Diary in America Volume II Part 33

"I now learn that you refuse to carry into effect the solemn promises thus made by you, and that you have stated to the officers of the United States, sent among you, that you will not remove to the western country.

"My children: I have never deceived, nor will I ever deceive, any of the red people. I tell you that you must go, and that you will go. Even if you had a right to stay, how could you live where you now are? You have sold all your country. You have not a piece as large as a blanket to sit down upon. What is to support yourselves, your women and children?

The tract you have ceded will soon be surveyed and sold, and immediately afterwards will be occupied by a white population. You will soon be in a state of starvation. You will commit depredations upon the property of our citizens. You will be resisted, punished, perhaps killed. Now, is it not better peaceably to remove to a fine, fertile country, occupied by your own kindred, and where you can raise all the necessaries of life, and where game is yet abundant? The annuities payable to you, and the other stipulations made in your favour, will make your situation comfortable, and will enable you to increase and improve. If, therefore, you had a right to stay where you now are, still every true friend would advise you to remove. But you have no right to stay, and you must go. I am very desirous that you should go peaceably and voluntarily. You shall be comfortably taken care of and kindly treated on the road, and when you arrive in your new country, provisions will be issued to you for a year, so that you can have ample time to provide for your future support.

"But lest some of your rash young men should forcibly oppose your arrangements for removal, I have ordered a large military force to be sent among you. I have directed the commanding officer, and likewise the agent, your friend, General Thompson, that every reasonable indulgence be held out to you. But I have also directed that one-third of your people, as provided for in the treaty, be removed during the present season. If you listen to the voice of friends.h.i.+p and truth, you will go quietly and voluntarily. But should you listen to the bad birds that are always flying about you, and refuse to remove, I have then directed the commanding officer to remove you by force. This will be done. I pray the Great Spirit, therefore, to incline you to do what is right.

"Your friend,

"A Jackson.

"_Was.h.i.+ngton, February 16_, 1835."

Several of the Indian chiefs replied, wis.h.i.+ng for amity but unwilling to quit; but the council was broken up by the agent, who informed them that he had been sent there to enforce the treaty: he had warriors enough to do it, and he would do it. It was the question now whether they would go of their own accord, or by force?

This determination on the part of the agent induced some of the chiefs to waver, and eventually eight princ.i.p.al chiefs and eight sub-chiefs signed the articles agreeing to remove; but Miconopy, the chief of the whole tribes, Jumper, the second in consequence, and three other powerful chiefs, refused. Upon this, the agent took upon himself the most unwarrantable responsibility, by saying, Miconopy was no longer chief of the nation, and that his name and the other opposing chiefs were now struck out of the council of the nation.

That such an act as this was the cause of the greatest irritation to the Seminoles there can be no doubt; and the conduct of the agent was reproved by the Secretary of War, who, in his letter, observes:--

"It is not necessary for me to enter into much detail on the subject presented by you. I understand from Mr Harris, that he communicated to you the President's views on the subject of the chiefs whom you declined to recognise in all questions connected with the removal of the Seminoles. I understand that the President deemed this course an incorrect one; and it seems to me obviously liable to strong objections.

We do not a.s.sume the right of determining who shall be the chiefs in the various Indian tribes; this is a matter of internal policy which must necessarily be left to themselves. And if, when we have a grave matter for adjustment with one of the tribes, we undertake to say _it shall be_ determined by a particular cla.s.s of individuals, we certainly should render ourselves obnoxious to censure. It appears to me the proper course, upon important questions, is to treat directly with the tribe itself; and if they depute their chiefs, or any other individual to act for them, we must either recognise such authority or abandon the object in view."

In June 1835, a.s.seola, the chief of Micosukees, who did not appear at the council, but who was the most determined opponent of the treaty, came in to complain of the treatment his people had received from some white men, one of them having been wounded. He received no redress, and saying something offensive to the agent, he was thrown into prison. To obtain his release he promised to sign the treaty, at least, so it is said, and that he did sign it; but this must be considered only as an Indian stratagem: he had been imprisoned without any cause, and it is to be presumed that he thought himself justified in escaping by a corresponding fraud on his own part. The month after this occurrence, some of the tribe of a.s.seola murdered a government mail-carrier.

