USA > Georgia > A standard history of Georgia and Georgians > Part 9
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The Indian village usually centered around a publie square, in which the courthouse was located, a design whose counterpart is still to be found in the courthouse square of our present day eounty seats. But the publie square, in an Indian village, contained also a great house, used for publie gatherings, feasts and danees. It consisted usually of four single-storied structures enelosing a court. The council house occupied a corner of this square, was conieal in shape, and measured some twenty-five or thirty feet in diameter. Here the Indian chief or mico held his council. Each town or village, though bound by a loose sort of tie to other communities, constituting the same great tribe or nation, was a separate jurisdiction within itself, more or less independent. Local self-government was a principle deeply embedded in the natural instinet of the Georgia Indians; and it frequently happened that, when a nation was at war, some of its component villages took no part in the fighting, and sent no warriors into the field. Whenever a nation pre- pared for war, each village aeted independently upon the proposition. There was no central government either to advise or to enforce unanim- ity of action-except at a comparatively late period: and only in the presence of a common danger was the nation likely to act as a unit in applying the war paint. Besides a mico, who was chosen by the war- riors of the village from a eertain family, to serve for life, each village had also a war chief, who took command of all military operations. Ow- 'ing his position to renown in battle, he was more than likely, if over- taken by reverses, to forfeit his honors to one of greater prowess. The council was composed of the town fathers.
Diplomacy was an art unknown to the Indians. To quote a dis- criminating writer, who has made this subject a special topic of study : * "The various tribes of Indians were seldom at peace with one another for long periods. Quarrels over hunting grounds appear to have been a fruitful eause of war. The Indian method of warfare was quite unlike that of civilized peoples. There was no formal declaration of war, no
* R. P. Brooks in "History of Georgia, " p. 21.
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marching forth in battle array. Usually a small party of from twenty to forty would steal cautionsly upon the enemy and attack them by night or lie in ambush for parties returning from the hunt. They often re- sorted to tricks to conceal their presence or to disguise their numbers, such as wearing the hoofs of buffaloes, or marching in single file, each man stepping in the track made by the warrior just ahead. When lying in ambush, they would communicate with one another by imitating the calls of wild birds or beasts. The slain in battle were always scalped and often dismembered. A warrior's standing in his tribe depended on the number of scalps he took. Captives were treated with the utmost cruelty, and burning at the stake was the usual form of torture. In this sport the women and children joined with great zest. The victim stoically bore the torment, prevented by pride from showing any sign of suffering."
Even as early as DeSoto's visit, the Georgia Indians had become to some extent an agricultural people. They cultivated not only corn but beans and pumpkins, preserved plums by drying them and extracted oil from bear's fat. In addition to small gardens appurtenant to each house, there were larger fields devoted exclusively to corn. Much of the work was done by women; but as time went on there was less of an indisposition on the part of men to perform work of this kind, for- merly considered degrading to a warrior. Until the whites came, steel and iron implements were unknown to the Indians, but they developed a rare degree of skill in making arrow-heads, spear-heads, stone pipes and hammers, mortars for grinding corn, and various other utensils. They were also adepts in making earthenware of different designs, in the dressing of skins, and in the art of dying. Trinkets for personal adornment were made from shells. Chairs, tables and baskets were made of bark; while spinning and weaving were widely practiced. To a great extent the industrial enterprise of the Indians was checked by the arrival of the whites, who supplied them with many of these things, thus remov- ing the stimulus of necessity, the mother of invention.
It was difficult to find an Indian who was not fond of tobacco. The plant was even regarded with superstitious reverence as a gift of the Great Spirit. Hence the manufacture of pipes was given a constant impetus. Thousands of the most beautiful specimens have been dug out of mounds and preserved in museums. These have been divided by antiquarians into three classes, calumets, individual pipes and idol pipes. The calumet was the celebrated pipe of peace. It was the common prop- erty of a village or tribe, was large and heavy, and its bowl was some- times the size of a tea-cup. It was smoked only on formal occasions,' to conelude alliances or to attest treaties. The function was usually one of great impressiveness, since a whiff of the calumet was equivalent to an oath, pledging the smoker's honor. Individual pipes were of various sizes, most of them, however, small, made of stone or clay, with a reed inserted for a stem. The bowls to some of these were no larger than a thimble ; others would hold an ounce of tobacco. Idol pipes were so ealled because they were made in the shape of some animal or to rep- resent the human figure. It is not likely, however, that any of the Georgia Indians with whom our history deals ever smoked these pipes.
