USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia, Volume I > Part 15
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"On the 14th of May, Mr. Oglethorpe set out from Charles- town on his return to Savannah, which is the name of the town now begun to be built in Georgia. That night he lay at Col. Bull's house on Ashley River, where he dined the next day. The Rev. Mr. Guy, rector of the parish of St. John's, waited upon him there, and acquainted him that his parishioners had raised a very handsome contribution for the assistance of the colony of Georgia. Mr. Oglethorpe went from thence to Capt. Bull's, where he lay on the 15th. On the 16th, in the morn- ing, he embarqued at Daho, and rested at Mr. Cochran's island. On the 17th he dined at Lieut. Watts' at Beaufort,
OGLETHORPE'S CONFERENCE WITH THIE CREEKS. 137
and landed at Savannah on the 18th, at ten in the morning, where he found that Mr. Wiggan, the interpreter, with the chief men of all the Lower Creek nation, had come down to treat of an alliance with the new colony.
" The Lower Creeks are a nation of Indians who formerly con- sisted of ten, but now are reduced to eight tribes or towns, who have each their different government, but are allied together and speak the same language. They claim from the Savannah River as far as S. Augustin, and up to the Flint river, which falls into the bay of Mexico. All the Indians inhabiting this tract speak their language. Tomo-chi-chi, mico, and the Indians of Yamacraw are of their nation and language.
" Mr. Oglethorpe received the Indians in one of the new houses that afternoon. They were as follows : -
" From the tribe of Coweeta - Yahou-Lakee, their king or mico. Essoboa, their warrior, -the son of old Breen, lately dead, whom the Spaniards called emperor of the Creeks, - with eight men and two women attendants.
" From the tribe of the Cussetas - Cusseta, the mico, Tatchi- quatchi, the head warrior, and four attendants.
" From the tribe of the Owseecheys - Ogeese, the mico, or war king, Neathlouthko and Ougachi, two chief men, with three attendants.
" From the tribe of Cheehaws - Outhleteboa, the mico, Thlautho-thlukee, Figeer, Soota-Milla, war-captains, and three attendants.
"From the tribe of Echetas -Chutabeeche and Robin, two war-captains, (the latter was bred among the English) with four attendants.
" From the tribe of Pallachucolas - Gillatee, the head war- rior, and five attendants.
" From the tribe of Oconas - Queekachumpa, called by the English ' Long King,' Coowoo, a warrior.
" From the tribe of Eufaule - Tomaumi, the head warrior, and three attendants.
" The Indians being all seated, Queekachumpa, a very tall old man, stood up, and with a graceful action and a good voice, made a long speech, which was interpreted by Mr. Wiggan and John Musgrove, and was to the following purpose. Ile first claimed all the land to the southward of the river Savannah, as belong- ing to the Creek Indians. Next he said that although they were poor and ignorant, He who had given the English breath had
138
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
given them breath also ; that He who had made both, had given more wisdom to the white men ; that they were firmly per- suaded that the Great Power which dwelt in heaven and all around, (and then he spread out his hands and lengthened the sound of his words), and which had given breath to all men, had sent the English thither for the instruction of them, their wives and children; that therefore they gave them up freely their right to all the land which they did not use themselves, and that this was not only his opinion, but the opinion of the eight towns of the Creeks, each of whom having consulted together, had sent some of their chief men with skins, which is their wealth. He then stopped, and the chief men of each town brought up a bun- dle of buek-skins, and laid eight bundles from the eight towns at Mr. Oglethorpe's feet. He then said those were the best things they had, and therefore they gave them with a good heart. He then thanked him for his kindness to Tomo-chi-chi, mico, and his Indians, to whom he said he was related ; and said, that though Tomo-chi-chi was banished from his nation, he was a good man, and had been a great warrior, and it was for his wisdom and courage that the banished men chose him king. Lastly, he said, they had heard in the nation that the Cherokees had killed some Englishmen, and that if he should command them, they would enter with their whole force into the Cherokee country, destroy their harvest, kill their people and revenge the English. He then sat down. Mr. Oglethorpe promised to acquaint the trus- tees with their desire of being instructed, and informed them that although there had been a report of the Cherokees having killed some Englishmen, it was groundless. He thanked them in the most cordial manner for their affection, and told them that he would acquaint the trustees with it.