The Indians made one more effort: they called a council, and offered to remove to the west of the Mississippi, provided they had lands and an agent for themselves; but this was sternly refused by the government, who sent back as an answer, that their great father, General Jackson, had been "made very angry." The attacks and depredations upon the Indians were now more frequent, and the majority of them determined upon resistance. Only six chiefs, out of all who had signed the treaty, acted to their word and brought in their cattle, etcetera, for the government agent, to be sold previous to their migration. Five of their chiefs removed to the protection of Brooke's Fort, as they feared that the Seminoles would punish them for their revolt. One of them, Charley Amathla, was preparing to follow the others, when a.s.seola and two other chiefs went to his house and insisted that he should not remove his people. Charley Amathla replied that he had already pledged his word that he would abide by the promise which he made to their great father, and that if his life paid the forfeit, he felt bound to adhere to that promise. He said he had lived to see his nation a ruined and degraded people, and he believed that their only salvation was in removing to the West: that he had made arrangements for his people to go, and had delivered to the agent all their cattle, so that he had no excuse now for not complying with his engagements. One of the chiefs then informed him that the crisis was come: he must either join them in their opposition, or suffer death, and that two hours would be allowed him to consult his people and declare his determination. He replied, that his mind was unalterable, and his people could not make him break his word; that if he must die he hoped they would grant him time enough to make some arrangements for the good of his people. At this moment a.s.seola raised his rifle and was about to fire, when Abraham arrested the murderous aim, and requested them all to retire for a council with the other chiefs. a.s.seola, with a small party, however, separated themselves from the main body of the Indians, and returned to Charley Amathla's, and shot him. Thirteen of Amathla's people immediately escaped to Fort King, while the others, deterred by their fears, remained until the return of the princ.i.p.al band, when they joined the hostile party.

This was a fine trait in the Indian, and proves that the Seminoles are not the faithless people they are represented to be by the government agents. The death of this n.o.ble Indian was the signal for the commencement of hostilities; the Indians immediately abandoned all their towns, and, concealing their trail, removed their families to a place of safety, which has ever since baffled all conjecture as to its whereabout, and its secrecy been a subject of the greatest astonishment.

VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER TEN.

FLORIDA WAR.

It is naturally conjectured that the Seminoles retreated to some portion of the vast swamps which surround the Ouithlacoochee river; but certain it is that since the commencement of the war, in December 1835, up to the present time, their retreat has never been discovered. Marauding parties now commenced on the part of the Indians, who took summary vengeance on those who had robbed and maltreated them. The whole country from Fort Brooke to Fort King was in a state of conflagration, and the whites were compelled to abandon everything, and seek protection under the forts. At the outbreak of hostilities the American force in the department did not amount to five hundred men. The militia were called out, but military stores were not at hand, and it was decided that the troops must wait for reinforcements before any attack could be made upon the Indians; the great object was to throw a reinforcement into Fort King.

General Clinch, who commanded at Fort Brooke, having been reinforced with thirty-nine men from Key West, no time was lost in preparing two companies for the above service. On the 24th of December 1835, a force of one hundred men, and eight officers, with a field-piece, under the command of Major Dade, commenced their march.

On the morning of the 28th, when it had proceeded four miles from the encampment of the previous night, this force was attacked by the Indians, whose first volley was very destructive, Major Dade, with almost every man of the advanced guard, falling dead. The Indians were repelled by the troops under Captain Gardner, upon whom the command then devolved, and the Americans proceeded to throw up breastworks; but before they could raise them high enough for efficient protection, the Indians attacked them again. The Americans brought their field-piece into play, but the breastworks not being high enough, the Indians shot down every man who attempted to work the gun. All the officers, and more than two-thirds of the American troops had fallen, when the survivors found that all their ammunition was expended. The Indians, perceiving this, rushed in, and, with the exception of two men, who, although severely wounded, contrived to conceal themselves, and ultimately to make their escape, not one of the whole detachment was spared.

