USA > Georgia > A standard history of Georgia and Georgians > Part 12
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Nor did another argument fail to impress the trustees. It was this: if slaves were introduced into Georgia it would only tend to facilitate the desertion of slaves from South Carolina into Florida by furnishing an intermediate place of shelter for these fugitive negroes in connivance with Georgia allies and abettors.
Thus it will be seen that for the prohibition of slaves in the Colony of Georgia there were no lack of sound arguments both from the economic and from the humanitarian point of view; and at first this drastic law no doubt proved salutary in its operation. But in time it became a seri- ous detriment. To meet the demands of competition-in fact, to save the colony from utter collapse-its abrogation was eventually demanded ; and when this barrier was removed not only did the tide of prosperity hegin to rise but there came into Georgia her largest and wealthiest slave- holders: the Dorchester Puritans of whom we shall have much to say later.
Rum was also excluded from the colony for reasons too obvious to require statement. It was of the utmost importance that settlers who were expected to meet a two-fold demand, to serve the colony both as competent workers and as good soldiers, should be men of temperate habits.
Trading with the Indians, unless authorized by special license, was also forbidden. Such were some of the regulations adopted by the trus- tees for Georgia's government. As we shall see, though founded in excellent logic and justified by what was undoubtedly the wisdom of the hour, they became in time detrimental to the colony's growth; but the trustees were too far removed from actual contact with the settle- ment-too idealistic perhaps-to understand the condition of life which prevailed in Georgia or to lose sight of the fundamental reasons upon which they had acted at the start. Committed to these regulations, from the standpoint of principle, they were slow to yield to any demand for change; and in doing so at last they were forced to recognize the failure of these Utopian ideals. Nor was it withont a sigh of relief that when the twenty-one years expired a responsibility which had grown burdensome was finally relinquished. Thousands of good English pounds
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sterling had been expended with little immediate profit. Even the effort to grow mulberry trees proved abortive. The looms of England were never overtaxed in weaving Georgia's silk into fabrics. But a colony was planted in the wilds of America which, in spite of all these dis- couragements, took deep root. Nor is it any small debt which Georgia owes to her earliest sponsors, all of whom were men of the highest char- acter, of the purest benevolence, of the most exalted patriotism. To the latest generation, her history will be fragrant with the names of these English gentlemen.
Subscriptions were next solicited. As an evidence to the public of perfect good faith and to prevent any misappropriation of funds an account was opened with the Bank of England, where a register was kept in which to record the names of all donors, together with the amounts subscribed by each to the colonial fund. Responses were liberal, coming not only from individuals but from corporate institutions. Even Parliament subscribed £10,000, thus attesting its good-will toward the enterprise and its confidence in the trustees. This spontaneous outpour- ing of gifts was largely the result of an address published by the trus- tees, setting forth the benevolent ends and objects of the undertaking. The public was informed that money was needed not only to defray the passage of colonists, hundreds of whom were ready for embarkation, but to give them subsistence until they could clear their lands and build their homes; that for suceess in this great philanthropie enterprise reli- anee was placed, first, in the goodness of divine providence and, second, in the compassionate disposition of the Christian people of England; that much could be spared from luxury, by generous tempers, when such an opportunity was offered them, to provide in perpetuity for a man or woman with £20 and for a child with £10. The location of the province, in a temperate zone, its mild climate, its rich soil, its authoriza- tion by the government of England, its management by men of high official position, its importance in proteeting the exposed borders of South Carolina ; and, last but not least, its stimulating and enriehing effect upon the commerce of England.
To aid in the enterprise newspapers gave wide publicity to its benevo- lent designs and ministers from the pulpit preached eloquent sermons in approval of its philanthropie scope and spirit. Much of this popular awakening was only the reflex of Oglethorpe's powerful influence; for his zeal in launching the colony knew no abatement. In a carefully con- sidered tract to which his name was not signed but in which his mind and heart were reflected as in a mirror and which every one admits that he not only eireulated but prepared, we find a poem from the pen of Waller, in which occur these lines descriptive of Georgia's environ- ment : *
"So sweet the air, so moderate the clime None siekly lives or dies before his time Heaven sure has kept this spot of earth uncursed To show how all things were created first."
* A New and Accurate Account of the Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia, London, 1732.