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They are found only in the oldest tumuli and are doubtless to be referred to the Mound-Builders. The Southern Indians were not idolaters.
Marriage was au institution which the Indian held in great respect, though it was accompanied by no religious rites. Matches were usually made by female relatives, who settled all the preliminaries; but the final word was, of course, invariably spoken by the head of the household. It was customary for a bridegroom to build a cabin, plant and gather a crop, go on a hunt and bring back a supply of wild game before re- ceiving a maiden under his shelter. Since the nuptial vow was not sanctioned by a priest, either party to the compact could dissolve it at will; but in case of a separation the children accompanied the mother. The Creeks were polygamists; but the Cherokees adhered rigidly, if not religiously, to the Biblical doctrine of marriage, at least with respect to the number of wives.
Both the Creeks and the Cherokees, at an early period, were given to a burial of the dead in mounds; but these were never such colossal structures as were built by the prehistoric race of Mound-Builders. As practiced by the Georgia Indians of a later period, these rites were much simpler. Says Mr. Brooks: "The Creeks buried their dead in a pit under the cabin of the deceased. The pit was about four feet square, and the body was placed in a sitting position. Gun, tomahawk and pipe were deposited with the corpse. Immediately on the death of a Cherokee, his body was washed, anointed and placed in front of his lodge. After a period of mourning, the body was carried three times around the hut, and then buried in a pit under the floor. The Choctaws placed the dead body on a scaffold eighteen or twenty feet above the ground. When only the skeleton remained, it was taken down and placed in a bone- house. After a considerable number of skeletons had accumulated, a funeral ceremony was performed and the bones interred together. Cre- mation was practiced among some tribes. Most of the tribes seemed to have buried with the dead warrior his weapons and other highly prized possessions, and vessels containing food. This practice indicates the Indian's belief in a future existence. The food was intended to sustain him during the passage from this world to the next." *
Festivals at certain times of the year were observed by the Indians with ceremonious pomp. The most important of these was the husk or harvest festival which was always introduced by a process of purifi- cation. Streets were swept, houses and premises cleansed, after which a great bonfire was made of garbage, old clothes, cooking utensils, and whatever food happened to be on hand. Then followed a three days' fast, during which interval all fugitives from justice might return to be pardoned, unless these criminals were murderers. On the morning thereafter, the priest made a new fire by rubbing sticks together, new corn was brought from the fields, and the feast began, to continue amid general rejoicing.
As we have already observed, the Creeks and the Cherokees were not worshippers of idols; nor were any of the Southern Indians. They worshiped the sun as a visible manifestation of the Great Spirit, dis- pensing light and heat and sustaining life, but they did not bow down to
* R. P. Brooks in "History of Georgia, " p. 26.
.
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1
stocks and stones. They were firm believers in the immortality of the soul, in a future life with its rewards and punishments, in evil spirits which they were wont to appease by incantations; and in every village an important personage was the high priest who was a sort of mediator, holding communion with the realm of spirits. To hunt forever in a fadeless forest, abounding in all manner of game, to catch the radiant sparkle of crystal waters, to hear the soft murmur of whispering emer- alds, to awake once more in a green country, with strength renewed, with health restored, this was the Indian's dream of paradise; and, when gathered to his fathers, there was always placed at his side the ever faithful bow, with its quiver of arrows and sometimes, but not always, the spear and the tomahawk.
Some writers find little to admire in the character of the Indian; while others impute to these dusky warriors of the forest mauy noble and splendid traits. No one can read the pages of Cooper, of Washing- ton Irving, or of William Gilmore Simms, without feeling a thrill of admiration for these prehistoric natives of America. That the red man was enfeebled by contact with a white man's civilivation; that his blood was inflamed by the intoxicating fire-water which he received from traders in exchange for pelts: that his disposition to deceive, to employ the arts of cunning, and to commit murder, rapine and arson, was due in large measure to an unjust encroachment upon his lands, these are facts which cannot be denied; and what the Indian really was in his arcadian home before the advent of the European we have no way of ascertaining; but if the great Tomo-chi-chi, with whom Oglethorpe treated on the bluffs at Yamacraw was a fair type of the prehistoric Indian, in his palmy days, then was he a character worthy of all admira- tion ; not only an ornament to his savage race, but a model for cultured Anglo-Saxons.