The force of the Indians is supposed to have been about three hundred and fifty or four hundred. The contest lasted six hours; and it must be admitted that nothing could be more gallant than the defence made by the troops against such a superior force.

On the afternoon of the same day, the Americans had to lament the loss of General Thompson, the Indian agent at Fort King. Imprudently strolling out about three hundred yards from the fort, he was attacked by the Indians, who waited in ambush for him, and, with Lieutenant Smith and three other people belonging to the fort, was shot dead. This party of Indians was headed by a.s.seola, who had warned General Thompson that the white men should suffer for their treatment of him. His peculiar and shrill war-yell was given as the Indian party retreated, to let the whites know to whom they were indebted for the ma.s.sacre.

General Clinch having been reinforced at Fort Brooke, (where he had two hundred regular troops,) with five hundred volunteers under the command of General Call, now moved with the whole force of seven hundred men.

On the 30th of December, as they were pa.s.sing the Ouithlacoochee river, the Indians watched their opportunity, and, when a portion only of the troops had gained the opposite side, commenced an attack, which was vigorously and successfully resisted; the Indians, in little more than an hour, were beaten off. The battle was, however, severe, and the Americans sustained a loss of sixty-three killed and wounded. The Indian force is supposed to have amounted to seven hundred men.

But independently of these conflicts with the militia and regulars, the ravages of the Indians over the whole country are stated to have been most fearful. Women and children were murdered, and the hearth made desolate in every portion of the country. In the more settled parts near St Augustine, the sugar-cane plantations, with the expensive works attached to them, were destroyed, and in many cases the slaves who were on the plantations were either carried off, or, voluntarily joining the Indians, increased the strength of the enemy. More than a hundred estates were thus laid waste, the average loss upon each estate being computed, independently of the loss of the negroes, at fifty thousand dollars.

The intelligence of this havoc, and the ma.s.sacre of Major Dade and his whole party, soon reached the neighbouring States, and a requisition for a.s.sistance made by General Clinch, was promptly responded to. Meetings were organised at Augusta, Savannah, Darien, and Charleston, and in a few days nearly two thousand volunteers were ready to march to the theatre of war. Indeed, the cause now became the cause of all the slave-holding States, and was taken up with the usual energy of the Americans.

In Louisiana the same spirit was shewn. General Gaines was at that time on a tour of inspection, and had received orders to take charge of the troops a.s.sembling on the Mexican frontier; but, at the request of the volunteers, he took the command of _them_ until he could receive further orders from Was.h.i.+ngton. The a.s.sistance of the American naval forces were demanded and obtained, and General Gaines having received intelligence that Fort Brooke was invested by the Indians, sent an express to General Clinch at Fort King, to say that he would join him with his forces to relieve the post. The Seminole Indians who had agreed to the treaty, remained firm to their word, and took up arms against their brethren, and a large force was now marching from all directions to the succour of the whites. I ought here to observe, that not only at the commencement, but ever since the war has continued, the difficulty and expense of forwarding supplies have been very great, and the American troops have undergone the severest privations, as well as great mortality from sickness and disease.

On the 13th February 1836, General Gaines, having arrived at Fort Brooke, reviewed his force, which amounted to between eleven hundred and twelve hundred men, and commenced his march to relieve Fort King, at which post he arrived on the 2nd February, without falling in with any of the Indians. The general then made a detour in pursuit of the enemy.

