USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 2
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For his maintenance for one year, they allowed
21
STIPULATIONS.
him three hundred pounds of beef or pork, one hundred and fourteen pounds of rice, one hun- dred and fourteen pounds of peas, one hundred and fourteen pounds of flour, forty-four gallons of strong beer, sixty-four quarts of molasses, eighteen pounds of cheese, nine pounds of butter, nine ounces of spice, nine pounds of sugar, five gallons of vinegar, thirty pounds of salt, twelve quarts of lamp oil, and twelve pounds of soap. The same allowances, with the exception of beer, were extended to each of the mothers, wives, other females, and children over twelve years of age; half allowance for children of seven and under twelve; and one-third for those from two to seven ; passage paid, and sea stores allowed extra.
Before embarkation, the emigrants were re- quired to enter into the following covenants :
That they would repair on board such ship as should be provided for them; demean them- selves well during the voyage, and go to such place in the province of Georgia as should be designated, and then obey such orders as should be given them for establishing and governing the said colony.
That for the first twelve months after landing in the province, they would labour in clearing their lands, making habitations and necessary defences, and on all other works for the common good and public benefit of the said province, ac-
22
HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
cording to such plans and directions as should be given them.
That after the expiration of the said twelve months, they would, during the next two succeed- ing years, inhabit the province of Georgia, and cultivate the lands allotted to them and their male heirs, according to their best skill and ability.
All such persons were to be settled in the same colony, either in new towns or villages. Those in the towns were to have, each of them, a lot sixty feet front by ninety deep, whereon they were to build a house, and as much land in the adjoining country as would, in the whole, make up fifty acres. Those in the villages were each of them to have a lot of fifty acres, upon which a house was to be built ; and a rent-charge was placed alike upon all, of two shillings and sixpence sterling upon every fifty-acre lot, for the support of the colony.
By another provision, the trustees allowed every freeholder to take over with him one male servant, or apprentice, of the age of eighteen and upwards, to be bound for no less than four years. By way of loan to such freeholder, they agreed to advance the charges of passage for such servant or apprentice, and to furnish him with the following clothing and provisions :
A pallet, bolster, blanket, a frock and trou- sers of linsey-woolsey, a shirt, a frock and trou-
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OBJECT OF THE TRUSTEES.
sers of osnaburg, a pair of English shoes, two pairs of colonial shoes, two hundred pounds of meat, three hundred and forty-two pounds of rice, peas, or Indian corn. The expenses of passage, clothing, and provision, to be reimbursed to the trustees by the master, within the third year from their embarkation from England.
To each man-servant and his male heirs, upon a certificate of good behaviour from his master, were to be granted, after the expiration of the term of service, twenty acres of land, under the same rents and agreements as had been granted to any other man-servant in like circumstances.
The inhabitants of Georgia were to be con- sidered as soldiers and planters, and provided with arms for defence, as well as tools for culti- vation ; occasional military exercise being held as requisite to the safety and prosperity of the colony, as the more peaceful labours of agricul- ture.
Towns were to be laid out for settlement, and lands allotted to each colonist as near as conve- nient; so that the towns, which were to be re- garded in the nature of garrisons, might be easily reached, and each man arrive at his post of defence at a short notice in case of emergency.
As the object of the trustees-having in view the protection of the Carolinas-was to found a province partly military and partly agricultural, and as the military strength was particularly to
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
be taken care of, it was deemed necessary to establish such tenures of lands as might most effectually preserve the number of planters, or soldiers, equal to the number of lots of land within a narrow compass ; therefore, each lot of land was to be considered as a military fief, and to contain no more than was deemed sufficient for the support of the planter and his family. Fifty acres were judged sufficient, and provision was made to prevent any increase or diminution of this quantity, lest, on the one hand, the means of defence should be weakened, or, on the other, subsistence found to be too scanty.
In the infancy of the colony, the lands granted were to descend to male heirs only, as most likely to answer the purposes of the donors; and, in consideration of the service expected of the colo- nists, they were to be maintained at the public expense during their voyage, and their passage paid ; and were to be provided (for the space of one year) with arms, implements, seeds, and other necessaries, from the general store.
