USA > Georgia > A standard history of Georgia and Georgians > Part 16
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While the Salzburgers rested from the fatigues of the long trip across
* "Dead Towns of Georgia, " p. 11, Savannah, 1878.
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the seas, Herr Von Reck, in company with Oglethorpe, set out on horse- back to select a place of settlement for the emigrants. It was finally reached on the morning of March 17, 1734. The site chosen for the purpose was four miles to the south of the present town of Springfield, in a region which was wholly destitute of fertility and without the least claim to attractiveness. But to judge from the description of Herr Von Reck it was veritably a bit of Eden. On the banks of a creek which was found after meandering several miles eastward to empty into the Savannah River, he marked off the future town, which he called Ebenezer, in devout recognition of the Lord's help; and he likewise be- stowed the name upon the adjacent stream. As soon as the reconnoiter- ing party returned to Savannah, eight able-bodied Salzburgers were dis- patched to Ebenezer to fell trees and to erect shelters for the colonists. Early in April the rest followed. Substantial cabins were built, bridges were thrown across the water-courses, and a roadway construeted to Abercorn. The people of Savannah gave the settlers a number of cows and a lot of seed with which to begin industrial activities. Altogether the outlook was most promising, and with none to molest them or to make them afraid the onee persecuted Salzburgers began anew the strug- gle of life in the free wilderness of Georgia.
On February 5, 1736, there was another arrival of Germans at Savan- nah; and, though a few of them under Captain Hermsdorf were dis- patched to Frederiea, for the purpose of strengthening the military post on St. Simon's Island, the majority of them preferred to settle at Ebenezer, a wish in which they were indulged by Oglethorpe. With this addition the population of the new town was little short of two hun- dred souls. But the community was not prosperous. The climate proved to be malarial. The water disagreed with them. The soil refused to reward even the most diligent efforts to cultivate it; sickness prevailed among the colonists; and, to lengthen the catalogue of complaints, it was found that the distance from the settlement to the Savannah River, though only six miles over land, was twenty-five miles by water. The matter was finally laid before Oglethorpe who, realizing the difficulties under which the Salzburgers labored at Ebenezer, gave them permis- sion to move elsewhere. Accordingly they selected a high ridge, near the Savannah River, at a place called Red Bluff, because of the peenliar color of the soil; and, setting themselves to work, the change of abode was speedily effected.
Less than two years were consumed in transferring the household goods of the Salzburgers to the new site. It was called New Ebenezer, to distinguish it from the former place of abode, which in turn became Old Ebenezer. Whatever could be moved with the means at hand was conveyed to the new town. Even the cabins were taken down and carted through the woods, log by log. It was slow and tedions work, but the Salzburgers were marvelously patient. By the summer of 1738 the old town had degenerated into a cow pen, where one Joseph Barker resided, in charge of some cattle belonging to the trustees. William Stephens, who visited the locality about the same time, found it an abandoned settlement ; and it need hardly be added that not a vestige of the old town today survives.
The choice of the new place of abode was wisely made. It was only
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six miles to the east of Old Ebenezer, but it was located to much better advantage with respect both to fertility of soil and to general health- fulness. As described by Mr. Strobel, the situation was somewhat ro- mantie .* Says he: "On the east lay the Savannah with its broad, smooth surface. On the south was a stream, then called Little Creek, but now known as Loekner's Creek, and a large lake called Neidlinger's 'Sea; while to the north, not very distant from the town, was to be seen an old acquaintance, Ebenezer Creek, sluggishly winding its way to mingle with the waters of the Savannah." The landscape was here gently undulating, so he tells us, the countryside covered with a fine growth of forest trees, the fields luxuriant with many-colored flowers, among them the woodbine, the azalea and the jessamine. But the pesti- lential germs were found to be here, too, for on three sides the town was eneompassed by low swamps, which were subject to periodical inun- dation, and which generated a poisonous miasma prejudicial to the health of the inhabitants.
For years New Ebenezer prospered. The Salzburgers did not know what it was to eat the bread of idleness. John Wesley was lavish in praise of the neat appearance which the town presented when he called to see them. He found the houses well built. He was also impressed with the frugality of these Germans. They did not leave a spot of ground unplanted in the little gardens belonging to them, and they even made one of the main streets yield a crop of Indian corn. From first to last, they were an agricultural people. As early as 1738 they began to experiment with the culture of cotton. But the trustees were partial to silk and wine. Consequently the growth of this plant was discouraged. By 1741 it is estimated that in the Colony of Georgia there were not less than twelve hundred German Protestants, most of whom were at Ebenezer.