" Tomo-chi-chi, mico, then came in, with the Indians of Yama- craw, to Mr. Oglethorpe, and, bowing very low, said : 'I was a banished man ; I came here poor and helpless to look for good land near the tombs of my ancestors, and the trustees sent peo- ple here ; I feared you would drive us away, for we were weak and wanted corn ; but you confirmed our land to us, gave us food and instructed our children. We have already thanked you in the strongest words we could find, but words are no return for such favors ; for good words may be spoke by the deceitful, as well as by the upright heart. The chief men of all our nation are here to thank you for us; and before them I declare your goodness, and that here I design to die; for we all love your
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139
SPEECH OF YAHOU-LAKEE.
people so well that with them we will live and die. We do not know good from evil, but desire to be instructed and guided by you that we may do well with, and be numbered amongst the children of the trustees.' 1 He sat down, and Yahou-Lakee, mico of Coweeta, stood up and said: ' We are come twenty-five days' journey to see you. I have been often advised to go down to Charles-Town, but would not go down because I thought I might die in the way ; but when I heard that you were come, and that you were good men, I knew you were sent by Him who lives in Heaven, to teach us Indians wisdom ; I therefore came down that I might hear good things, for I knew that if I died in the way I should die in doing good, and what was said would be car- ried back to the nation, and our children would reap the benefit of it. I rejoice that I have lived to see this day, and to see our friends that have long been gone from amongst us. Our nation was once strong, and had ten towns ; but we are now weak, and have but eight towns. You have comforted the ban- ished, and have gathered them that were scattered like little birds before the eagle. We desire therefore to be reconciled to our brethren who are here amongst you, and we give leave to Tomo-chi-chi, Stimoiche, and Illispelle, to call the kindred that love them out of each of the Creek towns, that they may come together and make one town. We must pray you to recall the Yamasees that they may be buried in peace amongst their an- cestors, and that they may see their graves before they die ; and their own nation shall be restored again to its ten towns.' After which he spoke concerning the abatement of the prices of goods, and agreed upon articles of a treaty which were ordered to be engrossed."
Tomo-chi-chi invited them to his town, where they passed the night in feasting and dancing. On the 21st, the treaty was signed. " A laced coat, a laced hat, and a shirt were given to each of the Indian chiefs; to each of the warriors a gun, and a mantle of Duffils ; and to all their attendants coarse cloth for
1 In A Curious Account of the Indians by an Honorable Person, Mr. Oglethorpe writes: " Tomo-chi-chi, in his first set speech to me, among other things, said, ' Ilere is a little present ;' and then gave me a buffalo's skin, painted on the inside with the head and feathers of an eagle. Hle desired me to accept it because 'the eagle signified speed, and the buffalo strength : that the English were as swift
as the bird, and as strong as the beast ; since like the first, they flew from the ut- most parts of the carth, over the vast seas, and like the second, nothing could withstand them: that the feathers of the eagle were soft, and signified love ; the buffalo skin was warm, and signitied pro- tection ; therefore he hoped that we would love and protect their little families.""
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140
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
clothing. A barrel of gunpowder, four cags of bullets, a piece of broad-cloth, a piece of Irish linen, a cask of tobacco pipes, eight belts, and cutlashes with gilt handles, tape and inkle of all colors, and eight cags of rum, to be carried home to their towns; one pound of powder, one pound of bullets, and as much provision for each man as they pleased to take for their journey home," were also distributed.1
During this interview the conduct of Mr. Oglethorpe toward the Indians was characterized by marked kindness, courtesy, and conciliation. He urged upon them an appreciation of the fact that in making this settlement the English desired neither to dispossess nor to annoy the natives, but that the earnest wish of his government and people was to live in peace and friendship with the surrounding tribes. He further explained the power of the British nation and the general object in view in founding the colony, and asked from the assembled chiefs and those whom they represented a cession of the lands lying between the Savan- nah and Alatamaha rivers. In addition, he invoked the ratifica- tion of a treaty of commerce and of perpetual amity.