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Besides the tract prepared and circulated by Oglethorpe, there also appeared a pamphlet written by Benjamin Martyn, secretary of the board, entitled "Reasons for establishing the Colony of Georgia, with regard to the trade of Great Britain, etc.," a discussion of some merit; but for lack of time we cannot pause to discuss its contents. The author's appeal was a strong one, based upon sound arguments and it closed with an imaginative picture of the future colony, rich in its flocks and herds. All things considered it is not a matter of surprise that Eng- land's interest in a colony organized for the relief of insolvent debtors should have reached a degree of interest hitherto unknown in the em- pire's experience as a colonizer and that Georgia, her latest offspring, fostered by the humane soul of an Oglethorpe, should have become the favorite child of England, the darling of the Crown.
CHAPTER VII
PLAN OF SAVANNAH DRAWN BEFORE OGLETHORPE LEAVES ENGLAND- HUNDREDS EAGER TO EMBARK FOR GEORGIA-SELECTING EMIGRANTS -RIGID EXAMINATION OF APPLICANTS-ONLY THE WORTHY CHOSEN- PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE-THIRTY-FIVE FAMILIES SET SAIL FOR GEORGIA ON NOVEMBER 17, 1732-OGLETHORPE ACCOMPANIES THE EX- PEDITION-PEN-PICTURE OF THE GREAT HUMANITARIAN AND SOLDIER- Two CHILDREN DIE AT SEA-CHARLESTON IS SAFELY REACHED-JOY OF THE COLONISTS-SOUTH CAROLINA'S WELCOME TO OGLETHORPE- ROYALLY ENTERTAINED-WITH COL. WILLIAM BULL, THE FOUNDER SETS OUT ON A RECONNOITERING TOUR-SAILS UP THE SAVANNAH RIVER-LOCATES THE SITE OF A TOWN ON A HIGH BLUFF-MAKES A TREATY WITH TOMO-CHI-CHI, AN AGED MICO, OF THE YAMACRAWS, A SMALL DETACHED TRIBE OF THE CREEK INDIANS-RETURNS TO CHAR- LESTON-CONDUCTS THE COLONISTS TO YAMACRAW BLUFF-THE Ex- PEDITION LANDS ON THE MORNING OF FEBRUARY 12, 1733-GEORGIA DAY.
Oglethorpe, while still in England, devising plans for his settlement, drew the diagram of a town to embody his conception of a military stronghold and to constitute at the same a civic center for the new prov- ince. Savannah, therefore, began to exist in embryo long before its foundations were actually laid upon the bluffs at Yamacraw. We will discuss somewhat more in detail the specifications of this plan at a later period. We pause just here only to record in its proper chronological place an interesting fact. The future metropolis of Georgia's seaboard, though still unnamed, was already, so to speak, in life. It only needed to be transferred from England to Georgia. Its earliest inhabitants were already gathering upon the banks of the Thames and, with rosy anticipa- tions of a bright tomorrow, were waiting for the hour to sail.
But let us not anticipate. Having secured funds sufficient to launch the new enterprise and to defray its initial expenses and furthermore having adopted regulations for governing the colony soon to be planted, it was next in order to secure emigrants. To this end the trustees an- nounced themselves ready to receive applications from all who wished to emigrate to Georgia. The bare announcement was like an opening of the flood-gates. Applications poured in upon the trustees. To give these an unbiased consideration, a committee was appointed from the trust to visit the prisons. Its object was to inquire into the worthiness of all applicants and when satisfied on this point to make compromises with ereditors for whatever debts were due, to assume payment thereof, and to procure a release of the debtor.