But we must not anticipate. Oglethorpe, after assigning a location to the Salzburgers, made them a visit, helped in laying out the town and ordered six carpenters to assist them in erecting houses. On this same trip, he visited Aberdeen and Palochoeolas, the latter an Indiau village on the Savannah River.
Twelve months had now elapsed since the landing of the first emi- grants upon the bluffs at Yamacraw. Many difficulties and hardships had been encountered, in all of which Oglethorpe had borne his full share. There are no statistics at hand for showing the exact status of the colony at this time; but, on June 9, 1733, one year after the grant- ing of Georgia's charter, the trustees submitted an annual report from which it appeared that up to this time 152 persons had been sent over by the trust, eleven of whom were foreign Protestants, the rest Britons. t Five thousand acres of land had been granted in parcels to the colonists sent over by the corporation, besides which 4.460 acres had been deeded to parties settling in Georgia without expense to the trustees. Over £2,254 sterling had been expended. Again, on June 9, 1734, the trustees
* "Salzburgers and Their Descendants," p. 91, Baltimore, 1855.
+ " An Account Showing the Progress of the Colony of Georgia in America from its First Establishment, " pp. 14-16, London, 1741. Vol. 1-7
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reported that for the year preceding 341 persons had been transported by the corporation, of whom 237 were Britons and 104 foreign Protestants. To parties coming at their own expense, 5.725 acres had been deeded, in addition to 8,100 acres conveyed to indigent colonists. Out of £11,500 sterling received in contributions, £6,863 had been disbursed. To quote Colonel Jones: " "With the progress of colonization the Trustees cer- tainly had good cause to be pleased. Never was a trust more honestly administered. Among all the English plantations we search in vain for a colony the scheme of whose settlement was conceived and executed upon like principles, whose colonists were selected with like care, whose affairs were conducted with equal regularity, and whose supervisors and agents could be matched in respectability, eulture and benevolence. By judi- cious treatment the red men had been won over to peace and amity. By treaty stipulations these sons of the forest had surrendered to the Euro- peans their titles to wide domains. The pine-covered bluff at Yamacraw was transmuted into a town, well-ordered. regularly laid out, and pos- sessing forty completed houses and many others in process of construc- tion. A battery of cannon and a palisade proclaimed its power for protection. An organized town court was opened for the enforcement of rights and the redress of wrongs. From a tall flagstaff floated the royal colors, and a substantial erane on the bluff facilitated the un- burthening of vessels in the river below. A public garden and private farms evidenced the thrift of the community, and gave promise of a liberal harvest. An ample storehouse sheltered supplies against a sea- son of want. This little mother town-miniature metropolis of the province-had already sent out her sons; some of them to dwell along the line of the Savannah, others to watch by the Ogeechee, others to build homes upon the islands and guard the approaches from the sea, others to warn the mariner as he entered the mouth of the Savannah, and others still to convert the neighboring forests into pleasant fields. Planters, too, at their own charge, bringing artieled servants with them, were already seeking out and subduing fertile tracts. Thus the colony enlarged its domains and multiplied its settlements."
* "History of Georgia," Vol. I, pp. 172-173.
EBENEZER, THE SALZBURGER SETTLEMENT .- Twenty-five miles above Savannah, on an eminence which at this point overlooks the historie stream, there is still to be seen a quaint little house of worship, from the belfry of which glistens a swan, copied from the coat-of-arms of Martin Luther. It stands alone in the midst of a silent waste; for the sturdy Germans who once peopled the surrounding area have long since disappeared from the region. Near the church is the ancient burial ground. The inscriptions upon the yellow tombstones can hardly be deciphered, so busily have the destructive forces of time been here at work. But some of the graves are almost, if not quite, as old as the Colony of Georgia; and, with naught to disturb them in this quiet spot, save the pitiless elements, most of the inmates have here slept for the better part of two centuries. It is the old deserted settlement of the pious Salzburgers: Ebenezer.
