Biographical Memorials of James Oglethorpe Part 24

That agreeable to his Majesty's instructions to his Excellency, sent down together with the said message, we are unanimously of opinion that all due countenance and encouragement ought to be given to the settling of the Colony of Georgia.

And for that end your Committee apprehend it necessary that his Excellency be desired to give orders and directions that Captain McPherson, together with fifteen of the rangers, do forthwith repair to the new settlement of Georgia, to cover and protect Mr. Oglethorpe, and those under his care, from any insult that may be offered them by the Indians, and that they continue and abide there till the new settlers have enforted themselves, and for such further time as his Excellency may think necessary.

That the Lieutenant and four men of the Apalachicola Garrison be ordered to march to the fort on Cambahee, to join those of the rangers that remain; and that the Commissary be ordered to find them with provision as usual.

That his Excellency will please to give directions that the scout-boat at Port Royal do attend the new settlers as often as his Excellency shall see occasion.

That a present be given Mr. Oglethorpe for the new settlers of Georgia forthwith, of an hundred head of breeding cattle and five bulls, as also twenty breeding sows and four boars, with twenty barrels of good and merchantable rice; the whole to be delivered at the charge of the public, at such place in Georgia as Mr. Oglethorpe shall appoint.

That periauguas be provided at the charge of the public to attend Mr.

Oglethorpe at Port Royal, in order to carry the new settlers, arrived in the ship Anne, to Georgia, with their effects, and the artillery and ammunition now on board.

That Colonel Bull be desired to go to Georgia with the Honorable James Oglethorpe, Esq., to aid him with his best advice and a.s.sistance in settling the place.

_Extract of a Letter from His Excellency Robert Johnson, Esq., Governor of South Carolina, to Benjamin Martyn, Esq., Secretary to the Trustees, &c_.

CHARLESTOWN, Feb. 12, 1733.

Sir--I have received the favor of yours, dated the 20th of October, and the duplicate of the 24th. I beg you will a.s.sure the Honorable Trustees of my humble respects, and that I will attach myself to render them and their laudable undertaking all the service in my power.

Mr. Oglethorpe arrived here with his people in good health the 13th of January. I ordered him a pilot, and in ten hours he proceeded to Port Royal, where he arrived safe the 19th, and I understand from thence, that, after refreshing his people a little in our barracks, he, with all expedition, proceeded to Yamacraw, upon Savannah River, about twelve miles from the sea, where he designs to fix those he has brought with him.

I do a.s.sure you, that upon the first news I had of this embarkation, I was not wanting in giving the necessary orders for their reception; and, being a.s.sisted at Port Royal, (although they were here almost as soon as we heard of their design of coming,) not knowing whether Mr.

Oglethorpe designed directly there, or would touch here.

I am informed he is mighty well satisfied with his reception there, and likes the country; and that he says things succeed beyond his expectation; but I have not yet received a letter from him since his being at Port Royal.

Our General a.s.sembly meeting three days after his departure, I moved to them their a.s.sisting this generous undertaking. Both Houses immediately came to the following resolution; that Mr. Oglethorpe should be furnished at the public expense, with one hundred and four breeding cattle, twenty-five hogs, and twenty barrels of good rice; that boats should also be provided at the public charge to transport the people, provisions and goods, from Port Royal to the place where he designed to settle; that the scout-boats, and fifteen of our rangers, (who are hors.e.m.e.n, and always kept in pay to discover the motions of the Indians,) should attend to Mr. Oglethorpe, and obey his commands, in order to protect the new settlers from any insults, which I think there is no danger of; and I have given the necessary advice and instructions to our out garrisons, and the Indians in friendship with us, that they may befriend and a.s.sist them.

I have likewise prevailed on Colonel Bull, a member of the Council, and a gentleman of great probity and experience in the affairs of this Province, the nature of land, and the method of settling, and who is well acquainted with the manner of the Indians, to attend Mr.

Oglethorpe to Georgia with our compliments, and to offer him advice and a.s.sistance; and, had not our a.s.sembly been sitting, I would have gone myself.

I received the Trustees commission; for the honor of which I beg you will thank them. I heartily wish all imaginable success to this good work; and am, Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

ROBERT JOHNSON.

P.S. Since writing the above, I have had the pleasure of hearing from Mr. Oglethorpe, who gives me an account that his undertaking goes on very successfully.

XII.

Creeks, so called by the English, because their country lies chiefly among rivers, which the American English call "creeks;" but the real name is Musogees. Their language is the softest and most copious of all the Indians, and is looked upon to be the radical language; for they can make themselves understood by almost all the other Indians on the Continent. They are divided into three people, Upper, Lower, and Middle Creeks. The two former governed by their respective chiefs, whom they honor with a royal denomination; yet they are, in the most material part of their government, subordinate to the Chief of the latter, who bears an imperial t.i.tle. Their country lies between Spanish Florida and the Cherokee mountains, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. They are a tall, well-limbed people, very brave in war, and as much respected in the South, as the Iroquois are in the North part of America.

