The Exiles of Florida Part 13

At that period John Ross was acting as princ.i.p.al chief of the Cherokee Nation. He was the son of a wealthy white man, who had long been engaged as an Indian trader. His mother was a Cherokee. Ross had been educated: had seen the advantages of civilization, and of Christianity, and was at the time, and had long been engaged, in promoting civilization among his own people. It will readily be supposed, that the feelings of such a man would revolt at a proposition for his people to engage in the capture and enslavement of any portion of the human family. The correspondence between Ross and the Secretary of War is interesting, and its perusal would well compensate the curious reader.[98]

This delegation from the Cherokees consisted of some twelve of their most influential men. They bore with them an address from Ross, written with great ability and sincerity. Among other things, he a.s.sured the Seminoles that they might confide in the justice and honor of the United States.[99] This address was directed to Micanopy, Osceola and Wild Cat, the three most powerful and warlike chiefs among the Seminoles.

The Creek warriors had engaged to serve until the Seminoles were conquered; but after the death of Captain Moniac, and their other friends who fell in the Great Wahoo Swamp, they had shown a disposition rather to _avoid danger_ than to _catch negroes_; and it was deemed proper to discharge them. But difficulties intervened in regard to the division of the negroes claimed to have been captured by them, while acting in concert with our troops. Some ninety negroes had been captured, in whose bones and muscles, blood and sinews, seven hundred Creek warriors claimed an interest; while the Tennesseeans, and other troops, had been in the field acting with the Creeks at the time of capture; and the Creeks could, in equity, claim only a pro rata interest. General Jessup however met the difficulty with promptness, and, to put an end to all future strife and discontent, he issued the following:

"ORDER No. 175. TAMPA BAY, Sept. 6, 1837.

"1. The Seminole negroes captured by the army, will be taken on account of Government and held subject to the _orders of the Secretary of War_.

2. The sum of eight thousand dollars will be paid to the Creek chiefs and warriors by whom they were captured, or who were present at their capture, in full for their claims; the amount to be apportioned among the battalions in proportion to the numbers respectively taken by each, viz: To the first battalion, five thousand seven hundred dollars; to the second battalion, two thousand dollars; and to the spy battalion, three hundred dollars.

3. To induce the Creeks to take alive, and not destroy, the negroes of citizens who had been captured by the Seminoles, a reward was promised them for all they should secure. They have captured and secured thirty-five, who have been returned to their owners. _The owners have paid nothing_, but the promise to the Indians must be fulfilled. The sum of twenty dollars will be allowed them for each, from the public funds.

4. Lieutenant Frederick Searle is charged with the execution of this order. He will cause accounts to be made, in the name of the United States, and receipts taken from the Indians in full, for all claims to the negroes, both of the Seminoles and citizens.

Lieutenant Searle will call on the Commanding General for funds to enable him to comply with this order.

5. Until further orders, the Seminole negroes will remain at Fort Pike, Louisiana, in charge of the a.s.sistant Quarter-Master at New Orleans, and in custody of the Commanding Officer of the post. They will be fed and clothed at the public expense."

This order was reported to the Secretary of War, and on the seventh of October was approved and became the act of the Executive; and the people of the nation became the actual owners of these ninety slaves, so far as the Executive could bind them to the ownership of human flesh.

Such was, undoubtedly, the view of General Jessup, who, on the fourteenth of September, wrote the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, saying, "The Seminole negro prisoners are now the _property of the public_. I have promised Abraham the freedom of his family, if he prove faithful _to us_; and I shall surely hang him if he be not faithful."[100]

This refinement in cruelty by which the life and liberty of a man and his family is held out as a bribe to induce him to prove traitor to his own kindred and nation, or to be hanged, and his family enslaved in case of refusal, appears worthy a place in the history of our Government, in order that our successors may have a correct idea of its administration.

The intention to enslave Abraham's wife, who was an Indian woman and had been the wife of the former chief of the _nation_, and now the wife of the princ.i.p.al chief of the Exiles, exhibits a total disregard of the feelings and sympathies of the human heart, as well as of the prejudices and condition of both Exiles and Seminoles. These Exiles were at Fort Pike, near New Orleans, where we will leave them for the present, to pursue our narrative of events which were transpiring in Florida.

On the ninth of September, General Jessup wrote Lieutenant Searle, as follows: "You will muster the Creek regiment out of service, and honorably discharge them. Then you will proceed to New Orleans, and obtain funds to pay the Creeks for the captured negroes. The chiefs and warriors who were actually in the field at the time of the capture of negroes are alone to receive any part of the sum allowed. Those who remained in camp and did not march are to receive nothing.