On the 27th, when the force was crossing the Ouithlacoochee River, it was a.s.sailed by the Indians, who retired after a skirmish of three-quarters of an hour, the loss of the Americans being very trifling. On the 28th, when again fording the river, the Indians made another attack, which was continued for nearly four hours, and the Americans had to lament the loss of Major Izard, who was killed, and two other officers were wounded. On the 29th, the Indians again attacked, with a force of at least a thousand men, with a view of forcing the American troops from the breastwork which they had thrown up; the Indians, after about two hours' fighting, set fire to the high gra.s.s; but, unfortunately for them, the wind suddenly changed, and, instead of burning out the American troops, all their own concealed positions were burnt up and exposed, and they were compelled to retire. The loss on the Indian side was not known, but was supposed to be heavy; that on the part of the Americans amounted to thirty-two killed and wounded.

General Gaines, finding that the Indians were so near him, now despatched expresses for a supply of ammunition, being resolved, if possible, to bring them to a general action. The sufferings of the American troops were very severe, and they were killing their horses for subsistence; but the camp was secure, in consequence of the Indians having burnt down all the means of concealment so necessary in their mode of warfare. Notwithstanding which, on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of March, the camp was vigorously a.s.sailed. On the evening of the 5th, the Indian interpreter came in from the Seminoles, stating that they wished to hold a council, and did not want any more fighting. On the 6th, a truce was held, when a.s.seola and other chiefs made their appearance, saying, that if the Americans would not cross the river, they would remain on their own side of it, and not commit any more ravages. This was, in fact, nothing but the original proposal of the Indians, that they should remain upon the land which had been a.s.signed to them by the treaty of Camp Moultrie. The reply of General Gaines was, that he was not authorised to make a treaty with them; their arms must be given up, and they must remain on the other side of the river, until the American Government sent them away west of the Mississippi. While this negotiation was pending, General Clinch arrived with the succour and reinforcements, much to the joy of the American troops, who were half starved. General Gaines, who had heard that General Scott had been appointed to the command in Florida, now resigned that authority to General Clarke, and on the 11th, the troops arrived at Fort Drane. It hardly need be observed, that the treating with the Indians ended in nothing. General Scott having a.s.sumed the command, arrived at Fort Drane on the 13th March 1836. He had had previously to contend with heavy rains and almost impracticable roads, and was enc.u.mbered with a heavy baggage train; his whole force amounted to nearly 5,000 men. This he divided into a centre and two wings, with a view to scour the whole country, and force the Indians from their retreats; but in vain. The Indians being on the flanks of each division, occasional skirmishes took place; but when the troops arrived to where the Indians were supposed to be, not a man was to be seen, nor could they discover the retreat of their families. Occasionally the Indians attacked the outposts with great vigour, and were bravely repulsed; but the whole army, of 5,000 men, did not kill and capture more than twenty Indians. As far as I can judge, nothing could be better than the arrangements of General Scott, but the nature of the country, to which the Indians had retreated, rendered it almost impossible for troops to act. The swamps extended over a great surface of ground; here and there was an island on which the Indians could remain; while to attack them, the troops would have to wade up to their necks for miles, and as soon as they arrived the Indians were gone.

It is not my intention to follow up all the details of the petty warfare which has continued to the present time. General Scott resigned the command, and was succeeded by General Jessopp. On the 20th October 1837, after nearly a year's skirmis.h.i.+ng, a.s.seola was persuaded to come in, to a council. The flags of truce were hoisted by the Americans, and a.s.seola, carrying a flag of truce in his hand, and accompanied by other chiefs and about 50 warriors, came in to talk. On their arrival, they were surrounded by bayonets, and made prisoners by the orders of the Federal Government, who, despairing of subduing the Indians, had recourse to this shameful breach of faith. The proud spirit of a.s.seola could not endure confinement: he died in prison. Other chiefs were kidnapped in the same traitorous manner; but, severe as the loss must have been to the Indians, it did not appear to discourage them. The war was still carried on by those who were left, and, indeed, is still continued; for the ranks of the Indians are said to be filled up by runaway slaves, and some of the Creek Indians who have not yet quitted Georgia. On the 25th of December 1837, a severe battle was fought between the Indians and the American troops, at a spot between Pease Creek and the Big Cypress Swamps; on this occasion the Americans lost Colonels Thompson and Guntry, with twenty-eight killed, and one hundred and eleven wounded. Since that I am not aware that any important combat has taken place; but it is certain that the Seminoles, notwithstanding the loss of their leaders, still hold out and defy the whole power of the United States.