[_History of the British Settlements in North America_, Lond. 1773, 4to, p. 156. ADAIR, 257. BARTON's Views, &c., Introduction XLIV. and Appendix 9.]

XIII.

ACCOUNT OF THE INDIANS IN GEORGIA, BEING PART OF A LETTER FROM OGLETHORPE, DATED 9TH JUNE, 1733.

There seems to be a door opened to our Colony towards the conversion of the Indians. I have had many conversations with their chief men, the whole tenor of which shews that there is nothing wanting to their conversion but one who understands their language well, to explain to them the _mysteries_ of religion; for, as to the _moral_ part of Christianity, they understand it, and do a.s.sent to it. They abhor _adultery_, and do not approve of _a plurality of wives_. _Theft_ is a thing not known among the Creek Indians; though frequent, and even honorable among the Uchees. _Murder_ they look on as a most abominable crime: but do not esteem the killing of an _enemy_, or one that has injured them, murder. The pa.s.sion of _revenge_, which they call _honor_, and _drunkenness_, which they learn from our traders, seem to be the two greatest obstacles to their being truly Christians: but, upon both these points they hear reason; and with respect to drinking _rum_, I have weaned those near me a good deal from it. As for _revenge_, they say, as they have no executive power of justice amongst them, they are forced to kill the man who has injured them, in order to prevent others doing the like; but they do not think any injury, except _adultery_, or _murder_, deserves revenge. They hold that if a man commits adultery, the injured husband is obliged to have revenge, by cutting off the ears of the adulterer, which, if he is too strong or st.u.r.dy to submit to, then the injured husband kills him the first opportunity he has to do it with safety. In cases of murder, the next in blood is obliged to kill the murderer, or else he is looked on as infamous in the nation where he lives; and the weakness of the executive power is such, that there is no other way of punishment but by the revenger of blood, as the Scripture calls it; for there is no coercive power in any of their nations; their kings can do no more than to persuade. All the power they have is no more than to call their old men and captains together, and to propound to them the measures they think proper; and, after they have done speaking, all the others have liberty to give their opinions also; and they reason together with great temper and modesty, till they have brought each other into some unanimous resolution. Then they call in the young men, and recommend to them the putting in execution the resolution, with their strongest and most lively eloquence. And, indeed, they seem to me, both in action and expression, to be thorough masters of true eloquence. In speaking to their young men, they generally address the pa.s.sions. In speaking to the old men, they apply to reason only. [He then states the interview with the Creeks, and gives the first set speech of Tomo Chichi, which has been quoted.] One of the Indians of the Cherokee nation, being come down, the Governor told him that "he need fear nothing, but might speak freely," answered smartly, "I always speak freely, what should I fear? I am now among friends, and I never feared even among my enemies." Another instance of their short manner of speaking was when I ordered one of the Carolina boatmen, who was drunk and had beaten an Indian, to be tied to a gun till he was sober, in order to be whipped. Tomo Chichi came to me to beg me to pardon him, which I refused to do unless the Indian who had been beaten should also desire the pardon for him. Tomo Chichi desired him to do so, but he insisted upon satisfaction. Tomo Chichi said, "O Fonseka," (for that was his name,) "this Englishman, being drunk, has beat you; if he is whipped for so doing, the Englishmen will expect that, if an Indian should insult them when drunk, the Indian should be whipped for it. When you are drunk, you are quarrelsome, and you know you love to be drunk, but you don't love to be whipped." Fonseka was convinced, and begged me to pardon the man; which, as soon as I granted, Tomo Chichi and Fonseka ran and untied him, which I perceived was done to show that he owed his safety to their intercession.

XIV.

DUKE OF ARGYLE A PATRON OF OGLETHORPE.

"From his boyhood Oglethorpe uniformly enjoyed the friendship and confidence of his gallant and eloquent countryman, John Duke of Argyle; who, in an animated speech in Parliament, bore splendid testimony to his military talents, his natural generosity, his contempt of danger, and his devotion to the public weal."[1]

[Footnote 1: VERPLANK's _Discourse before the New York Historical Society_, p. 33.]

This favorable opinion, acquired in military campaigns, where his soldierly accomplishments and personal bravery had attracted the notice and won the admiration of the commanding officers, was preserved in after scenes, and confirmed by the principles which they both maintained, and the measures they alike pursued in Parliament.

The Duke also early devoted himself to a military life, and served under the great Marlborough. He distinguished himself at the battles of Ramilies, of Oudenarde, and Malplaquet, and a.s.sisted at the siege of Lisle and of Ghent. Such services were honorably rewarded by the King, who made him Knight of the Garter in 1710, and the following year sent him amba.s.sador to Charles III. of Spain, with the command of the English forces in that kingdom. His support of the union with Scotland, rendered him for awhile unpopular with his countrymen, but his merits were acknowledged by all parties. George I. on his accession, restored him to the command of Scotland, of which he had before been capriciously deprived; and, in 1715, he bravely attacked Lord Mar's army at Dumblane, and obliged the Pretender to retire from the kingdom. In 1718 he was made Duke of Greenwich. He died in 1743, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, where a handsome monument records his virtues.

