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" That as she has hitherto relied in vain on General Ogle- thorpe's promises to make her restitution for all her losses sus- tained in his Majesty's service, to solicit redress for her grievances and to obtain from the Government at home such rewards for
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390
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
her services as were adequate to the consequence thereof, as you Sir, have the deserved honor to command his Majesty's forces in this Province, and may have personal knowledge of the truth of several facts herein stated, viz. the merit of your Memorialist's past services, the necessity of a strict alliance with the Creeks, the danger that at present threatens the peace of Carolina and Georgia from the loss of that friendship, the causes whereof, and the consequence of her present interest, (if she is not deprived of the means of using it): she therefore humbly begs that you will make a statement of those things to the Government at home in such a light as you will think conducive to the welfare of the Colony and his Majesty's service.
" That whereas his Majesty in the Preamble of the Royal Charter to the Honorable the Trustees for establishing the Col- ony of Georgia has been graciously pleased to declare that the intention of the settlement of said Colony was partly as a protec- tion to South Carolina, whose Southern frontier lay exposed to the frequent ravages of enemies, which signal instance of his Majesty's care for that Province is gratefully acknowledged by a Memorial from the Governor and Council of said Province dated 9th April 1734;
" And whereas, his Majesty's intentions in the settlement of Georgia have so far answered that no out-settlement has been cut off, boats taken, or men killed since that time ; your Memorialist therefore humbly hopes that upon a statement of her case to the Governor and Council of South Carolina how far the inhabitants of that Province have been enabled to improve its Southern part by your Memorialist's influence in continuing the Indians in al- liance with his Majesty's subjects, that that Government would be induced to make her some restitution for losses sustained in his Majesty's service, as she is now largely indebted to mer- chants in Charlestown and to other persons in South Carolina.
" And lastly your Memorialist cannot help repeating with an equal mixture of grief of heart and indignation that her wrongs have scarcely a parallel in the history of the British Government. Language is too weak to represent her present case. She labors under every sense of injury and circumstance of distress, being insulted, abused, and despised by the ungrateful people who are indebted to her for every blessing they enjoy.
" The only return she has met with for her past services and maternal affection has been unjust loads of infamy ; - branded by the name of traitor for making pretension to rights to which she
391
MEMORIAL OF MARY BOSOMWORTH.
is entitled by the laws of God and Nature. She has in vain made application for a grant from the Crown, and is desirous and will- ing to hold what possessions she is entitled to by the laws of Nature and Nations as a subject of Great Britain.
" It is with reluctance that your Memorialist declares that the Colony of Georgia was settled by her interest with the Creeks ; that it has in a great measure been supported by it ; and that she has now interest to command 1,000 fighting men to stand in the face of his Majesty's enemies and to countermine the designs of the French and Spaniards, if suitable encouragement is given her to prevent her the necessity of her flying to her Indian friends for bread which will greatly exasperate them.
" The French emissaries are at this moment trying every scheme to debauch their faith from the English. They magnify the power of France, and are loading them with presents.
" They study to render the English contemptible which is greatly confirmed by your not being able to give them presents as usual.
" Your Memorialist therefore humbly begs leave to represent that the expence of our safety must be considerable if you think the alliance of the Creeks worth preserving. These ends cannot be effected by any other means but by extraordinary presents being allowed them, -a proper person being sent among them in whom they repose confidence, and who can remove every insinu- ation of his Majesty's enemies.
" That whereas your Memorialist is highly sensible that it is not in your power to redress her grievances, and of the difficulties you labor under in not being allowed funds for continuing the Creeks in Alliance, and how far his Majesty's service may suffer thereby, she therefore humbly begs that you will lay this Memo- rial before his Grace the Duke of New Castle with the assurance that if the Government should think proper to allow a certain sum per annum to be applied amongst the Indians that she, on her part, would engage by her interest among them to do every duty that was ever done by Rangers &c. in Georgia, which have lost the Government so many thousand pounds; and with the Regiment under your command and her interest with the Creeks she believes that every foot of his Majesty's possessions in this important frontier could be maintained against his Majesty's en- emies.
