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On the 20th of July, 1757, Governor Ellis laid before the General Assembly an important communication from the Earl of Chatham, calling for a contribution of men and money from Georgia to aid in an offensive movement against the French in Canada. In framing a response, the General Assembly adopted this language : "We his Majesty's most dutiful and loyal sub- jects, the Members of his Majesty's Council and Commons House
1 See Letter of Dunk Halifax, James taries of state, dated Whitehall, February Oswald, Soame Jenyns, and W. G. 8, 1759, calling special attention to this Hamilton to the Right Hon. William communication from Governor Ellis. Pitt, one of his Majesty's principal secre- P. R. O., Am. & W. Ind. No. 535.
535
RESPONSE OF THE ASSEMBLY.
of Assembly of the Province of Georgia in General Assembly met, have seriously and attentively considered your Honour's Message with the Copy of a Letter from the right honourable William Pitt Esqr. one of his Majesty's principal Secretaries of State.
" The very seasonable and vigorous Measures his Majesty has been graciously pleased to take for the Preservation and Defence of his American Dominions at this critical juncture has a just Title to our most dutiful and grateful Acknowledgments.
"It is with the utmost concern we reflect upon the extreme Poverty of the Inhabitants of this Province, as we are thereby deprived of an opportunity of manifesting our Inclination of contributing effectually to the common Cause, and of demon- strating with what Chearfulness we should embrace every Oppor- tunity of testifying our Loyalty and Zeal for the best of Kings.
" But when your Honour considers the great Efforts we have made this Session by doubling our Taxes and appropriating so great a Share of our Time and Labour for erecting Places of public Defence in different Districts of this Province, you will Sir, be convinced that we are unable to do more, and that noth- ing has been wanting on our Parts but Ability to vie with the most zealous and opulent of his Majesty's Subjects.
" It would be Presumption in Us, Sir, to suppose your Honour a Stranger to the Melancholy State of this Colony, a bare Recol- lection of which awakens in us every Apprehension that can result from a knowledge of the most imminent and complicated Danger. To find ourselves in a Country surrounded with the most cruel and insolent Savages, absolutely destitute of every Means of defending ourselves from their Barbarities in Case of a Rupture, without any Forts that are not utterly in Ruins, or Artillery but what are in a Manner unfit for Service: without Magazines or Fund to erect them : without any Troops stationed here save twenty odd Rangers (raised in the hurry of an Alarm) yet unestablished, unpaid, and undisciplined : without any Vessel of War for the Protection of our Coast : with but few Inhabitants and those poor and widely dispersed over the Province : open on the one side to every Ineursion of Indians, and, on the other, exposed to every possible Insult from the most inconsiderable of the Enemy's Vessels : in such a Situation our All is precarious.
" When we reflect on his Majesty's unabating Goodness to the lowest and most distant of his Subjects, and advert to the recent Instances we have experienced of his Paternal Regard to this
1
536
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
Colony : when we consider Sir, the importance of this Province to the Mother Country, and its being a Barrier to the other Provinces on this Continent against such formidable Neighbours as the French, Spaniards, and some of the most powerful and numerous of the Indian Nations : and when, at the same Time, we observe the Manner in which his Majesty's principal Secretary of State has wrote to your Honour (so unsuitable to our pres- ent Circumstances ) We must conclude that his Majesty and his Ministers have not been so frequently and so fully informed of the real State and Condition of this important Frontier as our Necessities and the critical Situation of Things on this Continent require.
" The uncommon Zeal your Honour has displayed for the Wel- fare of this Province since your arrival here justly demands our hearty Thanks, and merits our utmost Confidence. It is there- fore Sir, upon you that we must depend for a faithful Transmis- sion of these Facts to his Majesty in the most clear and precise Manner : not doubting but they will have all the Weight, and produce all the Effects that we can reasonably desire.
28th July, 1757. By order of the Upper House,
PAT HOUSTOUN. By order of the House,
DAVID MONTAIGUT, Speaker."
For these reasons, so strenuously urged, did Georgia a third time confess her inability to contribute toward the vigorous pros- ecution of the war against the French in Canada. The excuses rendered were valid, and they were so recognized by those in authority.