It is a.s.serted in the American papers that the loss of lives on the American side, from the enemy and from disease, amounts to between two and three thousand men, and that the expenses of the war are now estimated at 30,000,000 of dollars. How far these calculations may be correct I cannot pretend to say, but it is notorious that a handful of Indians, estimated, at the commencement of the war, at about 1,900, have contended against armies of four or five times their number, commanded by gallant and able officers; that this small band of Indians, notwithstanding their losses from the weapons of the enemy, and their still greater losses from breach of faith, have now for four years held out against the American Government, and have contrived to _subsist_ during that period; and that the retreat of their wives and families has never been discovered, notwithstanding the Americans have a friendly portion of the Seminoles acting with them. Indeed, if we are to believe the American statements, the war is almost as far from its conclusion now as it was at its commencement. See note 1.

I have hastily narrated the causes and princ.i.p.al events of the war, as they are little known in England. The Americans, even if they expend twice as much money, must persevere, until they have extirpated every Indian, and settled the territory with white people; if they do not, the Florida swamps will become the resort of runaway slaves, and the precedent of what can be done, will encourage a general rising of the slaves in the adjoining States, who will only have to retire to the banks of the Ouithlacoochee and defend themselves. So fatal is the climate to the European, that America even now will probably have to sacrifice life and treasure to a much greater extent before she obtains possession of the territory. I shall conclude by quoting a portion of a letter from the Genevese Traveller which appeared in the _Times_ newspaper.

"The war was unrighteous in its commencement, and has been continued for years under circ.u.mstances the most profligate. There has not been a single campaign in which the army has not reaped a plentiful harvest of mortification and disgrace. When brought into action both officers and men fought valiantly, but the character of the country, its deep mora.s.ses and swamps, and the ignorance of the troops of Indian warfare, have uniformly tended to produce the most disastrous defeats.

"There is not to be found on the page of history, in any country, an instance of a scattered remnant of a tribe, so few in number, defending themselves against the a.s.saults of a disciplined and numerous army, with the same heroism and triumphant results with those of the Seminoles in resisting the American troops. In every campaign the invaders have been at least ten to one against the invaded. At no period have the Indians been able to muster more than 700 or 800 warriors, and it is doubtful whether they have ever had more than half that number, while the American army, when in the field, has uniformly amounted to from 6,000 to 10,000 men."

Note 1. Although the Federal Government has set its face against the Indians making war with each other (or at least pretends so to do), it would appear by the following notice, that, in their necessity, they have not adhered to the following resolutions:--

_Extract of a Letter, date_:--

"Fort Brooke, Florida, June 14.

"The Cherokees and Choctaws are soon expected in this country, when there will be a war of extermination and no quarter shown. The affairs here are just the same as two years ago. The war is no nearer ended.

But we do hope that the offer of ten dollars for each Seminole scalp will be a great inducement for the Cherokees and Choctaws to cut and slash among them."

VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER ELEVEN.

REPLY TO THE EDINBURGH REVIEW.

The art of reviewing may be compared to French cookery; it has no medium--it must either be first-rate or it is worth nothing: nay, the comparison goes much further, as the attempt at either not only spoils the meat, but half poisons the guests. The fact is, good reviewing is of the highest order of literature, for a good reviewer ought to be superior to the party whose writings he reviews. Such men as Southey, Croker, and Lockhart on the one side, Brougham, Fontblanque, and Rintoul on the other, will always command respect in their vocations, however much they may be influenced by political feelings, or however little you may coincide with them in opinion. But, pa.s.sing over these, and three or four more _cordons bleus_, what are reviewers in general? men of a degree of talent below that of the author whose works they presume to decide upon; the major portion of whom, having failed as authors, are possessed with but one feeling in their disappointment, which is to drag others down to their own debased level. To effect this, you have malevolence subst.i.tuted for wit, and high-sounding words for sense; every paltry advantage is taken that can be derived from an intentional misrepresentation of your meaning, and (what is the great secret of all) from unfair quotations of one or two lines, carefully omitting the context--an act of unpardonable dishonesty towards the author, and but too often successful in misleading the reader of the Review. By acting upon this last-mentioned system, there is no book, whatever its merits may be, which cannot be misrepresented to the public: a work espousing atheism may be made to appear wholly moral; or, the Holy Scriptures themselves condemned as licentious and indecent. If such reviewing is fair, a jury may, upon a similar principle, decide upon a case by the evidence in favour of the prosecution; and beauty or deformity in architecture be p.r.o.nounced upon by the examination of a few bricks taken out from different portions of a building.