.
" All which is humbly Submitted, &c.
" MARY BOSOMWORTH.
" August 10th, 1747."
392
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
This earnest, inflated, and yet respectful petition was framed, as we have intimated, by the Rev. Mr. Bosomworth, the then husband of the applicant. Fortified by sundry letters commend- atory of the past services and present influence of the Memorialist (among which may be mentioned communications from General Oglethorpe, Major William Horton, Captain Richard Kent, Colo- nel William Stephens, and Colonel Alexander Heron, and also by translations of eulogistic talks by Chickilli Tuskeestonnecah, king of the warriors of the Creek nation, and Malatche Opiya, mico), this document was forwarded for the consideration of the home authorities. Colonel Heron appears to have sympathized in this scheme of the Bosomwortlis for additional compensation. Colonel Stephens in one of his letters to the trustees does not hesitate to affirm that this officer was to participate largely in the expected remuneration, and that his support of the memorial had been thus purchased.
Not content with prevailing upon his wife to take the step just indicated, the Rev. Thomas Bosomworth resorted to an addi- tional expedient to compass his ambitious, grasping, and sordid purposes. On the 14th of December, 1747, an Indian king, Malatche by name, of the Creek nation, and sixteen companions, chiefs of various towns composing that confederacy, chanced to be on a visit to Frederica. Bosomworth, who was very friendly to Malatche, was also there. Exerting his influence with this mico he persuaded him to have himself then and there formally acknowledged as the head of the Creek nation, with full power to cede lands, conclude treaties, and transact any other business connected with the kingly administration of the affairs of his people.
This suggestion meeting with the approval of his companions, appropriate ceremonies were performed wherein Malatche was proclaimed and saluted as the supreme chief of the Muscogulgee confederacy. At the suggestion of Bosomworth the following document was prepared and signed : -
" FREDERICA IN GEORGIA, December 14th, 1747.
"Know all men by these presents that we Simpeopy, war-king of the Cowetas, Thlockpalahi, head warrior of the said town, Moxumgi, king of the Etchitas, Iswige, head warrior of the Et- chitas, and Actithilki, beloved man of the said town, Ciocoliche, king of Osuchees, Appalya and Ischaboagy, beloved men of Nipky, and Himmopacohi, warriors of said town, Tokeah, war- king of the Chehaws, Whyanneachi and Etowah, warriors of the
393
MALATCHE PROCLAIMED KING.
said town, Mahelabbi, beloved man of the Cusetas, and Scheyah, warrior of the said town, and Estchothalleachi Yahulla, Mico of the Tiskugas, having full power by the laws of the nation to con- clude everything for the towns we represent, do hereby acknowl- edge Malatche Opiya Mico to be our rightful and natural prince. And we likewise further acknowledge that by the laws of our nation we think ourselves obliged to stand by, ratify, and confirm every act and deed of his as much as if we ourselves were present, and we therefore make this public declaration to all subjects of the Crown of Great Britain that Malatche Opiya Mico has full power and authority, as our natural prince, to transact all affairs relating to our Nation as firmly and fully to all intents and pur- poses as we the whole nation might or could do if present. In confirmation of which presents we have hereunto set our hands and affixed our seals in behalf of the different towns we represent, the day and date above written." 1
Of this document, signed and sealed by the declarants, and witnessed by Colonel Heron, Sir Patrick Houstoun, and four others, Malatche requested that a copy should be sent over to the king of England, and that due record should be made of the orig- inal. Having thus far succeeded in his design, Bosomworth next prepared, and prevailed upon Malatche to execute a deed by which, as emperor of the Upper and Lower Creek nations, he con- veyed to Thomas and Mary Bosomworth, of the Colony of Georgia, the three islands on the coast, known as Hussoope or Ossabaw, Cowleggee or St. Catharine, and Sapelo. The consideration mentioned was "ten pieces of stroud, twelve pieces of duffles, two hundred weight of powder, two hundred weight of lead, twenty guns, twelve pairs of pistols, and one hundred weight of vermil- ion." It was an absolute conveyance, with full covenant of war- ranty, to Bosomworth and his wife, their heirs, and assigns, so long as the sun should shine or the waters run in the rivers. This transaction followed hard upon the other. In fact the first was simply a prelude to the second. In the existing treaties with the Creek Indians these three beautiful and extensive islands had always been reserved by the natives as their special property for the purposes of linnting, fishing, and bathing.