To others, who should come over at their own charges, particular grants were agreed upon under' the same tenure, and on the condition that they should settle in Georgia within twelve months from the date of their grants, bringing with them one man-servant for every fifty acres; should inhabit there for three years ; clear and cultivate within the first ten years one-fifth of the land so
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SLAVES PROHIBITED.
granted ; within the next' ten years, clear and cultivate three-fifths more, and plant one thou- sand white mulberry trees upon every hundred acres cleared-the raising of raw silk being one of the principal objects contemplated by the founders of the colony. One particular restriction was placed upon all the colonists alike, and this was, that no negro should be employed or harboured within the limits of Geor- gia, on any pretence whatever, unless by special leave of the trustees.
The object of this prohibition was. to present a military frontier to South Carolina consisting of Europeans only ; to shield the slave population of the latter State from the artifices and allure- ments held out by the Spaniards, and to shut out from among the colonists of Georgia all those in- centives to idleness which the introduction of a slave population is so apt to favour. It was further argued, that the introduction of negroes into Georgia would facilitate the desertion of the Carolina slaves, and instead of proving a frontier, would promote the evil which was intended to be checked, and give additional strength to the Spanish force at St. Augustine. In the execution of this laudable plan, the trustees, after hav- ing themselves contributed largely towards the scheme, undertook to solicit donations from others, and to apply the money towards clothing, arming, purchasing implements for cultivation, and trans-
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
porting such poor people as should consent to go over and begin a settlement.
To prevent any misapplication or abuse of the funds thus collected, they agreed to deposit the money in the Bank of England, to keep a correct list of the names of the donors, and the sum re- ceived from each; and bound themselves and their successors in office, to lay an annual state- ment of the moneys contributed and expended before the lord chancellor, the lords chief justices of the King's Bench and Common Pleas, the mas- ter of the rolls, and the lord chief baron of the Exchequer.
When this scheme of settlement was made pub- lic, the philanthropic motives of the trustees were warmly applauded in all parts of Great Britain. Perfectly disinterested themselves, neither de- siring nor retaining any source of personal ag- grandizement, but contented with the simple honour of benefiting the poorer classes at home by gratuitously providing them with the means of procuring a comfortable subsistence in a region where industry was sure to meet with a successful reward, the benevolent founders of the colony of Georgia are entitled to the high honour of having promoted a design at once generous and praise- worthy. They voluntarily offered their money, labour, and time, with the hope of alleviating the distressed condition of others ; leaving themselves no other reward than the gratification arising
SAILING OF THE COLONISTS. 27
from having performed a humane and virtuous action.
When the trustees, by their own contributions, aided by donations from several private persons, had accumulated a sum of money sufficient to commence the intended settlement, it was resolved to send over one hundred and fourteen persons, men, women, and children, being such as were in decayed circumstances, and thereby disabled from following any business in England.
James Edward Oglethorpe, esquire, one of the trustees, consented to accompany them at his own expense, for the purpose of forming the set- tlement. The trustees prepared forms of govern- ment agreeably to the powers given them. These preliminaries being arranged, on November 16, 1732, the Rev. Mr. Shubert, a clergyman of the Church of England, and a man from Piedmont, engaged by the trustees to instruct the people in the art of winding silk, and one hundred and four- teen persons, embarked on board the ship Anne, Captain Thomas, with every thing furnished them by the trustees, and nothing to risk but what might arise from casualties or a change of climate. Mr. Oglethorpe was clothed with power to exercise the functions of a governor over the new colony.
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
CHAPTER II.
Arrival of the colonists in Charleston-Oglethorpe visits the Savannah, and selects Yamacraw Bluff as the site for a town -His letter to the trustees-T'reats with the Indians for their lands-Certain lands reserved by the Indians-Government assists the trustees in the settlement-Glowing descriptions of the new colony.
ON the 13th of January, 1733, the ship Anne arrived safely in the harbour of Charleston, with the loss only of two children at sea.
After being hospitably entertained by the go- vernor and council, Oglethorpe and his people, well furnished with provisions and stock by gene- rous Carolinians, set sail for the new province of Georgia.