The interview was in every respect satisfactory, and resulted in the consummation of a treaty by which the Lower Creeks agreed to place themselves under the general government of Great Britain and to live in peace with the colonists. To the trustees were granted all lands lying between the Savannah and the Alatamaha rivers, from the ocean to the head of tide-water. This cession also embraced the islands on the coast, from Tybee to St. Simon's Island inclusive, with the exception of the islands of Ossabau, Sapelo, and St. Catharine, which were reserved by the Indians for the purposes of hunting, bathing, and fishing. The tract of land lying above Yamacraw Bluff, between Pipe- maker's Bluff and Pally-Chuckola Creek, was also reserved as a place of encampment whenever it should please them to visit -their beloved friends at Savannah. Stipulations were entered into regulating the price of goods, the value of peltry, and the privileges of traders. It was further agreed that all criminal offenses should be tried and punished in accordance with the laws of England.2
Although this treaty was engrossed, and formally executed by
1 See The Political State of Great Brit- ain, xlvi. 237; Gentleman's Magasine for July, 1733, iii. 384, et seq. ; American
Gazetteer, ii., article " Georgia." Lon- don. 1762.
2 See MeCall's History of Georgia, i. 37,38.
141
RATIFICATION OF THE TREATY.
Oglethorpe on the one part and the chiefs and principal warriors who were then present on the other, in order that its terms might be duly considered and approved, it was forwarded to the trustees for their formal confirmation.
In due course it was returned with the following ratification : 1 "The Trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in Amer- ica to the chief men of the nation of the Lower Creeks,
SEND GREETING :
" WHEREAS, The great king, George the Second, king of Great Britain, did by his letters patent under the great seal of Great Britain, bearing date the 9th day of June, in the 5th year of his reign. constitute and appoint a body politic and corporate by the name of the Trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in America :
" And, WHEREAS, The said Trustees have received from their beloved Mr. James Oglethorpe, of West Brook Place, in the county of Surry, Esquire, one of the common council of the said Trustees, a copy of certain articles of friendship and commerce between the said Trustees and the said chief men, which is in the words following (that is to say), Articles of friendship and commerce between the Trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in America, and the chief men of the nation of the Lower Creeks.
" First. The Trustees, bearing in their hearts great love and friendship to you the said head-men of the Lower Creek nation, do engage to let their people carry up into your towns all kinds of goods fitting to trade in the said towns, at the rates and prices settled and agreed upon before you the said head-men, and an- nexed to this treaty of trade and friendship.
"Secondly. The Trustees do by these articles promise to see restitution done to any of the people of your towns by the peo- ple they shall send among you ; proof being made to the beloved man they shall at any time send among you, that they who have either committed murder, robbery, or have beat or wounded any of your people, or any wise injured them in their crops, by their horses, or any other ways whatever ; and upon such proof the said people shall be tried and punished according to the English law.
1 This ratification of these articles of friendship and commerce between the trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in America and the chief mico
of the nation of the Lower Creeks was made on the 18th of October, 1733. See Minutes of the Common Council for the Years 1731 to 1736, p. 75.
1
142
TIIE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
" Thirdly. The Trustees when they find the hearts of you the said head-men and your people are not good to the people they shall send among you, or that you or your people do not mind this paper, they will withdraw the English trade from the town so offending. And that you and your people may have this chain of friendship in your minds and fixed to your hearts, they have made fast their seal to this treaty.
" Fourthly. We, the head-men of the Coweta and Cuseta towns, in behalf of all the Lower Creek nation, being firmly persuaded that He who lives in Heaven and is the occasion of all good things, has moved the hearts of the Trustees to send their beloved men among us, for the good of our wives and chil- dren, and to instruct us and them in what is straight, do there- fore declare that we are glad that their people are come here ; and though this land belongs to us (the Lower Creeks), yet we, that we may be instructed by them, do consent and agree that they shall make use of and possess all those lands which our na- tion hath not occasion to use; and we make over unto them, their successors and assigns, all such lands and territories as we shall have no occasion to use ; provided always, that they, upon settling every new town, shall set ont for the use of ourselves and the people of our nation such lands as shall be agreed upon between their beloved men and the head-men of our nation, and that those lands shall remain to us forever.
" Fifthly. We, the head-men, do promise for ourselves and the people of our towns that the traders for the English which shall settle among us, shall not be robbed or molested in their trade in our nation ; and that if it shall so happen any of our people should be mad, and either kill, wound, beat or rob any of the English traders or their people, then we the said head-men of the towns aforesaid do engage to have justice done to the Eng- lish, and for that purpose to deliver up any of our people who shall be guilty of the crimes aforesaid, to be tried by the English laws, or by the laws of our nation, as the beloved man of the Trustees shall think fit. . And we further promise not to suffer any of the people of our said towns to come into the limits of the English settlements withont leave from the Englishi beloved man, and that we will not molest any of the English traders passing to or from any nation in friendship with the English.