Although the king's vessels of war, with their headquarters at Charlestown, South Carolina, were ordered to guard the coast of Georgia then infested with privateers, they responded only spas- modically and very inefficiently to this duty. They preferred rest in the harbor to active exercise at sea. Finding his remon- strances ineffectual to beget greater activity on their part, Gov- ernor Ellis, on his own motion, fitted out a ship mounting a bat- tery of fourteen carriage and an equal number of swivel guns, placed her under the command of experienced officers, and for six weeks kept her busily cruising up and down the Georgia coast. The effect was most wholesome both upon the enemy and the slothful marine guard at Charlestown.
The intrigues of the French with the Indians dwelling beyond the northern borders of the provinces of Carolina and Georgia
537
INDIAN CONFERENCE AT SAVANNAHI.
necessitated the adoption of unusual precautions to retain their friendship. At a conference between Governors Ellis of Georgia and Lyttleton of South Carolina and Colonel Bouquet, command- ing the king's forces in the southern department, it was agreed that the Indians should be invited to Charlestown and afterwards to Savannah where, by hospitable entertainment, a liberal distri- bution of gifts, and an exhibition of military strength on the part of the colonists, the red warriors might be induced to refrain from violating their amicable relations. Influenced by the ear- nest representations of Governor Ellis, Colonel Bouquet detailed one hundred troops of the Virginia Provincials to take post at Savannah, and placed the Georgia Rangers upon the king's estab- lishment.
The conference between the governor and council and the chiefs and head men of the Upper and Lower Creeks occurred at Savannah on the 25th of October, 1757. Anxious to impress these savages with the highest possible conception of the military strength of the town, Governor Ellis ordered that they should be received by the first regiment of militia, commanded by Colonel Noble Jones, that sixteen cannon should be mounted in the dif- ferent batteries around Savannah,1 and that seven field-pieces should be placed in position in front of his dwelling. As the Indians approached, escorted by Captain Milledge and the Ran- gers, they were met beyond the lines by Captain Bryan and a cavalcade of the principal inhabitants, who welcomed them in the name of the governor and regaled them in a tent pitched for that purpose. This preliminary reception concluded, preceded by the citizens on horseback, the Rangers bringing up the rear, the pro- cession of Indians advanced to the town gate where salutation was made with three cannon from the King's battery, three from the Prince's, five from Fort Halifax, and five from Loudoun's bastions. Pausing at the gate, the citizens opened to the right and left, facing inwards, and the Indians, marching between them, entered the town, where they were received by Colonel Jones at the head of the regiment and conducted with drums beating and colors flying to the council chamber. While passing the governor's residence the column was saluted by the battery there stationed, and this compliment was repeated by the guns in the water battery and by cannon on vessels in the river.
At the council house the regiment filed to the right and left and, in parallel lines facing the chiefs and warriors as they ad-
1 This town had been fortified by Captain De Bralım.
.
£
538
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
vanced, presented arms. At the steps of the council chamber they were saluted by the Virginia Blues; and, upon entering the house, they were met by the governor who with outstretched arms welcomed them thus : " My friends and brothers, behold my hands and my arms !. Our common Enemies, the French, have told you they are red to the elbows. View them. Do they speak the truth ? Let your own eyes witness. You see they are white, and could you see my heart, you would find it as pure, but very warm and true to you, my friends. The French tell you whoever shakes my hands will immediately be struck with dis- ease and die. If you believe this lying, foolish talk, don't touch me. If you do not, I am ready to embrace you."
This speech, so well adapted to the comprehension of the na- tives, and so much in unison with their favorite style of utter- ance, completely captivated their hearts. Approaching the gov- ernor they shook his hand warmly, and declared that the French had often sought to deceive them. Friendly greetings followed, and the ceremonies of the day were concluded by a dinner at which the head men of the twenty-one towns represented were kindly and pleasantly entertained. During their stay in Savan- nah these red men were complimented with many presents, and were bountifully feasted. On the following Thursday, having been honored with another military parade and by martial sa- lutes, they assembled in the council chamber, which was thronged to its utmost capacity by the citizens. There they were again addressed by Governor Ellis. "Observe, my friends," said he, " how serene and cloudless this day appears ! I cannot but con- sider it as a good omen of the success of this interview; and I hope that you are all come with hearts resembling it, unclouded by jealousies, and with dispositions suitable to the good work of tightening the chain and making the path straight forever be- tween us." He then read in their hearing, with great solem- nity, a communication which he had prepared, entitled " A Letter from the Great King to his Beloved Children of the Creek Na- tion." Its conciliatory terms were pleasing to the Indians, and their response promised peace and amity.