The authorities of Charleston furnished vessels to carry the additional supplies to the Savannah River, and also ordered some scout-boats, with a body of rangers, to accompany the adventurers, and protect them from any assault by the Indians, while the former were building houses and forti- fications to defend themselves. They reached Beaufort on the 20th of January. Here Ogle- thorpe left his colonists, while he, accompanied by two experienced men from Carolina, explored the country in search of a suitable place for his intended settlement. As soon as the governor
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LETTER TO THE TRUSTEES.
had selected an advantageous site, he addressed the following letter to the trustees in London : " Camp, near Savannah, Feb. 10, 1733.
" GENTLEMEN :- I gave you an account in my last of our arrival in Charleston. The governor and assembly have given us all possible en- couragement. Our people arrived at Beaufort on the 20th of January, where I lodged them in some new barracks built for the soldiers, whilst I went myself to view the Savannah River; I fixed upon a healthy situation about ten miles from the
sea. The river here forms a half-moon, along the south side of which the banks are about forty feet high, and on the top a flat, which they call a bluff. The plain high ground extends into the country about six miles, and along the river-side about a mile. Ships that draw twelve feet water can ride within ten yards of the bank.
"Upon the river's side, in the centre of this plain, I have laid out the town, opposite to which . is an island of very rich pasturage, which I think should be kept for the trustees' cattle. The river is pretty wide, the water fresh, and from the key of the town you see its whole course to the sea, with the island of Tybee, which forms the mouth of the river. For about six miles up into the country the landscape is very agreeable, the stream being wide, and bordered with high woods on both sides.
" The whole people arrived here on the first
3*
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
of February : at night their tents were got up. Till the 10th we were taken up in unloading and making a crane, which I could not get finished, so took off the hands and set some to the fortifi- cations, and began to fell the woods. I have marked out the town and common : half of the former is already cleared, and the first house was begun yesterday in the afternoon."
On the 20th of the same month, writing again to the trustees, he gives a further description of the site he had chosen, and his reasons for select- ing it.
" I chose the situation for the town upon a high ground, forty feet perpendicular, above high- water mark; the soil, dry and sandy ; the water of the river fresh, and springs coming out of the hill. I pitched upon this place not only for the pleasantness of the situation, but because, from the above-mentioned and other signs, I judged it healthy ; for it is sheltered from the western and southern winds, (the worst in this country,) by vast woods of pine trees, many of which are a hundred, and few under seventy feet high. The last and fullest conviction of the healthiness of this place was, that an Indian nation who knew the nature of the country chose it for their situation."
Soon after this, a small fort was erected on the bank of Savannah River, as a place of refuge, and some guns mounted on it for the defence of
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TREATY WITH THE INDIANS.
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the colony. The people were then employed in felling trees and building huts, while Oglethorpe encouraged and animated them by his presence and example. He formed them into a company of militia, appointed officers, and furnished them with arms and ammunition.
To awe the Indians, he frequently exercised the colonists in their presence ; and as his people had been disciplined previously by the sergeants of the guards in London, they exhibited, under review, but little inferiority to the regular troops.
As soon as his little colony was comfortably sheltered and protected, the next object of Ogle- thorpe was to treat with the Indians for a portion of their lands.
The principal tribes occupying the territory he desired to obtain, were the Upper and Lower Creeks. The former were numerous and strong ; the latter, reduced by war and disease, but a small band; though both tribes together were computed at about twenty-five thousand. As these Indians laid claim to the lands lying south- west of Savannah River, it became an object of the highest consequence to secure their friendship.
There was only one small tribe at Yamacraw, the Indian name of the bluff which Oglethorpe had selected as the site of his town. It was, therefore, thought expedient to open a communi- cation with the Upper Creeks also, as more nu-
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
merous, and prevail upon them to join in the treaty.
To accomplish this purpose, Oglethorpe selected a half-breed Indian woman named Mary, who had married a trader from Carolina by the name of Musgrove, and who could speak both the English and Creek languages. Perceiving that she had some influence among the Indians, and might be made serviceable to his views, he first purchased her friendship with presents, and then allowed her a salary of one hundred pounds a year.