" Sixthly. We, the head-men, for ourselves and people do promise to apprehend and secure any negro or other slave which shall run away from any of the English settlements to our na-
143
SCHEDULE OF PRICES.
tion, and to carry them either to this town, or Savannalı, or Palachuckola garrison, and there to deliver him up to the con- mander of such garrison, and to be paid by him four blankets or two guns, or the value thereof in other goods ; provided such runaway negro, or other slave, shall be taken by us or any of our people on the farther side of Oconee River; and in case such negro or runaway slave shall be taken on the hither side of the said river, and delivered to the commanders aforesaid, then we understand the pay to be one gun, or the value thereof ; and in case we or our people should kill any such slave for resistance or running away from us in apprehending him, then we are to be paid one blanket for his head, by any trader, for carrying such slave's head unto him.
" Lastly. We promise with stout hearts, and love to our broth- ers the English, to give no encouragement to any other white people, but themselves, to settle amongst us, and that we will not have any correspondence with the Spaniards or French; and to show that we both for the good of ourselves our wives and chil- dren do firmly promise to keep the talk in our hearts as long as the sun shall shine or the waters run in the rivers, we have each of us set the marks of our families.
SCHEDULE OF THE PRICES OF GOODS AGREED ON, ANNEXED.
Two yards of stroud
Five buck-skins.
One yard of plains
One ditto.
White blanket
One ditto.
Blue ditto
Five ditto.
A gun .
Ten ditto.
A pistol
Five ditto.
A gun-lock .
Four ditto.
Two measures of powder
One ditto.
Sixty bullets
Ditto ditto.
One white shirt
Two ditto.
One knife
One doc-skin.
Eighteen flints
One buck-skin.
Three yards of cadiz
One doe-skin.
Ditto ditto of gartering
Ditto ditto.
One hoe
Two buck-skins.
One axe .
, Ditto ditto.
One large hatchet
Three doe-skins.
One small ditto
One buck-skin.
Brass kettles per lb.
Ditto ditto.
Doe-skins were estimated at half the value of the bucks.
一
144
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
"And, WHEREAS, The said Trustees are greatly desirous to maintain and preserve an inviolable peace, friendship and com- merce between the said head-men of the Lower nation of Creeks, and the people the said Trustees have sent and shall send to in- habit and settle in the province of Georgia aforesaid, to endure to the world's end ;
"Now know ye that we the said Trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in America do by these presents ratify and confirm the said articles of friendship and commerce between the Trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in America, and the chief-men of the Lower Creeks, and all and every of the ar- ticles and agreements therein contained, and also the rates and prices of goods above mentioned, settled and agreed upon before the said head-men, and annexed to the said treaty of trade and friendship.
"In witness whereof the Common Council of the said Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America have to these presents made fast the common seal of the corporation of the said Trustees, the eighteenth day of October, in the seventh year of the reign of our sovereign lord George the Second, by the grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., and in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and thirty-three.
" By order of the said Common Council,
"BENJAMIN MARTYN, Secretary." 1
This treaty of the 21st of May, 1733, resulted in the pacifica- tion of all the Lower Creek Indians, the Uchees, the Yamacraws, and of other tribes acknowledging their supremacy. Nor did the influences of this convocation rest with them only. They were recognized by the Upper Creeks, and, at a later date, simi- lar stipulations were ratified by the Cherokees. For years were they preserved inviolate; and the colony of Georgia, thus pro- tected, extended its settlements up the Savannah River and along the coast, experiencing neither molestation nor opposition, but on the contrary receiving on every hand positive and valuable assurances of the good-will and sympathy of the children of the forest. Probably the early history of no plantation in America affords so few instances of hostility on the part of the natives, or discloses so many acts of kindness extended by the red men. To the prudence, conciliatory conduct, sound judgment, and wis- 1 See MeCall's History of Georgia, i. 357, et seq.
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145
TOMO-CHI-CHI'S GOOD OFFICES.
dom of Mr. Oglethorpe, seconded by the hospitality and generos- ity as well as the direct personal influence of Tomo-chi-chi, was the colony of Georgia indebted for this first and liberal treaty of amity and commerce with the aborigines.1
1 See Historical Sketch of Tomo-chi-chi, pp. 25-37. C. C. Jones, Jr. Albany, N. Y. 1868.
10
CHAPTER X.