CHAPTER IV
OGLETHORPE'S HUMANE ENTERPRISE NOT THE FIRST EFFORT TO COLONIZE GEORGIA-SIR ROBERT MONTGOMERY'S UTOPIAN SCHEME OF COLONI- ZATION-LAUNCHED IN 1717-HIS GRANDILOQUENT DESCRIPTION OF OUR SOIL AND CLIMATE-COMPARES THIE COUNTRY WITH PALESTINE -THE MARGRAVATE OF AZILIA-DETAILS OF HIS PROPOSED SETTLE- MENT-TO BE A COLOSSAL MILITARY STRONGHOLD TWENTY MILES SQUARE, CENTERING AROUND THE MARGRAVE'S HOUSE-THOUGH WELL ADVERTISED, THE SCHEME FAILED TO ELICIT SUPPORT AND PROVED ONLY A MAGNIFICENT AIR-CASTLE.
Oglethorpe's humane enterprise was not the first effort to colonize the Territory of Georgia. Fifteen years before the galley Anne started upon her long voyage to the new world, Sir Robert Montgomery con- ceived the ambitious idea of planting a colony between the Savannah and the Altamaha rivers, to be called the Margravate of Azilia. It was the most unique scheme of empire building which the human intellect ever conceived. This region was pictured to the imagination of the prospective colonist as another Land of Promise, and there was no lack of zeal on the part of Sir Robert in exploiting the enterprise. But it came to naught. The story is one of fascinating interest. However, instead of telling it anew, we prefer to quote a few extracts from a well digested account : *
"In the summer of 1717, Sir Robert Montgomery secured from the Lords Proprietors of Carolina a grant of land lying between the Alta- maha and the Savannah Rivers, with permission to make settlements on the south side of the latter stream. This territory was to be erected into a separate and independent province, was to be holden of Sir Robert, his heirs and assigns forever, and was to be called the Margravate of Azilia. A yearly quit-rent of a penny per acre for all lands occupied was to be paid; such payment, however, not to commence until three years after the arrival of the first ships transporting colonists. In addi- tion, Sir Robert covenanted to render to the Lords Proprietors one- fourth of all the gold, silver, and royal minerals which might be found within the limits of the eeded lands. Courts of justice were to be organ- ized and such laws enacted by the freemen of the Margravate as might conduce to the general good and in no wise conflict with the statutes and customs of England. The navigation of the rivers was to be free to all the inhabitants of the colonies of North and South Carolina. A duty was to be laid on skins, and the revenues thus derived were to be applied to the maintenance of the clergy. Sir Robert, in consideration of this
* "History of Georgia, " Charles J. Jones, Jr., Vol. I, pp. 70-82.
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cession, agreed to transport at his own cost a certain number of fami- lies and all necessaries for forming new settlements within the specified limits. It was mutually covenanted that if such settlements were not made within three years from the date of the grant it should become void.
"In the 'Discourse concerning the Designed Establishment of a New Colony to the South of Carolina in the most Delightful Country of the Universe,' prepared by himself and printed in London in 1717, Sir Robert, in glowing terms, sought to unfold the attractions of his future Eden. 'It lies,' said he, 'in the same latitude as Palestine itself, that promised Canaan which was pointed out by God's own choice to bless the labors of a favorite people.' After commending in the highest terms its woods and meadows, its fruits and game, its soil and climate, its mines and odoriferous plants, its flower and agricultural capabilities, he proceeds to explain his plan of settlement. He did not propose to satisfy himself 'with building here and there a fort, the fatal practice of America, but so to dispose the habitations and divisions of the land that not only out-houses, but whatever else we possess will be enclosed by military lines, impregnable against the savages, and which will make our whole plantation one continued fortress. At the arrival, therefore, of the first men carried over, proper officers shall mark and cause to be entrenched a square of land in just proportion to the number. On the outsides of this square, within the little bastions or redoubts of the en- trenchments, they will raise light timber dwellings, cutting down the trees which everywhere encompass them. The officers are to be quartered with the men whom they command, and the governor-in-chief is to be placed exactly in the center. By these means the laboring people, being so disposed as to be always watchful of an enemy's approach, are them- selves within the eyes of those set over them, and altogether under the inspection of their principal. The redoubts may be near enough to defend each other with muskets, but field pieces and patareros will be planted upon each, kept charged with partridge shot and pieces of old iron. Within these redoubts are the common dwellings of the men who must defend them, and between them runs a palisaded bank and ditch, which will be scoured by the artillery. One man in each redoubt, kept day and night upon the guard, will give alarm upon occasion to the others at work. So they will cultivate their lands, secure their cattle, and follow their business with perfect ease and safety. Exactly in the center of the inmost square will be a fort defended by a large cannon, pointing every way, and capable of making strong resistance in case some quarter of the outward lines should chance to be surprised by any sud- den accident. The nature of this scheme, when weighed against the ignorance and wildness of the natives, will show that men thus settled may at once defend and cultivate a territory with the utmost satisfac- tion and security, even in the heart of an Indian Country. Then how much rather a place considerably distant from the savage settlements ?'