By her assistance he summoned the chief men of the Creeks to meet him at Savannah, and about fifty of them attended. With these Ogle- thorpe concluded a treaty ; and after he had dis- tributed some presents, according to the Indian custom on such occasions, Tomochichi, one of the principal orators among the Creeks, rose and ad- dressed him as follows :
" Here is a little present. I give you a buf- falo's skin, adorned on the inside with the head and feathers of an eagle, which I desire you to accept, because the eagle is an emblem of speed, and the buffalo of strength. The English are swift as the bird, and strong as the beast ; since, like the former, they flew over vast seas to the uttermost parts of the earth ; and like the latter, they are so strong that nothing can withstand them. The feathers of the eagle are soft, and signify love; the buffalo's skin is warm, and
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INDIANS RESERVE LAND.
signifies protection ; therefore I hope the Eng- lish will love and protect their little families."
The treaty-subject to the ratification of the trustees in England-was concluded to the satis- faction of both parties; and as the colonists appeared contented with their condition, every thing seemed to promise a long course of pros- perity.
By this treaty, a full and complete right and title were granted the trustees for all the lands lying between the Savannah and Alatamaha Rivers, extending west to the extremity of the tide-water, and including all the islands on the coast from Tybee to St. Simons. .
By a short-sighted policy, which was after- wards a source of great danger and annoyance, the Indians were allowed to reserve for them- selves, within the limits of this tract, the islands of Sapelo and St. Catharine's, for the purpose of hunting, bathing, and fishing; and also the tract of land lying between Pipe-maker's Bluff and Pally-chuckola Creek, above the new town of Savannah; these lands being retained by the Indians for an encampment, whenever they came to visit their beloved friends at Savannah.
The consequences arising from the admission of this unfortunate stipulation will be found nar- rated in a subsequent portion of this history.
The annual statement made by the trustees to the lord chancellor, on the 9th of June, 1734,
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
showed that there had then been sent to Georgia, at the expense of the corporation, one hundred and fifty-two persons, of whom sixty-one were males capable of bearing arms; and that the money received from private contributions amounted to nearly four thousand pounds, of which two thou- sand two hundred and fifty-four pounds had been already expended for the purpose of settlement. In the mean time, the colonists had been kept busily employed. A public garden was laid off, as a nursery, to the eastward of the town, and planted with mulberry trees, vines, oranges, and olives, for the supply of the people. A beacon was erected on Tybee Island, at the mouth of the river. Fort Argyle was built at the narrows of the Ogechee, to protect the settlers against an inland invasion from St. Augustine, and a stock- ade fort built at Skidaway Narrows.
To aid the purposes of the trustees in rapidly strengthening their new colony, the British go- vernment sold some lands at St. Christopher, and applied ten thousand pounds to encourage the settlement.
In September and October, 1733, the trustees sent over two embarkations, amounting to three hundred and forty-one persons, principally per- secuted Protestants from Saltzburg, in Germany. These settled further up the Savannah, at a place they called Ebenezer, and were soon fol- lowed thither by many others of their countrymen
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GLOWING ACCOUNTS.
During this year, the most glowing accounts of the climate of Georgia, and the prosperous condition of the colonists, were sent over by some of the immigrants to their friends in Eng- land. About the same time, a pamphlet also appeared in London, entitled, "A new and ac- curate Account of the Provinces of Carolina and Georgia," in which, after a high encomium of the trustees of the latter, the writer goes on to say :
" The air of Georgia is healthy, being always serene and pleasant, never subject to excessive heat or cold, or sudden changes of weather. The winter is regular and short, and the summer cooled by refreshing breezes. It neither feels the cutting northwest wind the Virginians com- plain of, nor the intense heats of Spain, Barbary, Italy, and Egypt. 1377425
"'The soil will produce any thing with very little culture : all sorts of corn yield an amazing increase ; one hundred fold is the common esti- mate, though the husbandry is so slight, that they can only be said to scratch the earth and cover the seed. All the best cattle and fowl are multi- plied without number, and therefore without price.
" Vines are natives here; the woods near Savannah are easily cleared; many of them have no underwood, and the trees do not stand, generally, thick upon the ground, but at con- siderable distances asunder.