ARRIVAL OF THE SHIP JAMES. - FORT ARGYLE BUILT AND GARRISONED. - THE VILLAGES OF HIGH-GATE AND HAMPSTEAD LOCATED AND PEO- PLED. - FORTS AT THUNDERBOLT AND ON SKIDOWAY ISLAND. - JOSEPH'S TOWN. - ABERCORN. - IRENE. -- THE HORSE QUARTER. - EARLY PLAN- TATIONS. - MANCHECOLAS FORT AT SKIDOWAY NARROWS. - TYBEE LIGIIT- HOUSE. - PLAN OF SAVANNAH. - NAMES OF ITS SQUARES, STREETS, WARDS, AND TITHINGS. - ARRIVAL OF HEBREW IMMIGRANTS. - DEED SHOWING FIRST ALLOTMENT OF TOWN LOTS, GARDEN LOTS, AND FARMS IN SAVANNAH, AND CONTAINING THE NAMES OF THE ORIGINAL GRAN- TEES.
DURING the month of March, 1733, the ranks of the colonists were increased by small accessions from London. Some of them came at their own charge, and all found their way to Savannah through the intermediate port of Charlestown. In May seven- teen persons arrived at Yamacraw Bluff, who had been approved of by the trustees and conveyed at their expense. Among them were some Italians from Piedmont accustomed to the propaga- tion of silk-worms and the manufacture of raw silk. They were engaged to develop an industry from the pursuit of which no in- considerable gain was anticipated, and obligated themselves to instruct the colonists in the cultivation of the white mulberry tree, in the breeding of silk-worms, and in reeling the threads from cocoons. The ship which conveyed them was the James, Captain Yoakley. As this was the first vessel from England which ascended the Savannah River, landed her passengers, and discharged her cargo at Yamacraw Bluff, to her captain was awarded the prize offered by the trustees.1
The colonists at Savannah being busily employed in such labors as were most conducive to the promotion of their comfort and safety, Mr. Oglethorpe deemed it prudent, at this early pe-
1 The following notice of this arrival may be found in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1733, p. 384 : -
" Savannah, May 20, 1733. - The James, Captain Yoakley, 110 tons and 6 guns, arrived here on the 14th with pas- sengers and stores. This Ship rode in 2
Fathom and a half water close to the Town at low water Mark. The Captain received the Price appointed by the Trus- tecs for the first Ship that should unload at this Town, where is safe Riding for much larger Vessels."
147
FORT ARGYLE. HIGH-GATE. HAMPSTEAD.
riod in the life of the plantation, to advance his outposts and to occupy strategie points in the neighborhood which would tend to confirm the security of the town. Captain McPherson, of South Carolina, with his rangers, had been stationed just above Yama- craw Bluff at a point on the Savannah River known as the Horse Quarter. His duty was, while the settlers were "enforting themselves " and constructing their temporary shelters, to main- tain strict watch against any hostile demonstration. Now, how- ever, as a battery of cannon had been planted, and as the stockade which surrounded the space allotted for the town was partially completed, it was thought best to detach the captain and a portion of his command that possession might be taken of a locality on the Great Ogeechee River where the Indians, in their predatory expeditions against Carolina, were accustomed to cross that stream. Here a fort was builded which Oglethorpe, in honor of his friend John, Duke of Argyle, called Fort Argyle. It com- manded the passage of the river. That this outpost might be strengthened, ten families were soon sent from Savannah to erect dwellings and cultivate lands in its vicinity.
Between four and five miles south of Savannah, as its limits were at first defined, and on rising ground, the village of High- Gate was laid out, and twelve families, mostly French, were assigned to its occupancy. About a mile to the eastward, the village of Hampstead was located and peopled with twelve fam- ilies, chiefly German. Gardening was to be the occupation of these settlers, and their principal business was to supply the inhabitants of Savannah with vegetables and provisions. In the spring of 1736 Francis Moore, who then visited these little towns, describes them as being " pretty," and says that the planters there domiciled were " very forward, having built neat huts and cleared and planted a great deal of land." The prosperity of these villages was of short duration. In 1740 but two families remained at High-Gate, while Hampstead had then been entirely abandoned.
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