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There was also a committee appointed to hear such applications as came in person to the office of the corporation at Westminster. Many were, of course, rejected. No criminal was even considered. No man upon whom rested a shadow of suspicion or a stigma of any kind was accepted. Nor was any applicant received who in coming to Georgia would leave behind him a family dependent upon his labor for support. There were no wife deserters among these beneficiaries of the trust; no fugitives from justice ; no men of vicious character ; no debtor whose obli- gations had not been canceled. As a rule preference was given to those whose applications were endorsed by ministers, church-wardens and over- seers. After an emigrant was chosen he was drilled each day by the ser- geant of the Royal Guards, a much needed discipline since it was not only as a planter but also as a soldier that he was expected to serve the trust. Says a well known Georgia historian in refuting a popular mis- conception concerning these early colonists : * "It has been idly charged that in the beginning Georgia colonists were impecunious, depraved, law- less and abandoned, that the settlement at Savannah was a sort of Botany Bay and that Yamacraw Bluff was peopled by renegades from justice. The suggestion is utterly without foundation. The truth is, no appli- cant was admitted to the privilege of enrollment as an emigrant until he had been subjected to a preliminary examination and had furnished satisfactory evidence that lie was fairly entitled to the benefits of the charity. Other American colonies were founded and augmented by in- dividuals coming at will, without question, for personal gain, and bring- ing no certificate of present or past good conduct. Georgia, on the con- trary, exhibits the spectacle, at once unique and admirable, of permit- ting no one to enter her borders who was not by competent authority. adjudged worthy the rights of citizenship."
On October 3, 1732, the enrollment lists disclosed 114 persons who were ready to embark as emigrants for the new world. This number included men, women and children. But no one was admitted to passage until he or she had first been apprised in detail of the terms and condi- tions involved in this change of residence nor until he or she had testified acceptance thereof in a formal document containing articles of agree- ment, signed, sealed and filed in the office of the trust. To meet a few objections which were well founded, as, for example, in families where there were daughters only, it was provided that any person claiming the privilege might name a successor to the lands held by him and that in case the original grantee died without issue such successor should take possession, the property thereafter to descend to his or her male heirs. It was also ordained that a widow should receive a third of her deceased husband's property as fixed by the laws of England.
.
On the eve of sailing, a certain amount of land within the limits of the future colony-5,000 acres-was, for purposes of distribution, deeded in trust to three of the colonists to wit: Thomas Christie, William Cai- vert, and Joseph Hughes. These were to reconvey the land in fifty-aere lots to each male adult, at his request, upon arrival in the province. There attached to each transfer the conditions of settlement thereon; and
* "History of Georgia," Charles C. Jones, Jr., Vol. I, p. 113, footnote. Vol. 1-5
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except in cases for which special provision was needed the property was to descend to his male heirs.
At the time of embarkation, on November 17, 1732, there were thirty- five families enrolled, aggregating 130 individuals. These comprised car- penters, brick-layers, meehanies and farmers. To convey them to the new world a galley of some 200 tons burden, named the Anne, Captain Thomas in command, was provided by the trustees. It was comfortably fitted out for the voyage, containing in addition to food supplies such agricul- tural implements, household utensils, tools, weapons, munitions and stores as were needed for the colonists on arrival. To show that nothing was overlooked necessary to the comfort of the voyagers we are told that the vessel's cargo included "ten tons of Alderman Parson's best beer." Among the passengers on board were: Dr. Henry Herbert, a clergyman of the established church, Mr. Amatis, an Italian from Piedmont, en- gaged to instruct the colonists in breeding silk-worms and in the art of winding silk ; and, last but not least, this vessel, freighted with the desti- nies of a new province, carried its illustrious founder, James Edward Oglethorpe.
It was at his own solicitation that Oglethorpe was chosen to accom- pany the emigrants to Georgia ; but the trustees were a unit in regarding him as the best man in all England to superintend the work of Georgia's establishment. Not only was be the originator of this project to found an asylum in the new world for indigent debtors, but from first to last he was its most enthusiastic, zealous, and unremitting advocate. More- over, as chairman of the committee on prisons, he had achieved a world- wide reputation in the English Parliament. He had been largely instru- mental in purifying the prisons of England and was perhaps the best known humanitarian and philanthropist of his day. But what qualified him, in a peculiar sense, to organize a colony founded upon a military basis was his ripe experience and rare genius as a soldier. When we remember that in a few years he was to become the official head of the English army, we can form some estimate of his qualifications at this time as a military commander. He was in the prime of life, tall and erect, possessed of a vigorous constitution, and one of the handsomest men to be encountered in a tour of rural England. Though often in London, it was not as a metropolitan but as a country squire that he loved to be known ; nor did any man of his time better illustrate this title in its softer and finer phases. Not too austere, he was characterized as the boan ideal of an English gentleman; and blest with means ample for the gratification of every wish he was ready to sacrifice ease and ele- gance and to share with penury a lot of toil, of privation, and of peril. In the language of an eloquent biographer : "Possessing a liberal educa- tion, a fearless soul, a determined will, a tireless energy, a practical knowledge of military affairs and of the management of expeditions, with an experience of men and climes and matters, which only years of careful observation and intelligent travel and thoughtful study could supply, he was, beyond all dispute, the man of his age and people best qualified to inaugurate and conduct to a successful issue an enterprise so entirely in unison with his own philanthropie sentiments and so important to the interests of both England and America." #
* Charles C. Jones, Jr., in "History of Georgia,' Vol. I, p. 115.