"Next he proceeds to give an explanation of the plan for fixing the distriets or divisions in the Margravate. The whole diagram was to be a square twenty miles long each way, containing 256,000 acres. It was agreed that the men to defend the district should be hired in Great Britain or Ireland; that they should dwell in the fortified angles and
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cultivate the land immediately around them; that they should be hired for a definite term of years, and that at the expiration of this time such among them who should marry or come married hither might have a right of laying claim to a 'certain Fee Farm, ready cleared, together with a house built upon it, and a stock sufficient to improve and cultivate it, to be enjoyed Tax and Rent free during life as a reward for service.' 'By which means two great advantages must naturally follow: (1) Poor laboring men, so secured of a fixed future settlement, will thereby be induced to go thither more willingly and act when there with double diligence and duty and (2) When the time of service expires, possession just long enough to pass their lives upon at ease and to bring up their children on honestly, the families they have will prove a constant semi- nary of sober servants of both sexes for the Gentry of the colony, where- by they will be under no necessity to use the dangerous help of Blacka- moors or Indians. The lands set apart for the purpose are to be two miles in width, surrounding the district, and lying next within the Mar- grave's own reserved land. The 116 squares into which the inner quadrangle is divided are to be one mile each way, or 640 acres, bating only for the highways which divide them. These are the estates be- longing to the Gentry of the district, who being so confined to an equality in land, will be profitably emulous of outdoing each other in improve- ment ; and when the Margravate is strong enough to form many dis- triets the estates will be given gratis to honest and qualified gentlemen in Great Britain and elsewhere who, having numerous and well edu- cated families, possess but little fortune and will therefore be chosen to enjoy these advantages. The four great parks or forests are each to be four miles square ; sixteen miles around each forest, in which are to be propagated herds of cattle of all sorts. The middle hollow square, which is full of streets crossing each other, is the city, and the belt embroidered with trees is to be used for a thousand purposes, among the rest as being airy and affording a fine prospect of the town near it. In the center of the city stands the Margrave's house. This is to be his constant resi- dence, and to contain everything requisite for the dispatch of business. This likewise is to be separated from the city by an embroidered belt like the one separating the city from the rural districts.'
"Sir Robert enlarges upon the profits to be realized from this charm- ing country in the cultivation of rice, tea, figs, raisins, currants, almonds, olives, silk and cochineal. Large gains were expected from the manu- facture of potash. Liberal offers were made to all who might wish to become colonists in the Margravate of Azilia and ample guarantees given for protection. Although subscription books were opened in the Carolina Coffee House, near the Royal Exchange, it does not appear that much stock was taken in the enterprise. To the King, Sir Robert ad- dressed a petition specifying the tract of land called Azilia, with which he had been invested by the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, declaring that he had a bona fide intention of founding a colony there and request- ing the privilege of establishing in the city of Edinburgh a lottery of 100,000 tickets, at the rate of forty shillings per ticket, for the purpose of raising funds with which to defray the expenses of the adventure. A memorial was received from the Lords Proprietors, explaining the proposal of Sir Robert for settling the most southern parts of Carolina,
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of which he was to be Governor. It was referred to a committee of the Privy Council for consideration. The board of trade, while recommend- ing Sir Robert as a proper person for Governor, in order to avoid com- plications, suggested to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina the advisabil- ity of surrendering to the Crown their powers of government over the places ineluded in the proposed Margravate, reserving to themselves only the property in the lands. The whole matter was referred to the attorney-general, who reported that he saw nothing in the cession preju- dicial to the rights of the crown, but he doubted whether the powers granted to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina could be divided in the manner proposed. To remove the difficulty he suggested that if the Lords Proprietors would surrender to his Majesty their powers of gov- ernment over the new province to be erected, reserving to themselves only the right of property therein they might lease the land on such terms as they saw fit and then his Majesty could create a new govern- ment upon such conditions and with such powers as he deemed proper.