The following couplet by pope immortalizes his fame.

"Argyle, the state's whole thunder born to wield, And shake alike the senate and the field."

He had the honor, also, to be celebrated in very high terms by THOMSON;

--"full on thee, ARGYLE, Her hope, her stay, her darling and her boast, From her first patriots and her heroes sprung, Thy fond imploring country turns her eye; In thee, with all a mother's triumph, sees Her every virtue, every grace, combined, Her genius, wisdom, her engaging turn, Her pride of honor, and her courage tried, Calm and intrepid, in the very throat Of sulphurous war, on Tenier's dreadful field.

Nor less the palm of peace inwreathes thy brow; For, powerful as thy sword, from thy rich tongue Persuasion flows, and wins the high debate; While, mix'd in thee, combine the charm of youth, The force of manhood, and the depth of age."

[_Autumn_, 1. 926-941.]

XV.

HISTORICAL REFERENCES TO THE SETTLEMENT OF THE SALTZBURGERS IN GEORGIA.

_Nachricht von dem establishment derer Salzburgischen emigranten zu Ebenezer, en der Provinz Georgien in Nord-America_, &c. Von P.G.F.

VON RECK. Halle 1774. From this, and a subsequent Journal of the same author, was published a very interesting little work, by the direction of _the Society for promoting Christian knowledge_, ent.i.tled "_An extract of the Journals of Mr. Commissary_ VON RECK, _who conducted the first transport of Saltzburgers to Georgia; and of the Reverend Mr_. BOLZIUS, _one of their Ministers_." London, 1734. 12mo.

A circ.u.mstantial account of the settlement and of the affairs of these emigrants is given in a work which bears this t.i.tle, "_Ausfurliche Nacrichten von den Salzburgischen Emigranten, die sich in America niedergela.s.sen haben, worinnen die Riesediaria des konige.

Grossbritannischen Commissarii und der beyden Salzburgischen Prediger, wie auch eine Beschreibung von Georgien enthalten. Heraus gegeben von_ SAMUEL URLSPERGER." _Halle_, 1735-52. This journal of the proceedings of the Saltzburg emigrants, who formed the settlement of Ebenezer in Georgia, was continued from year to year, from 1734 to 1760; in several parts, which, bound up, make five thick quarto volumes. In Professor Ebeling's copy, now in the library of Harvard College, is the continuation, in _ma.n.u.script_, [perhaps the original,] and which was never printed, by JOHN MARTIN BOLZIUS, dated January, 1765. There is, also, a separate work, ent.i.tled _Americanisches Ackerwerck Gottes, von_ SAMUEL URLSPERGER. Augs. 1745-1760. 4to. 4 vol.

A most interesting account of the persecution is to be found in two thin quarto volumes by J.M. TEUBENER, ent.i.tled _Historie derer Emigranten oder Vertriebenen Lutheraner aus dem Ertz-Bissthum Saltzburg_. 2 vols. 4to. _Leipz_. 1732.

"About twenty-five thousand persons, a tenth part of the population, migrated on this occasion. Their property was sold for them, under the King of Prussia's protection; some injustice, and considerable loss must needs have been suffered by such a sale, and the chancellor, by whom this strong measure was carried into effect, is accused of having enriched himself by the transaction. Seventeen thousand of the emigrants settled in the Prussian states. Their march will long be remembered in Germany. The Catholic magistrates at Augsburgh shut the gates against them, but the Protestants in the city prevailed, and lodged them in their houses. The Count of s...o...b..rg Warnegerode gave a dinner to about nine hundred in his palace; they were also liberally entertained and relieved by the Duke of Brunswick. At Leipsic the clergy met them at the gates, and entered with them in procession, singing one of Luther's hymns; the magistrates quartered them upon the inhabitants, and a collection was made for them in the church, several merchants subscribing liberally. The university of Wittenberg went out to meet them, with the Rector at their head, and collections were made from house to house. 'We thought it an honor,' says one of the Professors, 'to receive our poor guests in that city where Luther first preached the doctrines for which they were obliged to abandon their native homes.' These demonstrations of the popular feeling render it more than probable that if a religious war had then been allowed to begin in Saltzburg, it would have spread throughout all Germany.

"Thirty-three thousand pounds were raised in London for the relief of the Saltzburgers. Many of them settled in Georgia,--colonists of the best description. They called their settlement Ebenezer. Whitfield, in 1738, was wonderfully pleased with their order and industry. 'Their lands,' he says, 'are improved surprisingly for the time they have been there, and I believe they have far the best crop of any in the colony. They are blest with two such pious ministers as I have not often seen. They have no courts of judicature, but all little differences are immediately and implicitly decided by their ministers, whom they look upon and love as their fathers. They have likewise an orphan house, in which are seventeen children and one widow, and I was much delighted to see the regularity wherewith it is managed.'"