The reverend gentleman having thus acquired title to this at- tractive and princely domain proceeded to utilize it by stocking these islands with cattle purchased in Carolina. To the planters in that province he became largely indebted. His stock-raising
1 See McCall's History of Georgia, vol. i. p. 367. Savannah. 1811.
394
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
not proving as remunerative as he anticipated, this ambitious clergyman, with a view to attaining greatness and acquiring a fortune rapidly, encouraged his wife to announce herself as a sister of Malatche, descended in a maternal line from an Indian king who held from nature the entire territories of the Creeks. He persuaded her also to assert her right to them as superior both to that of the trustees and of the king. Mary accordingly assumed the title of an independent empress, disavowing all alle- giance or subjection to the British Crown, and summoned a gen- eral convocation of the Creeks, to whom, in a long speech pre- pared for the occasion, she explained the justice of her claim, the great injury which they, her beloved subjects, had sustained at the hands of the English by the loss of their territories, and the necessity which was laid upon them to regain them by force of arms. Inflamed by her harangne, the assembled Indians ad- mitted her claims, and pledged themselves to defend to the last extremity her royal person and lands. Putting herself at the head of a large body of warriors, she set out for Savannah to demand from the president and council a formal acknowledgment of her assumed rights. A messenger was dispatched to convey in advance to the president of the colony a notification of her approaching visit, and to acquaint him with the fact that she had assumed the sovereignty over the entire territory of the Upper and Lower Creeks. This notification was accompanied with a demand for the immediate evacuation by the whites of all lands lying south of the Savannah River, and was coupled with a threat that, in case of refusal, every settlement within the speci- fied limits should be extirpated.
Alarmed at these bold pretensions, and sensible of her influ- enee over the Creeks, President Stephens ordered the militia to hold themselves in readiness to march to Savannah upon shortest notice, and at once proceeded to put the town in the strongest attitude of defense. Its whole force amounted to only one hun- dred and seventy men capable of bearing arms. A messenger, dispatched to meet Mary while she was still several miles from the town to inquire whether she was serious in her intentions, and to endeavor to persuade her to dismiss her followers and abandon her pretensions, found her resolute and inflexible.
Nothing remained but to receive the Indians boldly. The militia were ordered under arms, and, as the Indians entered the town, Captain Noble Jones, at the head of a troop of horse, stopped them and demanded whether their visit was of a friendly
395
HOSTILE DEMONSTRATION BY THE CREEKS.
or a hostile character. Receiving no reply, he commanded them to ground their arms, declaring that his instructions were not to suffer an armed Indian to set foot in the town, and that he was determined to enforce those orders at every hazard. The In- dians reluctantly submitted. Thomas Bosomworth in his canon- ical robes, with his queen by his side, followed by the kings and chiefs according to their respective rank, marched into Savannalı on the 20th of July, making a formidable appearance. The citi- zens were terror-stricken at the sight. Advancing to the parade they found the militia drawn up under arms to receive them. They were saluted with fifteen cannon, and conducted to the president's house.