The result of this convention was all that could have been de- sired. It was shown in the treaty of the 3d of November fol- lowing, by which friendly relations between the province of Georgia and the Creek confederacy were firmly pledged.1
1 Sce MS. Minutes of Council. Stevens' History of Georgia, vol. i. pp. 440-443. New York. MDCCCXLVII.
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539
ADJUSTMENT OF THE BOSOMWORTII CLAIM.
On the lands lying between the Alatamaha and the St. John's were congregated many outlaws and fugitives from justice. Their chief settlement, known as New Hanover, was located on the Satilla River about thirty miles above its mouth. Some of them dwelt upon Cumberland Island. Followers of the notori- ous Edmund Grey, they were a law unto themselves. Claiming no title to land save that derived from naked occupancy, and ac- knowledging no allegiance to Georgia, they were justly regarded as a dangerous population. Fears were entertained that they . would cause disturbances both with the Spaniards in Florida and with the neighboring Creek Indians. Orders were therefore is- sued by the Crown to disperse this band of marauders. In ful- fillment of them, commissioners, with ample powers, were ap- pointed both by South Carolina and Georgia, who, proceeding to New Hanover and Cumberland Island, disclosed their mission and succeeded in prevailing upon these disreputable peoples to abandon the territory where, without warrant, they had fixed their homes. This peaceful solution of the difficulty was very gratifying, for it was generally believed that the intervention of force would be requisite to clear the region of these undesirable inhabitants.
It was during Governor Ellis' administration, and largely through his instrumentality, that the vexations claims of Mary Bosomworth were brought to a final settlement. That there might be no question affecting the title of the Crown to the land lying between Pipe-Maker's Creek and the Savannah River, and to the islands of Ossabaw, Sapelo, and St. Catharine which had been ceded to the English by the Indians on the 28th of May, 1751, the validity of that conveyance was sanctioned and recog- nized by the Indian treaty of the 22d of April, 1758. The claim of Mrs. Bosomworth, however, was still outstanding and was re- garded as a cloud upon the title. When it was finally deter- mined to surrender to her in fee the island of St. Catharine where she had established her residence, and to pay her the sum of £450 for goods disbursed by her in his majesty's service during the years 1747 and 1748, and the further sum of £1,600 in full of all her demands as government agent and interpreter, she agreed to waive all claim to the islands of Ossabaw and Sapelo. These islands were sold at public auction. The former brought £1,350 and the latter £700. The proceeds thence derived were paid over to Mrs. Bosomworth. The lands lying between Savannah and Pipe-Maker's Creek were also disposed of at public outcry, and
540
THE IHISTORY OF GEORGIA.
realized £638. This sum was paid into the treasury of the province.1
Governor Ellis was seriously affected by the climate of Georgia. The potent rays of the summer sun he found very debilitating in their influence. In July, 1758, writing in his piazza, open at each end and completely shaded, with a breeze blowing from the southeast and no houses near to reflect the heat, he says Fahren- heit's thermometer registered 102°. Twice before, to wit, on the 28th of June and the 11th of July, had the mercury attained that height, and for days it rose to 98°. That summer he regarded as unusually hot, and imagined that the weather betokened the advent of a hurricane. Savannah being situated upon a sandy eminence, shut in by tall woods, he thought the heat more intense than in other parts of the colony. Although he deemed it highly probable that the inhabitants of Savannah breathed "a hotter air than any other people on the face of the earth," he concludes with the admission, " but few people die here out of the ordinary course." 2
Captain McCall in commenting upon this letter of Governor Ellis comes thus loyally and truthfully to the rescue : " As Gov- ernor Ellis was a man of sense and erudition, and no doubt made his observations with accuracy, I shall not presume to call in question the facts which he relates, but I feel bound to assert, under the authority of the oldest inhabitants now living in Sa- vannah, that there have been but few instances in which the mercury has risen above 96°, and none in which it has risen above 100° in the shade within the last thirty years. The trade winds prevail on the sea-coast of Georgia with great uniformity in the summer, particularly on the southern part of it; and it is not unworthy of remark that I resided at Point Peter near the mouth of St. Mary's River eighteen months, and the garrison consisted of near one hundred troops, and that I do not recollect, after the first fortnight, to have seen three men in bed with the fever, and that only one died during that period, and his disease was a con- sumption. Indeed the seashore is healthy, except in the vicinity of stagnant fresh water. . . .
