently accused each other of improper interference with CHAPTER XXIV. the Indians inhabiting the disputed region, over whom they each exclusively claimed the superintendence, the negotiations terminated, without any arrangement satisfactory to us. All 1793 April that Spain would admit, was the probability of her ultimately allowing the northern boundary of her West Florida posses- sions to be the line of 32º 28', while she was also disposed to allow the establishment of a warehouse at the mouth of the Yazoo, in which American citizens could deposit their produce, from their own boats, brought down the Mississippi. These productions were then to be taken to New-Orleans in Spanish boats, and sold or exported, subject to Spanish du- ties .* All this time, the agents of Spain, near the Federal Government, were constantly annoying Jefferson, the Secre- tary, with a series of complaints against Governor Blount, of Tennessee, and Seagrove, the Creek Agent, which were an- swered by similar complaints against the Spaniards, on the part of the latter. Much ill-feeling was elicited between these parties, while the people of Georgia were perfectly ran- pant, censuring the Federal authorities for the weakness, irre- solution and tardiness, displayed in conducting the negotia- tions. They proclaimed that, if the United States much longer neglected to drive the Spaniards from their territory, they would undertake it themselves. The horizon of this vast Indian wilderness was still further darkened, by the in- cessant border warfare between the Indians and the frontier
* American State Papers, Boston Edition, vol. 10, pp. 159-162.
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CHAPTER . XXIV.
Americans .* Spain assumed very high and unwarrantable grounds, in one respect. She even opposed the running of the line around the Oconee lands, and it was made the sub- ject of remonstrance to the Federal Government. She claimed a surveillance over the affairs of the Creeks, by her treaty with them, at Pensacola, and avowed her determination to protect them against the encroachments of the Georgians. As none of the Oconee territory lay within the limits of West Florida, Spain certainly stepped beyond reason, in seeking a quarrel with the Americans about it.
1
General McGillivray continued to make visits to Governor Carondelet. In returning from New-Orleans, late in the summer of 1792, a violent fever detained him long in Mobile. Recovering, he went to Little Tallase, where he wrote his last letter to Major Seagrove. He appeared to deplore the un- happy disturbances which existed, and ascribed them to the interference of the Spaniards with our affairs. He had often responded to the letters of the Secretary of War, in relation to carrying out the provisions of the New-York treaty, and, several times, assured him that he had explained that instru- ment frequently, to the Chiefs, and had urged them to com- ply, but that the Spanish influence had defeated his recom- mendations. In one of his letters, he says to the Secretary : " You will recollect, sir, that I had great objection to making the south fork of the Oconee the limit, and, when you in- sisted so much, I candidly told you that it might be made an
" American State Papers, Boston edition, vol. 10, pp. 185-186.
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article, but I could not pledge myself to get it confirmed, or CHAPTER that of the restoration of the negro property, which had so XXIV. often changed owners."
But this remarkable man was fast approaching dissolution. HIe had long been afflicted, and was always of a delicate con- stitution. He spent the winter upon Little river, which now 1792 and 1793 divides the counties of Monroe and Baldwin. The account of his death is presented in the language of the great mer- chant, William Panton, in a letter, dated Pensacola, April 10th, 1794, and addressed to Lachlan McGillivray, the father of the Chieftain, who was, at that time, still alive, at Dunma- glass, Scotland ..
Your son, sir, was a man that I esteemed greatly. I was perfectly convinced that our regard for each other was mutual. It so happened, that we had an interest in serving each other, which first brought us together, and, the longer we were acquainted, the stronger was our friend- ship.
"I found him deserted by the British, without pay, without money, without friends, and without property, saving a few negroes, and he and his nation threatened with destruction by the Georgians, unless they agreed to cede them the better part of their country. I had the good fortune to point out a mode by which he could save them all, and it succeeded beyond expectation.
«* He died on the 17th February, 1793, of com- pleated disorders-of inflamed lungs and the gout on his sto- mach. He was taken ill on the path, coming from his cow- VOL. II. S
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CHAPTER XXIV.
pen, on Little river, where one of his wives, Joseph Curnell's daughter, resided, and died eight days after his arrival here. No pains, no attention, no cost was spared, to save the life of my friend ; but fate would have it otherwise, and he breathed his last in my arms.
“* * HIe died possessed of sixty negroes, three hun- dred head of cattle, with a large stock of horses.
* I advised, I supported, I pushed him on, to be the great man. Spaniards and Americans felt his weight, and this enabled him to haul me after him, so as to establish this house with more solid privileges than, without him, I should have attained. This being the case, if he had lived, I meant, be- sides what he was owing me, to have added considerably to his stock of negroes. What I intended to do for the father, I will do for his children. This ought not to operate against your making that ample provision for your grand-son, and his two sisters, which you have it in your power to make. They have lately lost their mother, so that they have no friends, poor things, but you and me. My heart bleeds for them, and what I can, I will do. The boy, Alleck, is old enough to be sent to Scotland, to school, which I intend to do, next year, and then you will see him."*
General McGillivray was interred, with masonic honors, in the splendid garden of William Panton, in the city of Pen- sacola. He was a severe loss to that gentleman, and to the
# I found Panton's letter among the bundle of papers in the District Court of New-Orleans.
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Spanish government. His death, among the Indians, every- where, produced deep sorrow and regret. The great Chief- tain, who had so long been their pride, and who had elevated their nation, and sustained it in its trials, now lay buried in the sands of the Seminoles.
General McGillivray was six feet high, spare made, and re- markably erect in person and carriage. His eyes were large, dark and piercing. His forehead was so peculiarly shaped, that the old Indian countrymen often spoke of it : it commenced expanding at his eyes, and widened considerably at the top of his head. It was a bold and lofty forehead. His fingers were long and tapering, and he wielded a pen with the great- est rapidity. His face was handsome, and indicative of quick thought and much sagacity. Unless interested in conversa- tion, he was disposed to be taciturn, but, even then, was po- lite and respectful. When a British colonel, he dressed in the British uniform, and when in the Spanish service, he wore the military dress of that country. When Washington ap- pointed him a brigadier-general, he sometimes wore the uni- form of the American army, but never when in the presence of the Spaniards. His usual dress was a mixture of the Indian and American garb. He always travelled with two servants, David Francis, a half-breed, and Paro, a negro, who saved the lives of over a hundred royalists, in 1781, as we have seen. He had good houses at the Hickory Ground and at Little Tallase, where he entertained, free of charge, distin- guished government agents, and persons travelling through his extensive dominions. Like all other men, he had his
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