Bosomworth being commanded to withdraw, the Indian chiefs in a friendly manner were required to declare their object in paying this visit in so large a body without being convened by any person in authority. Having been previously taught what reply to make, they responded that Mary would speak for them, and that they would abide by what she said. They further stated that they heard she was to be sent captive over the great waters, and they were come to know on what account they were to lose their queen ; that they intended no harm, and wished that their arms might be restored to them. They gave the as- surance that after consulting with Bosomworth and his wife they would amicably settle all public affairs. Their guns were accordingly returned to them, and strict orders issued to allow them no ammunition until the council should see more clearly into their dark designs. The day following, the Indians, having had some private conferences with Mary, with sullen counte- nances marched about the streets in a tumultuous manner, appar- ently determined on mischief. All the men being obliged to mount guard, the women and children, afraid to remain in their houses by themselves, were greatly terrified, expecting every mo- ment to be murdered and scalped. During this period of con- fusion a false rumor was circulated that the Indians had cut off President Stephens' head with a tomahawk. So exasperated were the inhabitants that it was with great difficulty the officers could restrain the troops from firing upon the savages. Bosom- worth was arrested and made to understand that in the event of hostilities he should be marked as the first victim. So soon as he was carried into close confinement Mary became frantic, threat- ening vengeance against the magistrates and the entire colony, ordering all white persons to depart immediately from her terri-
396
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
tories, cursing Oglethorpe, and pronouncing his treaties fraudu- lent. Furiously stamping her foot upon the earth, she swore by her Maker that the whole globe should know the ground she stood upon was her own. To prevent the whites from acquiring any ascendency over the chiefs and warriors, she kept the lead- ing men constantly under her eye, and would not suffer them to utter a sentence on public affairs except in her presence.
Finding it utterly impossible to pacify the Indians while un- der the baleful influence of their pretended queen, President Stephens privately laid hold of her and put her in close confine- ment with her husband. In order to facilitate a reconciliation, a feast was prepared for all the chiefs and leading warriors, at which they were informed that Bosomworth had involved him- self in debts which he was unable to pay ; that he wanted not only their lands but also a large share of the presents which the king had sent over for the chiefs and warriors as a compensation for their useful services and firm attachment to him during the war against their common enemy; that Bosomworth wished to obtain these presents to satisfy, at their expense, his creditors in Carolina ; that the lands adjoining Savannah had been reserved for them to encamp upon when they should visit their beloved white friends, and the three maritime islands for them to fish and hunt upon when they came to bathe in the salt waters ; that neither Mary nor her husband had any right to those lands, but that they were the common property of the whole Creek nation, and that the great King George had ordered the president to defend their right to them, expecting that all his subjects, both white and red, would live together like brethren.
Many of the chiefs, convinced that Bosomworth had deceived them, declared they would no longer be controlled by his advice. Even Malatche, the leader of the Lower Creeks, appeared for the moment satisfied, and was greatly delighted to hear that pres- ents were to be distributed. Taking advantage of this favorable change in their sentiments, President Stephens determined to make immediate distribution of the royal bounty and to dismiss the Indians. While preparations were being made to carry this intention into effect, Malatche, whom the Indians compared to the wind because of his fickle and variable temper, having sought and intermediately obtained a personal interview with Bosom- worth and his wife, rose up in the midst of the chiefs and war- riors assembled to receive their respective shares of the king's gifts, and, with frowning countenance and in a violent manner,
397
PRESIDENT STEPHENS' ADDRESS.
delivered an inflammatory speech abounding in dangerous in- sinuations and threats, asserting the paramount claims of Mary, as queen of the Creeks, to all the lands in question; declaring that her words were the voice of the nation, that three thousand warriors were prepared to maintain with their lives her rights ; and finally concluding by drawing from his pocket a document which he delivered to President Stephens in confirmation of what he said. This paper had evidently been prepared by Bo- somworth, and was an ambitious and violent assertion of the pre- tensions and designs of Mary. When the paper was read in council the members were struck with astonishment. Perceiv- ing the effect which had been produced, Malatche became un- easy, and begged a return of the paper that he might hand it back to the party from whom he received it. President Stephens discerning more clearly than ever how sadly the Indians had been duped by the ambitious, mercenary, and designing Bosomworth, addressed the chiefs and warriors in the following language : ---
" Friends and brothers : When Mr. Oglethorpe and his peo- ple first arrived in Georgia they found Mary, then the wife of John Musgrove, living in a small hut at Yamacraw ; he had a license from the governor of South Carolina to trade with the In- dians. She then appeared to be in a poor, ragged condition, and was neglected and despised by the Creeks ; but General Ogle- thorpe, finding that she could speak both the English and the Creek languages, employed her as an interpreter, richly clothed her, and made her a woman of the consequence she now appears. The people of Georgia always respected her until she married Bosomworth, but from that time she has proved a liar and a deceiver. In fact, she was no relation of Malatche, but the daughter of an Indian woman of no note, by a white man. Gen- eral Oglethorpe did not treat with her for the lands of Georgia, for she had none, but with the old and wise leaders of the Creek nation, who voluntarily surrendered their territories to the king. The Indians at that time having much waste land which was useless to themselves, parted with a share of it to their friends, and were glad that white people had settled among them to sup- ply their wants." He further told them that the present dis- contents had been artfully infused into the minds of the Creeks by Mary, at the instigation of her husband who demanded a third part of the royal bounty in order to rob the naked Indians of their rights ; that he had quarreled with the president and coun- cil of Georgia for refusing to answer his exorbitant demands, and
398
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
had filled the heads of the Indians with wild fancies and ground- less jealousies in order to ferment mischief and induce them to break their alliance with their best friends who alone were able to supply their wants and defend them against their enemies.