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Says a contemporary writer: "To see a gentleman of his rank and fortune visiting a distant and uneultivated land, with no other society but the miserable whom he goes to assist, exposing himself freely to the same hardships to which they are subjected, in the prime of life, instead of pursuing his pleasure or ambition, intent on an improved and well-concerted plan from which his country must reap the profits, at his own expense, and without a view or even a possibility of receiving any private advantage from it; this, too, after having done and expended for it what many generous men would think sufficient to have done,- to see this. I say, must give every one who has approved and contributed to the undertaking the highest satisfaction, must convince the world of the disinterested zeal with which the settlement is to be made, and entitle him to the truest honor he can gain-the perpetual love and applause of mankind." #
As above stated, Oglethorpe accompanied the colonists to Georgia at his own expense. He also provided the furnishings for his cabin and laid in supplies, all of which were placed at the disposal of his fellow- voyagers. The Sabbath before sailing was spent by the colonists at Mil- ton on the Thames, where, in a body, they worshiped in the parish church. On the 16th of November quite a number of the trustees went down to Gravesend where the galley Aune was moored, to extend a for- mal farewell to Oglethorpe and to bid him Godspeed on his voyage to Georgia. Next morning the vessel lifted anchor and under fair skies began its long journey across the wide Atlantic. En route, the galley Anne touched at the Madeira Isles, where five tons of wine were taken on board. Favoring gales wafted the vessel upon its journey westward. Few mishaps were encountered. Only two infants died on the voyage; and finally, after a lapse of two months, the excited passengers, on Jan- nary 13, 1733, entered the harbor of Charleston.
Going ashore after nightfall, Oglethorpe assembled the colonists to- gether for the purpose of returning thanks to Almighty God who had prospered them on a perilous voyage to the new world and had brought them at last in safety to the shelter of a friendly haven. Thence he pro- ceeded to Charleston, a short distance up the river, where his excellency, Robert Johnson, governor of the Province of South Carolina, greeted him with formal honors, a reception in which his conneil participated.
Without attributing to selfish motives a welcome which was undoubt- edly sincere, we can well understand the joy with which the Georgia colonists were hailed when we remember that one of the chief objects in establishing a colony to the west of the Savannah River was to protect South Carolina's exposed borders. Nor was the coming of these settlers nuheralded. The Lords of the Admiralty had issued instructions to commanders in the Virginia and Carolina waters to render every assist- anee possible to the Georgia colonists. At the same time the Duke of New Castle, then at the head of colonial affairs, had apprised all the governors in America of Oglethorpe's mission, commending him to the courteous favor of these officials. All awaited his coming with interest. To quote Colonel Jones: t "In truth, Georgia was to constitute a pro-
* Political State of Great Britain, February, 1733, Vol. XLV, p. 1s1, quoted by William B. Stevens in "History of Georgia, " Vol. I, p. 81.
t "History of Georgia, " Charles C. Jones, Jr., Vol. I, p. 118.
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tection to all of the American colonies, but especially to Carolina against the eneroachments of the Spaniards, who regarded with jealous and hostile eyes the growing power and expanding settlements of England upon American shores. This mutual sympathy and dependence were, at an early date, acknowledged by a contributor to the 'London Maga- zine' in the following lines:"
"To Carolina be a Georgia joined ; Then shall both colonies sure progress make, Endeared to either for the other's sake; Georgia shall Carolina's favor move, And Carolina bloom by Georgia's love."