"I have annexed these remarks because Governor Ellis asserts that the maritime parts of Georgia are the most unhealthy and unpleasant." 8
1 Sce Stevens' History of Georgia, vol.
i. p. 454. New York. MDCCCXLVII.
2 See Gentleman's Magazine for 1759, p. 314.
$ History of Georgia, vol. i. p. 254. Sa-
vannah. 1811. Compare Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the Colonies of South Carolina and Georgia, vol ii. pp. 258, 259. London. MDCCLXXIX.
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541
HEALTH OF SAVANNAH.
Beyond controversy, during the period of its early occupancy when it was closely fenced about by forests forbidding a free circulation of air, when little attention was bestowed upon drain- age, when the inhabitants were in large measure unacclimated, and when alluvial lands, dank and reeking with the decayed veg- etable mould of unnumbered centuries, were first exposed to the action of the sun's rays, the health of Savannah was much infe- rior to that which it now enjoys, and the temperature unques- tionably more intolerable. With the exception of occasional epi- demics, this city, under existing sanitary regulations, despite the fact that it dwells in a malarial region, must be regarded as not unhealthy : and no one familiar with the delightful influences of the southeast breezes which, during the hot months, prevail with the regularity of trade-winds, will deny that many climatic pleasures are here enjoyed, even in the heart of summer.
Governor Ellis' health became so feeble that, in November, 1759, he solicited a recall. His hope was that his successor would be speedily selected, and that he would avoid the debili- tating influences of another warm season in Georgia. Althoughi his request was granted, and James Wright, Esq., was commis- sioned as lieutenant-governor of the province on the 13th of May, 1760, he did not arrive in the colony to relieve Governor Ellis until the following October.
Upon the expiration of his official duties the province of Geor- gia possessed a population of some six thousand whites and three thousand five hundred and seventy-eight blacks.
In severing his official connection with the colony, Governor Ellis, on the 13th of October, 1760, thus addressed the General Assembly : -
" Gentlemen of the Council and of the Commons House of As- sembly.
" His Majesty having been graciously pleased to grant me his Royal Licence for returning to Europe, and appointed the hon- ourable James Wright Esquire Lieutenant Governor of this Province, I have called you together to inform you thereof, and at the same Time to return both Houses of Assembly my very sincere and hearty Acknowledgments for the great Assistance they have afforded me in carrying on the King's Service and the Business of the Colony during the whole Course of my Admin- istration.
" Possessed as I am with the most grateful Sense of this and every other Obligation conferred on me by the good People of
542
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
Georgia, they may be perfectly assured of my best Wishes and most zealous Endeavours upon all Occasions to promote whatever may contribute to their Happiness and the Welfare of the Prov- ince."
To this graceful farewell the General Assembly on the ensuing day returned the following response : -
" May it please your Excellency.
" We his Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Coun- cil of Georgia in General Assembly met, beg Leave to return your Excellency our hearty Thanks for the affectionate Manner in which your Excellency has been pleased to acquaint Us with your having obtained his Majesty's royal Licence for returning to England. At the same time that we congratulate your Excel- lency on your obtaining a Permission which this Climate and your intense Application to the Duties of your Station made nec- essary, allow us to express our unfeigned Sorrow at being de- prived of your Excellency's prudent and upright Administration to which, under Divine Providence, we hold ourselves indebted for that Measure of interior Quiet and Happiness we have hith- erto enjoyed.
" The many useful Laws which have received your Excel- lency's Assent, whereby Proceedings in the Courts of Law have been rendered more easy and expeditious, and the Civil Rights and Properties of the People fenced against the corrupt Practices of wicked and designing men : the Ability which you have ex- erted in healing those unhappy Divisions with which the Colony was rent at your Arrival ; the Credit you have restored to the Government; and the Zeal with which you have promoted and encouraged every measure tending to the public Advantage, in- titule your Excellency to our most grateful and hearty acknowl- edgments : nor do we esteem it less happy for us, nor less hon- ourable for you Sir, that whilst other more opulent and more populous Provinces have been ravaged by a barbarous and cruel Enemy, this infant Colony, surrounded with more numerous Sav- ages, and with an open and defenceless Frontier to our powerful European Enemy, has not been involved in a ruinous and de- structive War.