" When you fall timber to make tar, or for
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
any other use, the roots will rot in four or five years, and in the mean time you may pasture the ground. If you would only destroy the timber, it is done by a few strokes of an axe, surround- ing each tree a little above the root. In a year or two the timber rots, and a brisk gust of wind ยท fells many acres for you in an hour ; of which you may make a bright bonfire.
" Such an air and soil can only be described by a poetical pen, because there is no danger of exceeding the truth ; therefore take Waller's de- scription of an island in the neighbourhood of Ca- rolina, to give you an idea of this happy climate.
" The spring, which but salutes us here, Inhabits there, and courts them all the year ! Ripe fruits and blossoms on the same tree live ; At once they promise what at once they give. So sweet the air, so moderate the clime, None sickly lives, or dies before his time. Heaven sure has kept this spot of earth uncursed, To show how all things were created first."
Speaking of the Indians, the author adds-
" They bring many a mile the whole of a deer's flesh, which they sell to the people who live in the country, for the value of sixpence sterling ; and a wild turkey, of forty pounds weight, for the value of twopence."
This florid picture excited a wonderful commo- tion among the peasantry of England. The trus- tees, however, represented that the description of the country was greatly exaggerated ; and .thus allayed the inflamed fancies of the people.
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TOMOCHICHI.
CHAPTER III.
Oglethorpe sails for England, taking with him several Indian chiefs-Speech of Tomochichi to the king-The king's reply -The Indians return to Georgia-Tomochichi's advice to his nation-Georgia found less healthy and productive than was supposed-Condition of the colonists during Ogle- thorpe's absence-Justice Causton-His arbitrary proceed- ings-The regulations of trustees found inoperative-Go- vernment assists the colony-Immigration of Scotch and Germans-John Wesley arrives in Georgia.
HAVING provided for the security and wants of the settlers during his absence, Oglethorpe sailed for England in April, 1734, taking with him the Indian chief Tomochichi, together with his wife, and several other influential Creeks.
On their arrival in London, the Indian chiefs were introduced to the king, in the presence of his nobility. Tomochichi, astonished at the grandeur of the British court, addressed the king in the following words :
" This day I see the majesty of your face, the greatness of your house, and the number of your people. I am come in my old days, though I cannot expect to see any advantage to myself; I am come for the good of the children of all the nations of the Upper and Lower Creeks, that they may be instructed in the language of the English.
4
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HISTORY OF GEORGIA.
" These are feathers of the eagle, which.is the swiftest of birds, and which flieth round our na- tions: these feathers are emblems of peace in our land, and have been carried from town to town. We have brought them over to leave them with you, O great king, as a token of everlasting peace. O great king, whatever words you shall say unto me, I will faithfully tell them to all the chiefs of the Creek nation."
The king then replied :
" I am glad of this opportunity of assuring you of my regard for the people from whom you came. I am extremely well pleased with the as- surances you have brought me from them, and accept very gratefully this present, as indicating their good dispositions to me and my people. I shall always be ready to cultivate a good corre- spondence between the Creeks and my subjects, and shall be glad on any occasion to show you marks of my particular friendship."
While these Indians remained in England, . nothing was neglected that would impress them with just notions of the greatness and power of the British nation. They were allowed, during their sojourn in the country, twenty pounds a week by the government. They were feasted magnificently by the nobility; and when they returned to their own country, it was computed that they carried with them presents to the value of four hundred pounds sterling.
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THOMAS CAUSTON.
After staying four months they embarked for Georgia, highly pleased with the generosity and grandeur of the English nation, and promising perpetual fidelity to its interests.
On his return, Tomochichi told his people that the Great Spirit had given, the English wisdom, power, and riches ; so that they wanted nothing. He had given the Indians great extent of terri- tories, yet they wanted every thing. He exerted his influence in prevailing on the Creeks to re- sign such lands to the English as were of no use to themselves, and to allow them to settle among them, that they might be supplied with useful articles for cultivation and the necessaries of life. He told them further, that the English would trade with them fairly; that they were brethren and friends, would protect them against danger, and go to war with them against their enemies.
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