"You will examine the prisoners at 'Fort Pike,' (the ninety Exiles,) and cause an accurate description to be taken of them, specifying their names, ages, height, s.e.x, and such other particulars as you may deem important. They must all be comfortably clothed, at the public expense, immediately, by the a.s.sistant Quarter-Master at New Orleans, who will keep them properly clad."

It would appear that some difficulty arose with the Choctaw and Delaware warriors, who had expected to receive higher wages than the law allowed for serving in the army. Such had been done with the Creeks, and undoubtedly had been promised the Choctaws and Delawares. To quiet these discontents, General Jessup wrote Colonel Davenport, on the seventh of November, saying, "I regret the circ.u.mstance to which you refer. The importance of fulfilling all our engagements with the Indians with the most scrupulous good faith, is unquestionable. To dismiss them now, might not only cost us another campaign, but may cause us difficulties on our western border. We must retain them at all hazards. I wish you to a.s.sure them, that _our laws_ do not authorize the payment of the sum _stipulated_; but that the enemy has a large property, consisting of ponies, cattle and _negroes_, and that I will pay them for all the cattle they take, and they will be paid _fifty dollars for every negro_.

* * * Represent to them also, that our country is just, and if they will serve well, I will take their chiefs to Washington, and represent their case to the Great Council (Congress), and I have no doubt they will get all that has been promised them." He also wrote Captain Armstrong of the Choctaw agency, and Captain Bonneville, commanding the Choctaw warriors, encouraging the Indians to faithful effort in order to obtain negroes.

Some of the Georgia volunteers appeared anxious to know definitely the terms on which they were to expose their lives in these slave-catching forays; and a letter was addressed to Brigadier General C. H. Nelson, commanding the Georgia volunteers, by J. A. Chambers, aid to General Jessup, saying, "We have not the order book with us at this moment; but the General directs me to say, that all Indian property captured belongs to the capturers."

On the same day, General Hernandez of the Florida militia, found means to secure King Phillip, an aged chief, who lived some distance south of San Augustine, with eleven others of his tribe. It may be regarded as somewhat unfortunate, that history has failed to give us the particulars of this capture. The subsequent conduct of General Hernandez may lead the reader to look back upon this incident of the war with some desire to know the manner of King Phillip's capture; to understand whether it was peaceful or hostile; and whether any, and how many, white men, and how many Indians and Exiles, fell in the conflict? But we must pa.s.s over these particulars, as we have no authentic account concerning them.

General Jessup, when called on to report to the Secretary of War as to violations of the flag of truce, merely remarks, incidentally, that King Phillip and his companions were captured by General Hernandez.

Phillip had long been regarded as a chief of influence among the Seminoles. Finding himself a prisoner, he became anxious to see, and converse with, some of his friends; and General Hernandez, at his request, gave permission, for one of the prisoners to carry this talk to his family, inviting them to come and visit him in his captivity. The message was faithfully delivered to his oldest son, already known to the reader as "Wild Cat." He had been an active warrior at the ma.s.sacre of Dade's battalion; had been subsequently elevated to the dignity of a chief; had visited General Jessup, under the articles of capitulation of March, 1837, and at that time delivered up "Louis" as his slave, demanding his transportation West under those articles; and when he learned the intention of General Jessup to deliver up a portion of the Exiles to slavery, he left Fort Brooke, and again swearing vengeance upon the enslavers of mankind, became one of the most active warriors in the Seminole Nation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Coacoochee. (Wild Cat.)]

The Cherokee Delegation had reached the Indian country. The address of John Ross was directed to Wild Cat and Osceola, as two of the princ.i.p.al Seminole chiefs. They were together, and received the talk of Ross, the Cherokee chief, a.s.suring them of the integrity and honor of the United States. After due consideration, it was determined that Wild Cat should comply with the filial obligations due to his aged father, bearing with him the peace token of Osceola, consisting of a neatly wrought bead pipe, together with a beautiful white plume, to be presented to General Hernandez, as the a.s.surance of Osceola's pacific desires. Co-Hadjo, another chief, bore a similar message and emblems.