That, latterly, the public have been more inclined to judge for themselves, than to pin their faith upon reviews, is certain; nevertheless, when what is termed a "_slas.h.i.+ng article_" upon a popular work makes its appearance, the public are too apt to receive it without scrutiny. Satisfied with the general effect, as with that produced in a theatrical representation, they do not bear in mind that that which has the appearance of gold, would prove upon examination to be nothing more than tinsel.

Were all reviewers to be reviewed by authors as well as all authors by reviewers, the authors would have the best of it in the _melee_. Again, were reviewers obliged to put their names to their several articles, there would be a great difference in their style; but, secure in their _incognito_ from the disgrace of exposure, they make no scruple to a.s.sert what they well know to be false, and, coward-like, to a.s.sail those who have seldom an opportunity, whatever may be their power, to defend themselves. Never, perhaps, was there a better proof of the truth of the foregoing observations than is afforded by the article in the Edinburgh Review upon the first portion of my work on America; and as I have some pages to spare, I shall now take the unusual liberty of reviewing the Reviewer.

First, let me introduce to the public the writer of the article--Miss Harriet Martineau. My readers may inquire how I can so positively make this a.s.sertion? I reply that it is owing to my "craft." A person who has long dealt in pictures will, without hesitation, tell you the name of the painter of any given work: a shepherd with a flock of three or four hundred sheep under his charge, will know every one of them individually, although to people in general, one sheep is but the counterpart of the others. Thus, there are little varieties of style, manner, and handling of the pen, which become evident to practised writers, although they are not always so to readers. But even if these peculiarities were not sufficient, the manner in which the article is managed (the remarks of Miss Martineau upon the merits of Miss Martineau) in my mind establishes to conviction, that the major portion of the article, if not the whole, has proceeded from her pen. This is a matter of no consequence, and I only mention it that my readers may understand why Miss Martineau, who forms so prominent a feature in the Edinburgh article, will also occasionally appear in mine. My reply, however, is not addressed to her, but to the Edinburgh Reviewer.

I have no doubt the Reviewer will most positively deny that Miss Martineau had any thing to do with the Review of my work: that of course. With his permission, I will relate a little anecdote. "When the Royal George went down at Spithead, an old gentleman, who had a son on board, was bewailing his loss. His friends came to console him. 'I thought,' observed one of them, 'that you had received a letter?'--'Yes,' replied the old gentleman, 'but it was from _Jack himself_.'--'Well, what more would you have?'--'Ah,' replied the old gentleman, 'had it been from the captain, or from one of his messmates, or, indeed, from anybody else, it would have consoled me; but Jack,--he is such _an incorrigible liar_, that his _very a.s.sertion_ that he is safe, convinces me that he has gone to the bottom.'"

Now my opinion of the veracity of the Edinburgh Review may be estimated by the above anecdote; the very circ.u.mstance of its denial would, with me, be sufficient to establish the fact. But to proceed.

The Review has p.r.o.nounced the first portion of my work to be light and trifling, and full of errors; it a.s.serts that I have been hoaxed by the Americans; that I am incapable of sound reasoning; cannot estimate human nature; and, finally, requests as a favour that I will write no more.

Such are the general heads of the Review.