"Despite the efforts made to induce immigration into the favored region at the expiration of the three years allowed by the cession from the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, Sir Robert Montgomery found him- self without colonists. His grant expired and became void by terms of limitation. His Azilia remained unpeopled, save by the red men of the forest. His scheme proved utterly Utopian, and it was reserved for Oglethorpe and his companions to wrest from primeval solitude and to vitalize with the energies of civilization the lands lying between the Savannah and the Altamaha. * Nevertheless, the attorney-gen- eral's suggestion with respect to surrendering powers to the Crown was adopted with respect to the whole of Carolina. The disputes and con- fliets between the Lords Proprietor and the colonists continued to be so constant that all except Lord Carteret, taking advantage of the pro- visions of an Act of Parliament, surrendered to the King, not only their rights and interests in the government of Carolina, but also their own- ership of the soil. The indenture of purchase and sale was duly exe- ented and the consideration was 22,500 pounds sterling. Thus, for this small sum, were seven-eighths of the extensive territory constituting the province of Carolina sold by the Lords Proprietors to the crown. The other eighth was owned by Lord Carteret, Baron of Hawnes. Subse- quently by deed, dated February 28, 1732, he conveyed to the Trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in America, the one undivided eighth part of all lands lying between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers. The other seven-eighths was ceded to them by the Crown. With this explanation, we understand why, in the charter granted by King George II, dated June 9, 1732, royal cession was made of only seven- eighths of the lands to be erected into a province to be called Georgia."
CHAPTER V
ENGLAND DURING THE REIGN OF GEORGE II-POLITICAL CONDITIONS FOL- LOWING A CHANGE OF DYNASTIES-HEAVY INDEBTEDNESS ENTAILED BY DISASTROUS WARS-THIE MANIA FOR SPECULATION-THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE BURSTS-THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AN ENDORSER OF THE SCHEME IS INVOLVED IN THE GIGANTIC CATASTROPHE-HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT INVESTORS REDUCED TO WANT AND DESTITUTION-WAL- POLE'S ADMINISTRATION AS PRIME MINISTER AN ERA OF COMMERCIAL EXPANSION BUT OF CORRUPT POLITICS-RELIGIOUS ZEAL AT A LOW EBB-INTEMPERANCE FOLLOWS THE MANUFACTURE OF RUM-DEBTOR PRISONS-HOW MANAGED-OUTRAGEOUS ABUSES-THOUSANDS OF IN- SOLVENTS SUFFER LOSS OF LIBERTY-VICTIMS OF THIE HARD TIMES- ENGLAND'S RESPONSIBILITY-OGLETHORPE IN SEARCH OF A FRIEND VISITS THE FLEET PRISON-LEARNS THAT ROBERT CASTELL, AN ARTIST, HAS DIED OF SMALLPOX-RESOLVES TO REFORM THE PRISONS OF ENGLAND-HOW THE COLONY OF GEORGIA WAS CONCEIVED JAMES EDWARD OGLETHORPE-SKETCH OF HIS LIFE-HUMANITARIAN AND SOLDIER-SERVES UNDER PRINCE EUGENE-AN EPISODE IN HIS CAREER AS A GENTLEMAN VOLUNTEER-ENTERS PARLIAMENT-ZEALOUS AS A REFORMER ONLY AFTER IIIS VISIT TO THE FLEET PRISON-ENLISTS THE CO-OPERATION OF EMINENT ENGLISH GENTLEMEN-THESE JOIN HIM IN A PETITION TO THE CROWN FOR A CHARTER- THE PETITION IS GRANTED BY KING GEORGE.
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