These were received by General Hernandez, who communicated immediate information thereof to General Jessup. They were propositions for negotiating a peace, forwarded at the special request and advice of the Cherokee Delegation, who were active in their efforts to stop the effusion of blood, and restore harmony between our nation and the Seminoles. By direction of General Jessup, Hernandez returned various presents to Osceola by Co-Hadjo, saying, that General Jessup and himself would be glad to hold a conference with them. The same a.s.surances and presents were given to Wild Cat, who also became the messenger between General Jessup and General Hernandez on the one hand, and his brethren on the other. With the hope of effecting an arrangement beneficial to his friends and to mankind, Wild Cat left San Augustine with the promise to return in ten days.

Punctual to the day, he returned with the very satisfactory a.s.surance, that Osceola, and one hundred Indians and as many Exiles, were on their way toward San Augustine, for the purpose of entering upon negotiations.

With the intention of hastening their arrival, and manifesting an earnest desire for peace, General Hernandez proceeded, with Wild Cat and other friendly Seminoles, to meet the advancing chiefs, some twenty miles south-west of San Augustine, at a place called "Pelican Creek."

Here he learned that Osceola would join them at evening. General Hernandez left a quant.i.ty of provisions with them, and, desiring them to select their encampment for the next day (Oct. 22) somewhere near Fort Peyton, at which place he would meet them with a proper escort, left them, and returned to San Augustine. They accordingly encamped the next day near Fort Peyton, situated seven miles south-west from San Augustine. They approached their encampment with great formality: Osceola and other chiefs bearing white flags, expecting to meet a suitable escort under General Hernandez, with the well-understood intentions of entering upon diplomatic negotiations with that grave dignity for which the Indian is so much distinguished. These flags were kept flying in their encampment through the night and the next morning.

At ten o'clock (Oct. 23), General Hernandez, accompanied by his staff and by most of General Jessup's staff, in full dress, met them as had been promised, with the apparent purpose of escorting them to head-quarters at San Augustine. After the ordinary salutations had been exchanged, instead of preparing to march, General Hernandez, from a written paper signed by General Jessup, read the following questions addressed to Osceola: "Are you prepared at once to _deliver up the negroes taken from the citizens_? Why have you not surrendered them already, as promised by Co-Hadjo at Fort King? Have the chiefs of the nation held a council on this subject?"[101]

Osceola exhibited the most perfect astonishment at hearing these questions propounded at such a moment. He appeared, however, instantly to comprehend his situation. Turning to Co-Hadjo, he said to him in his own dialect, "You must answer; I am choked," at the same time exhibiting unusual emotion for an Indian chief.[102]

At this moment, by a concerted signal, armed troops at once surrounded the whole encampment, gathered rapidly in upon the occupants, made prisoners of them, and at once disarmed them. They were then marched to San Augustine, and closely imprisoned in the ancient castle of that city. There was about an equal number of Exiles captured, at this violation of our plighted faith; they were, however, sent to Tampa Bay for safe keeping.

Wild Cat, having been made the instrument for betraying Osceola and other friends, felt great indignation at what he regarded as the perfidy practiced upon him and his brethren, and determined to escape from his imprisonment so soon as an opportunity should offer. But he was imprisoned in the Castle of San Augustine, whose gray walls, lofty turrets, battlements and Catholic chapel, must have presented to the young warrior a spectacle in striking contrast with the rude huts in which he was accustomed to lodge, in the interior of the Territory. We prefer letting him tell the story of his escape, which we copy from the works of one who was then serving in our army.[103] Said Wild Cat:

"We were in a small room, eighteen or twenty feet square. All the light admitted was through a hole (embrasure) about eighteen feet from the floor. Through this we must effect our escape, or remain and die with sickness. A sentinel was constantly posted at the door. As we looked at it from our bed, we thought it small, but believed that, could we get our heads through, we should have no further or serious difficulty. To reach the hole was the first object. In order to effect this, we from time to time cut up the forage bags allowed us to sleep on, and made them into ropes. The hole I could not reach when upon the shoulder of my companion; but, while standing upon his shoulder, I worked a knife into a crevice of the stone-work as far as I could reach, and upon this I raised myself to the aperture, when I found that, with some reduction of person, I could get through. In order to reduce ourselves as much as possible, we took medicine five days. Under the pretext of being very sick, we were permitted to obtain the roots we required. For some weeks we watched the moon, in order that, on the night of our attempt, it should be as dark as possible. At the proper time we commenced the medicine, calculating on the entire disappearance of the moon."