To the outside world there were various names by which the little church was known. It was sometimes called the Lutheran Meeting House. Occasionally it was called the Salzburger Church, or the German Church, but in the official records of the parish it was always Jerusalem Church, so named for the old original church of the apostles at Jerusalem. It was indeed the center of a little German Palestine, here planted among the lowlands of Georgia, a religious capital where the divine law was promulgated. The present unpretentious but substantial edifice of briek was
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commenced in 1767 and completed in 1769, on the site formerly occupied by a temporary structure of wood. It was invested by the British during the Revolution, who used it first as a hospital for the sick and then as a stable in which the horses of the officers were kept. The house of worship was also desecrated in other ways. With unbridled license, these ruffians, who were most of the time under the influence of bad liquor, converted the pulpit, the windows, the mottoes on the walls, and other objects into targets, at which they discharged firearms. The result was that at the close of hostilities it was little better than a ruin; but the walls were intaet, and, subsequent to the Revolution, it was restored to something like the appearance which it formerly presented.
On April 21, 1911, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, a handsome tablet of bronze was unveiled on the walls of the old church at Ebenezer by the Georgia Society of Colonial Dames of America; and lettered upon the tablet is this inscription :
To the Glory of God. In Memory of the Salzburger Lutherans who landed at Savannah, Georgia, March 12th, 1734, and built this Jerusalem Church in 1767-1769. Erected by the Georgia Society of Colonial Dames of America.
L. L. Knight in "Georgia 's Landmarks, Memorials and Legends," Vol. II.
CHAPTER XII
OGLETHORPE SETS SAIL FOR ENGLAND ON A RETURN VISIT-THOMAS CAUSTON GIVEN THE GENERAL CONDUCT OF AFFAIRS-TOMO-CHI-CHI, HIS WIFE, SCENAWKI, AND HIS NEPHEW, TOONA-HOWI, ACCOMPANY OGLETHORPE ON THE VOYAGE-OGLETHORPE IS GREETED WITH EN- THUSIASTIC ACCLAIM-POEMS WRITTEN IN HIS HONOR-RECEPTION GIVEN THE INDIANS-TOMO-CHI-CHI MAKES A DEEP IMPRESSION- INSPIRES A LENGTHY ODE -- THE INDIANS PRESENTED AT COURT- TOMO-CHI-CHI'S PORTRAIT PAINTED BY VERELST-ONE OF THE IN- DIANS DIES OF SMALLPOX AND IS BURIED IN LONDON-SAVAGE RITES OF BURIAL OBSERVED OGLETHORPE TAKES THE DEPRESSED INDIANS TO HIS COUNTRY SEAT-WHAT TOMO-CHI-CHI THOUGHT OF LONDON -- LOADED WITH PRESENTS THE INDIANS RETURN TO GEORGIA ON THE PRINCE OF WALES-OGLETHORPE RESUMES HIS SEAT IN PARLIAMENT -MORE STRINGENT LAWS ADOPTED BY THE TRUSTEES-SAMPLES OF GEORGIA SILK PRESENTED TO THE QUEEN-SHE ORDERS A COSTUME TO BE MADE OF THE FABRIC, IN WHICH TO APPEAR ON HER BIRTHDAY -THE MORAVIANS-COUNT ZINZENDORF'S SCHEME OF COLONIZATION -IRENE-SOME OF THE MORAVIAN SETTLERS AFTERWARDS MEN OF DISTINCTION-GEORGIA LOSES THESE COLONISTS TO PENNSYLVANIA, EXCEPT FOR A SMALL REMNANT-SCOTCH HIGHLANDERS INDUCED TO EMIGRATE TO GEORGIA AND TO START A SETTLEMENT ON THE ALTA- MAHA RIVER-NEW INVERNESS- JOHN MONIR MCINTOSH-REV. JOHN MCLEOD-CAPT. HUGH MACKAY-THIS SETTLEMENT ALMOST COM- PLETELY EXTINGUISHED BY THE SPANISH WARS-DARIEN.
On April 7. 1734, Oglethorpe set sail for England on a return visit. Before leaving Georgia he placed Thomas Causton in authority, giving him the general conduct of affairs. Mr. Causton was not only store- keeper for the province, an office of the first importance under the trus- tees; but he was also a bailiff. In the event any problem arose which he did not feel competent to deeide, he was to consult Mr. James St. Julian, of South Carolina, or Mr. Francis Scott, of Georgia, either of whom. would prove a safe councilor. Oglethorpe had been absent from England for more than sixteen months and there were a number of mat- ters to call him back, some of which pertained to his own private affairs, others to his management of the province, on which he wished to confer with the trustees. It was not without sad hearts that the colonists bade him adien. To quote the exact language of Baron Von Reek, he "was their Benefactor and their Father; who had watched over them as a good shepherd does over his flock; and who had so tender a care over them both by Day and by Night." It was a tribute well deserved.