Before leaving Charleston, Governor Johnson, we are informed, "cheerfully responded to Oglethorpe's needs." What these were we do not know. But the reception to the colonists included a sumptuous banquet at which some old wine was uncorked. Under the guidance of the king's pilot, a Mr. Middleton, who performed this office by Governor Johnson's direction, the colonists were conducted to Port Royal where the Anne was securely anchored, after which the settlers went ashore at Beaufort to find convenient quarters in the substantial new barracks. Oglethorpe's arrival at Beaufort was signalized by an artillery salute. Here leaving the colonists to refresh themselves amid pleasant surround- ings, he set out with Col. William Bull, on a reconnoitering expedi- tion and proceeded up the Savannah River until he reached a point some eighteen miles inland, where a high bluff overlooked the stream. Hitherto, on either side, the river had coursed through marshy lowlands; but here, some forty feet above low tide, arose an elevated plateau, on which stood a forest of pines, interspersed with fragrant magnolias, while here and there an ancient live oak trailed its pendant mosses. The river was deep enough at this point to float an ordinary vessel; and in the shadow of this high bluff a ship could easily discharge its cargo at the water's edge.
It was an ideal site for a town. Oglethorpe's trained eye was quick to detect its advantages; and realizing in an instant that he had found the spot of which he was in search he called it Savannah, from the river which murmured at its base. On the heights stood an Indian village which, on inquiry, he learned to be the seat of a small detached tribe of the Creek Nation known as Yamacraws. Tomo-chi-chi, an aged prince of the forest, was its chief or mico. On this same side of the river- though in contravention of a law governing South Carolina's commerce with the Indians-was a trading post, here established by a man named Musgrove, whose wife, Mary, was a half-breed, afterwards famous in the history of the settlement.
Deeming it wise to treat with the recognized chief of the region before bringing his colonists hither, at what might prove an imminent risk, he sought and obtained an interview with this Indian mico-the first Geor- gian of whom we have any account-Tomo-chi-chi. To this end he pro- cured the mediatory services of Mary Musgrove, whom he found to be kindly disposed toward her husband's fellow-countrymen and whose fair knowledge of English made her a good interpreter. Mary's Indian name
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was Coosa-pon-a-kee-see. She was subsequently employed by Oglethorpe in similar negotiations at a stipulated salary of £100 sterling per annum.
Though at first disposed to regard the proposed settlement with dis- favor, Tomo-chi-chi, who was far above the ordinary savage in his powers of intellect, was made to realize ere long that the coming of the Euro- peans, instead of proving a menace, was likely to open a door of oppor- tunity for his people; and then and there was cemented a friendship which survived until the old mico's dying hour. Nor did Oglethorpe's love for the noble old Indian prove less enduring. Fortunate it was for Georgia that, on the threshold of her existence as a struggling colony, surrounded by enemies on every side, she was protected by so powerful a friend, so noble a character. It looked like a special providence de- signed to shield her from an untoward fate.
Having prepared the way for his colony not only in the matter of a site but in what was equally as important, a definite understanding with the Yamacraw Indians, Oglethorpe returned to Beaufort. Here he found the settlers greatly refreshed. The safe return of the little colony's head and founder and the successful nature of his visit gave increased cause for gratitude to Almighty God; and on the following Sabbath a day of special thanksgiving was observed. There was an ex- change of courtesies at this time, the Rev. Lewis Jones preaching for the colonists, while the Rev. Dr. Herbert occupied the former's pulpit in Beaufort.
To conclude the day's observance a bountiful dinner was provided by Oglethorpe and included among the articles mentioned as constitut- ing the feast were "eight turkeys, four fat hogs, many fowls, English beef, a hogshead of punch, a hogshead of beer, and a generous quantity of wine." It is quite evident from this inventory that while rum was to be excluded from the colony by an express edict of the board of trustees. Georgia was not committed to a policy of total abstinence nor was she "in any sense an advocate of strict prohibition. We are glad to be in- formed that at this feast no one was intoxicated.
Leaving Beaufort for Savannah, the colonists were conveyed in a sloop of several tons, re-enforced by a cluster of five periaguas. En route a storm was encountered, which forced them to seek shelter from its violence at a point called Lookout. Here they remained all night, suffering keenly no doubt from exposure to an inclement winter season. On the next day they proceeded to John's Island where cight men had been stationed some few days before to provide huts for the colony's accommodation at this place, midway between Savannah and Beaufort. But the morning of February 12, 1733 * found the colonists safely landed upon the bluffs at Yamacraw.
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