At this point the Indians acknowledged that their eyes were opened and that they were ready and anxious to smoke the pipe of peace. Pipes and rum were brought, and all, joining hand in hand, drank and smoked in friendship. The distribution of the royal presents - except the ammunition, with which it was deemed imprudent at this moment to entrust them - was made, and even Malatche seemed fully satisfied with the share le re- ceived.
While an amicable adjustment of existing difficulties had thus been effected, and while all were rejoicing in the reestablishment of friendly intercourse, Mary, drunk with liquor, rushed like a fury into the midst of the assembly, telling the president that these were her people and that he had no business with them. The president calmly advised her to retire to her lodgings and to forbear poisoning the minds of the Indians, as otherwise he would order her again into close confinement. Turning to Malatche in a great rage, she repeated to him with some ill-natured comments what the president had said. Malatche thereupon sprang from his seat, laid hold of his arms, called upon the rest to follow his example, and dared any man to touch his queen. In a moment the whole house was filled with tumult and uproar. Every In- dian having his tomahawk in his hand, the president and coun- cil expected nothing but instant death. During this confusion Captain Jones, who commanded the guard, with wonderful cour- age interposed and ordered the Indians immediately to surren- der their arms. This they reluctantly did. Mary was conveyed to a private room where a guard was placed over her, and all further communication with the Indians was denied her during their stay in Savannah.
The natives were finally persuaded to leave the town peace- ably and to return to their settlements. Mary and her husband were detained until about the first of August, when, having fully confessed their errors and craved pardon, they were allowed to depart.1
1 Account of the Rise and Progress of the Colonics of South Carolina and Georgia, vol. ii. p. 152 et seq. London. MDCCLXXIX.
McCall's History of Georgia, vol. i. p. 214 et seq. Savannah. 1811.
Stevens' History of Georgia, vol. i. p. 227 et seq. New York. MDCCCXLVII. Letter of Wm. Stephens and Others to the Trustces, dated Savannah, September 8, 1749.
399
CLAIM OF MARY BOSOMWORTH.
Outrageous as had been the conduct of Bosomworth and his wife, Mary's demand was still pressed in London. Her claim to the islands of Ossabaw, St. Catharine, and Sapelo proved a source of constant annoyance to the colonists. After years of negotiation the affair was finally adjusted in 1759 by paying to Mrs. Bosomworth £450 for goods alleged to have been expended by her in his majesty's service during the years 1747 and 1748, by allowing her a back salary at the rate of £100 per annum for sixteen years and a half, during which she acted in the capacity of government agent and interpreter, and by confirming to her and her designing husband full right and title to St. Catharine Island, in consideration of the fact that they had fixed their resi- dence and planted there.1
In the mean time both the brothers Thomas and Abraham Bosomworth had been dismissed in disgrace from the service cf the trust.
1 When visited by an English traveler in 1743, this island was inhabited by eight or ten families of Indians, who had considerable tracts of open land, and were largely engaged in the cultivation of corn. It abounded with game, " on which," says
the writer, " the good Indians regaled us, and for Greens boiled us the Tops of China Briars, which eat almost as well as Asparagus." London Magazine for 1745, pp. 551, 552.
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