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But Oglethorpe did not return to England unaccompanied. His companions, on this eventful voyage, were: Tomo-chi-chi, the aged chief of the Yamaeraws, his wife, Seenawki, and his adopted son and nephew, Toonahowi. The party of Indians also included Hilli-spilli, war chief of the Lower Creeks, four other chiefs of this nation and one chief of the Uchees, from Palachocolas, besides an interpreter and other attend- ants. Tomo-chi-chi, despite his advanced age, was eager to behold the marvels of England: he, therefore, gladly accepted Oglethorpe's invita- tion. He wished to learn more of England's greatness, to acquire new ideas for himself, and to obtain instructors to teach his people the Eng- lish language and religion.
The voyage lasted seventy days. But the passage of the Atlantic was made without serious mishap. Leaving the Indians at his estate, he proceeded at once to London where he was greeted with most unusual honors. On the evening of June 21, 1734, a formal reception was ten- dered him and at this time he presented to the trustees a narrative of Georgia's progress. Oglethorpe's return was heralded throughout the kingdom ; his philanthropy, his patriotism, his self-sacrifice, his altru- ism, his shining catalogue of Christian virtues, these were all extolled. It was at this time that Alexander Pope, in a glowing couplet, praised his
"strong benevolence of soul;"
adding these lines :
"Thy great example shall through ages shine, A favorite theme with poet and divine; To all unborn thy merits shall proclaim, And add new honors to thy deathless name."
Thomson, in his "Seasons," thus speaks of Oglethorpe the humani- tarian :
"And here ean I forget the generous hand
That, touched with human woe, redressive searched
Into the horrors of the gloomy jail ?
Unpitied and unheard, where misery mourns ;
Where sickness pines; where thirst and hunger burn, And poor misfortune feels the lash of vice.
This same gifted author in his "Ode to Liberty" says of Oglethorpe's colony in America :
"Lo, swarming southward, on rejoicing suns Gay colonies extend; the cahn retreat Of undeserved distress; the better home Of those whom Bigots chase from foreign lands ;
Not built on Rapine, Servitude, and Woe, And, in their turn, some petty tyrant's prey ;
But, bound by social freedom, firm they rise, Such as of late an Oglethorpe has formed,
And crowding round the charmed Savannah sees."
Such adulation was seldom if ever known. But Oglethorpe's honors were not unshared by Tomo-chi-ehi, the aged mico, to whom an ode with eleven stanzas was composed. Since we cannot reproduce this poem in full, we cull therefrom the following lines :
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"What Stranger this? and from what Region far? This wondros' Form, majestic to behold ? Uneloath'd but arm'd offensive for the War, In hoary Age and wise Experience old ? * * *
Thine with thy Oglethorpe's. fair fame shall last, Together to Eternity consigned,
In the immortal Roll of Heroes placed,
The mighty Benefactors of Mankind."
Tomo-chi-chi was, of course, the bright particular star among the Indians: but all of these savages were objects of curious interest. Great crowds flocked to see them at the Georgia office in London; they were also given numerons handsome presents. On August 1, Sir Clement Cotterill was sent to conduct them 'to Kensington Palace, where they were to be presented to the king. Indian-like these warriors desired to appear at court in scant clothing; but Oglethorpe dissuaded them from this intention. However, adorned with imperial feathers and gorgeously arrayed in bright colors, they presented a most impressive spectacle : one to which London with its strange sights was wholly unaccustomed. Tomo-chi-chi, giving the king a bunch of eagle feathers, said: "These are the feathers of the eagle, which is the swiftest of birds, and which flieth all around our nations. These feathers are a sign of peace in our land, and have been carried from town to town there, and we have brought them over to leave with you, O great king, as a sign of ever- lasting peace." #
While on this visit to London, Tomo-chi-chi's portrait was painted by Verelst and for many years hung in the Georgia rooms, an object of deep interest to all visitors. It represents the old mico in a standing posture, his left arm resting lightly upon the shoulders of Toona-howi, his adopted son, while the latter held in his arms an eagle. Engravings from this portrait were subsequently made by well-known artists, among them Faber and Kleinschmidt.
It was a matter of universal regret that on this visit one of the Indian chiefs died of small-pox. His companions, deeply affected and greatly depressed, wished to take the body back to Georgia for sepul- ture, but finally in deference to Oglethorpe's wishes consented to an interment in St. John's Cemetery, Westminster, where as nearly as cir- cumstances would permit the customary funeral rites were observed. Sewed up in two blankets, with deal boards, one over and one under, both lashed together with a cord, the corpse was carried to the grave on a bier. On lowering the body into the earth, some of the dead Indian's elothes, a quantity of glass beads, and some pieces of silver were thrown into the grave with him, thus ending a ceremony full of deep pathos.