"The keeper of this prison, on the night determined upon to make the effort, annoyed us by frequently coming into the room, and talking and singing. At first we thought of tying him and putting his head in a bag, so that, should he call for a.s.sistance, he could not be heard. We first, however, tried the experiment of pretending to be asleep, and, when he returned, to pay no regard to him. This accomplished our object. He came in and went immediately out; and we could hear him snore, in the immediate vicinity of the door. I then took the rope we had secreted under our bed, and, mounting on the shoulder of my comrade, raised myself upon the knife worked into the crevice of the stone, and succeeded in reaching the embrasure. Here I made fast the rope, that my friend might follow me. I then pa.s.sed through the hole a sufficient length of it to reach the ground upon the outside (about fifty feet), in the ditch: I had calculated the distance when going for roots. With much difficulty I succeeded in getting my head through, for the sharp stones took the skin off my breast and back. Putting my head through first, I was obliged to go down head foremost until my feet were through, fearing every moment the rope would break. At last, safely on the ground, I awaited with anxiety the arrival of my comrade. I had pa.s.sed another rope through the hole, which, in the event of discovery, Talmeco-Hadjo was to pull, as a signal to me upon the outside that he was discovered, and could not come. As soon as I struck the ground, I took hold of the signal for intelligence from my friend. The night was very dark. Two men pa.s.sed near me, talking earnestly, and I could see them distinctly. Soon I heard the struggle of my companion, far above me; he had succeeded in getting his head through, but his body would come no farther. In the lowest tone of voice, I urged him to throw out his breath and then try; soon after, he came tumbling down the whole distance. For a few moments I thought him dead. I dragged him to some water close by, which restored him; but his leg was so lame he was unable to walk. I took him upon my shoulder to a scrub, near town. Daylight was just breaking: it was evident we must move rapidly. I caught a mule in the adjoining field, and, making a bridle of my sash, mounted my companion. The mule we used one day; but fearing the whites would track us, we felt more secure on foot in the hommock, though moving very slowly. Thus we continued our journey for five days, subsisting on berries, when I joined my band, then a.s.sembled on the head-waters of the Tomoka River, near the Atlantic coast. I gave my warriors the history of my capture and escape, and a.s.sured them that they should be satisfied my capture was no trick of my own, and that I would not deceive them."

While Wild Cat and his friends were imprisoned at San Augustine, the Cherokee Delegation had been actively engaged in exertions to induce other chiefs and warriors to come in, for the purpose of ascertaining what negotiations could be effected with General Jessup in favor of peace. Their objects were of the most humane character. Anxious to stop the further shedding of human blood, they had come a thousand miles upon this errand of mercy.

After great effort, Micanopy, the most important chief in the Nation, Choud, Toskogee, and Nocose Yoholo, agreed to accompany a portion of the Cherokee Delegation to General Jessup's camp, for the purpose of negotiation, or rather to ascertain whether further negotiation were practicable. They were accompanied by about seventy-five Indians and forty Exiles. They approached the American camp under a flag of truce, that emblem of peace, which is recognized as such by all civilized nations, and treated with respect.

They reached General Jessup's camp on the third of December, in company with a part of the Cherokee Delegation, and confided themselves to the power of the commanding officer, trusting to the honor of our nation.

They were received with apparent respect and good faith, and remained in camp under the expectation of further negotiation; of which there was much said, and frequent conversations held.

After a few days spent in this way, the Seminole chiefs and warriors were unsuspectingly seized, disarmed, made prisoners, hurried on board a steamboat, and sent to San Augustine as prisoners of war.

As the Cherokees saw this violation of the flag, they were struck with astonishment, and began to remonstrate against an act which, to them, appeared an outrage upon the rules of civilized warfare, and which involved them in its guilt. Finding remonstrance of no avail, they requested permission of General Jessup to converse with the Seminoles, in order to a.s.sure them that they, the Cherokees, had acted in good faith, and were in no degree cognizant of the fraud practiced upon the Seminoles, or implicated in the discreditable violation of the flag of truce. This privilege, however, was denied them.

Feeling indignant, and conscious that the Seminoles would charge them with complicity, in this violation of faith, they next demanded that their princ.i.p.al chief should have an opportunity, in the presence of such officer or officers as General Jessup may appoint, to see the Seminoles, and explain to them that the Cherokees had in no respect partic.i.p.ated in the perfidy practiced upon them. To enforce this request, they stated to General Jessup that, if the Seminoles were sent West, they would thereby become neighbors to the Cherokees, and, if they believed the Cherokee Delegation to have partic.i.p.ated in this transaction, they would never forget it, but would thereafter be hostile to them.