" We beg leave to assure your Excellency that we have the greatest Relyance on your attention to the Welfare and true Interests of this Colony so fully manifested in the whole Course of your Administration ; and we persuade ourselves that your Excellency will, on your Arrival in England, repeat your Repre-
543
DEPARTURE OF GOVERNOR ELLIS.
sentations of the Dangers to which we are exposed, and the little Probability there is of our receiving timely and adequate Succour from the neighbouring Provinces should any Calamity befall Us. His Majesty's great Goodness to all his People and his equal Regard to their Happiness and Prosperity give us the strongest Reasons to hope that this Colony will soon more amply partake of the Protection afforded to his American Subjects, and that through your Excellency's good Offices the Province will be im- mediately put in such a State of Defence as shall not only give real Security to its Inhabitants but render it an effectual Barrier to his Majesty's Southern Provinces." 1
Having turned over the affairs of state to his successor, the Honorable James Wright, Governor Ellis departed from Georgia on the 2d of November, 1760. The address of the assembly ex- pressed the general regret. The inhabitants of the province were deeply moved at the retirement of the governor whose kind and paternal administration, whose honesty of purpose and un- wearied exertions for the advancement of the welfare of the col- ony, whose integrity, and personal worth had produced the most favorable impression upon all. The Georgia Society, the mer- chants of Savannah, the citizens of Angusta, and others presented him with affectionate and complimentary addresses regretting his departure, extolling his administration of public affairs, com- mending his character, and praying for his welfare. As a token of the gratitude entertained by the citizens of Savannah, the Union Society requested liis acceptance of a handsome piece of plate.2
Few were the regrets which accompanied Governor Reynolds when he bade farewell to distracted and unhappy Georgia ; but now the good-will and the blessings of a sorrowing people clus- tered about their retiring chief magistrate. The apple of discord had been supplanted by the olive of peace. Happy in the con- fidence and the love of those over whom he ruled, fortunate and just in his intercourse with the Indian nations, successful in the conduct of the affairs of the colony, and secure in the esteem of the home government, pleasant and honorable is the memory which Governor Ellis has begneathed to the colonial annals of Georgia.
Subsequently commissioned as governor of Nova Scotia, he occupied that position for two years and a half. Warned by fee-
1 Sce MS. Journal of the Council in 2 See Stevens' History of Georgia, vol Assembly, pp. 429-432. i. p. 456. New York. MDCCCXLVII.
1
mila
544
THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
ble health, he dismissed all public cares and sought repose in the south of France. Finally, having attained a venerable age, and to the last intent upon the prosecution of some favorite physical researches, he fell on sleep, as did Pliny the elder, within sight of Vesuvius and upon the shore of the beautiful Bay of Naples.
INDEX TO VOLUME I.
ABERCORN, village of, 148. Acadians, 502-505. Achese, village of, 42. Agricultural implements, 7. Agriculture, primitive, 6. Alibamons, 1, 65. Alligators, 232. Altamaca, village of, 42. Amatis, Mr., 117.
Amelia Island, Spanish outrage on, 323. Anasco, Juan de, 48-50.
Anastasia Island, 331.
Anderson, Hugh, 309.
Anne, the galley, 117. Antiquities of the Southern Indians, 5-33.
Antiquity of the red race, 12, 13. Appalachian Indians overcome by Gov- ernor Moore, 76. Argyle, Duke of, 335.
Argyle, Fort, 147, 164.
Arms of primitive manufacture, 53. Arrow and spear points, 23-25.
Arrow-makers, 23, 24.
Augusta, located, 217. Trade at, 218. Oglethorpe ill at, 319, 440. The in- habitants alarmed, 441, 447. Distribu- tion of Indian presents at, 502. Its defenseless condition, 505.
Auspourger, Mr., 315. Axes, stone, 25. Ayllon, Lucas Vasquez d', 34, 48. Azilia, Margravate of, 70-75.
BACHELOR's Redoubt, 339. Bacon, Lord, 174.
Bank of England, the financial agent of the Trustees, 96-98. Barrimacké, village of, 339. Bartram, William, 3, 55, 410.
Beanfort, 118. Sojourn of the colonists at, 120. Bee, Captain, 299.
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