Considerate always, Oglethorpe, to divert the minds of the Indians, carried them for a visit of two weeks to his eountry seat, where, under the bonghs of ancestral oaks, they found balm amid scenes which called to mind their own beloved forest in the wilds of Georgia. Tomo-chi-chi always bore himself well, whether at the royal court, or in the pres- ence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, or on a visit to Lady Dutry. His own noble blood put him on a conseious equality with the proudest aris-
* Gentleman's Magazine, Thursday, August 1, 1734.
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tocrat whom he met and, in a thousand gentle ways, made it apparent to all that, savage though he was, without the culture of courts or the training of schools, he was not a stranger to gentleness, but an inate nobleman, a forest-born Chesterfield. He was profoundly impressed by the magnificence of the English capital but surprised that short- lived people should build such long-lived structures. For years the visit of these Georgia Indians remained a fragrant tradition in the life of London. Royally entertained for four months by the English people, they were eager at the expiration of this time to return home; for, while there had been no diminution of hospitality, they felt the lure of the home land; they longed once more to hear the music of murmur- ing waters, to lie down beneath a canopy of whispering oaks.
Loaded with presents the Indians returned to Georgia on a vessel bearing fifty-six Salzburgers, besides not a few English emigrants who went over at the expense of the corporation. The vessel on which the Indians returned to Georgia was the Prince of Wales, commanded by Capt. George Dunbar. It anchored safely at Savannah, on December 27, 1734. The handsome gifts brought home by Tomo-chi-chi, coupled with the wonderful stories which he never tired of narrating, went far toward confirming the friendship of the Creeks.
Oglethorpe, resuming his seat in the House of Commons, caused two measures to be introduced and passed for the purpose of re-enforcing certain regulations already made by the trust. Both were prohibitory measures, one forbidding the introduction of slavery into the province, the other an importation of rum. Upon a moderate use of English beer no restriction was placed. Edmund Burke always doubted the wisdom of these measures which he thought ill-adapted to conditions in America, an opinion in which he was sustained by later developments.
Not only did the trustees approve with great unanimity what had been done by Oglethorpe but they also readily endorsed his plan for constructing fortifications on the southern frontier of the province. At the suggestion of the common council, one of these, a stronghold to be erected on St. Simon's Island, opposite the mouth of the Altamaha, was to be called Frederiea.
While Oglethorpe was in England some excellent specimens of raw silk were received from the province. Accompanied by Sir Thomas Lombe, the trustees exhibited one of these samples to the queen who was so pleased with its quality that she ordered a handsome costume to be made of Georgia silk, in which she appeared on her birthday at the royal court.
More stringent rules were adopted at this time for the colony's regu- lation. As might have been anticipated, some of the emigrants sent over by the trust had proved a worthless sort. Consequently it was necessary to use greater vigilance in selecting the beneficiaries of such a favor and to draw the reins of government with a firmer hand. To this end the trustees cautioned Thomas Causton to keep a watchful eye on the province and to employ the utmost wisdom, fidelity and zeal in discharging the duties of his office ; but to this solemn trust, as we shall see later, he was destined to prove recreant.
We have already observed how the Salzburgers found a home in Georgia. Not unlike these pious German peasants was another Protes-
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. tant seet called Moravians, a colony of which was sent over by Ogle- thorpe in 1735 to form a settlement at Irene, on land situated between Savannah and Ebenezer.
Searcely a vestige today survives in the way of a memorial to tell of the brief sojourn in this state of the pious Moravians. But the early annals of Georgia are too fragrant with the memories of this sweet- spirited seet to justify any omission of them in this historical retro- speet. Both in simple habits of life and in deep religious fervor, they were not unlike the Salzburgers, to whom they were remotely allied by ties of kinship. The missionary activities of the Moravians among the Georgia Indians were successful in a marked degree; and, with little opposition from the red men of the forest, who learned to trust them with implicit confidence, they penetrated far into the Blue Ridge Moun- tains and established at Spring Place, in what is now Murray County, a mission which exerted a powerful influence among the native tribes, converting not a few chiefs and warriors, and continuing to flourish down to the final deportation of the Cherokees, in 1838. Both Elias Boudinot and David Vann were Moravian converts.
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