General Jessup at length consented to permit the chief of the Cherokees to explain these facts to the Seminoles, in the presence of himself and officers; but would not suffer any other member of the delegation to attend him.[104]

The Seminoles were sent to San Augustine; and that portion of the Cherokees who had accompanied them to General Jessup's camp, at once refused all further efforts to restore peace, and returned to their homes; leaving, however, some four or five of their brethren in the Seminole country, who, ignorant of the occurrences just related, continued to urge other Seminoles to make peace upon such terms as they believed just--a.s.suring them that the Americans demanded nothing more.

CHAPTER XIII.

VIGOROUS PROSECUTION OF THE WAR.

General Zachary Taylor--His character and past service--His expedition--Battle of Okechobee--His loss--Returns to Withlacoochee--Repudiates the work of catching Slaves--Exiles delivered over to bondage--Regular Troops despise such Employment--Indian prisoners indignant at the outrages perpetrated against the Exiles--Separated from Exiles--Are sent to Charleston--Exiles to Tampa Bay--Further efforts to re-enslave Exiles--General Jessup moves South--Skirmish of Loca Hatchee--Erects Fort Jupiter--Is persuaded to propose peace on basis of permitting Indians and Exiles to remain in Florida--Sends one of the Exiles to the enemy with these propositions--He returns with Hallec Hajo--Parties agree to hold Council and endeavor to form Treaty on that basis--Indians and Exiles meet for that purpose--Letter to Secretary of War--His answer--Indians and Exiles treacherously seized--Their numbers--Alligator and others surrender--Exiles sent to Fort Pike--Indians sent to Charleston.

[Sidenote: 1837.]

General Zachary Taylor was in command of an efficient force in the western part of Florida, holding his head-quarters at Tampa Bay. He had been thirty years in service; had distinguished himself in battle, and was regarded as an officer of great merit. Looking to the honor of our flag and the prestige of the service, he appears to have borne himself entirely above all efforts to prost.i.tute the powers of the nation to the reenslavement of the Exiles. He was particularly opposed to the plan of General Jessup, directing that all negroes captured should be the slaves of the captors.[105]

It now became evident that there was hard fighting to be done. General Taylor was at all times ready for such service. It is one of the imperfections of human government, that the men who conceive and direct the perpetration of great national crimes are usually exempt from the immediate dangers which beset those who act merely as their instruments in the consummation of transcendent wrongs. Had General Jackson and General Ca.s.s been a.s.sured they would have been the first individuals to meet death in their efforts to enslave the Exiles, it is doubtful whether either of them would have been willing to adopt a policy which should thus consign them to premature graves. Or had Mr. Van Buren, or his Cabinet, at the time of which we are now writing, been conscious that, in carrying on this war for slavery, they would fall victims to their own policy, it may well be doubted whether either of them would have laid down his life for the safety of that inst.i.tution; yet they were evidently willing to sacrifice our military officers and soldiers, to maintain the degradation of the African race.

General Jessup had written General Taylor, that all hope of terminating the war through the agency of the Cherokees, was at an end; that Sam Jones and the Mickasukies had determined to fight to the last. He, therefore, directed General Taylor to proceed, with the least possible delay, against any portion of the enemy he might hear of within striking distance. General Taylor at once concentrated such force as he deemed necessary for the contemplated expedition. His little army was composed of regulars and volunteers, including nearly one hundred Delaware and Shawnee Indians, who had been induced to join the army under the expectation of obtaining plunder by the capture of slaves. His whole force amounted to nearly eleven hundred men. Conscious that he was expected to encounter the full force of the enemy, if he could succeed in bringing them to action, he left his artillery; divested his troops of all heavy baggage, and prepared, as far as possible, for a rapid movement. With him were some of the most valued officers in the service of Government; men on whom he could rely with confidence, and who were worthy to command veteran troops. With this force, he left his encampment on the morning of the nineteenth of December, and directed his coa.r.s.e southeastwardly in the direction where, it was said, Sam Jones and his forces were encamped. As he advanced into the interior, he discovered signs of Indians; and, through the efforts of Captain Parks, a half-breed chief, who commanded the Delawares and Shawnees, he induced Jumper, and a few families of the Seminoles and some few Exiles, to come in and emigrate under the articles of capitulation of March previous. On the twenty-second of December, being the third day of their march, they found conclusive evidence that they were in the vicinity of the enemies'

princ.i.p.al force, but found it difficult to bring them to action. That night every precaution was taken against surprise. The necessary patrols were kept out, sentinels doubled, and the troops slept upon their arms.

They confidently expected to engage the enemy the next day.