The Exiles of Florida Part 18

This letter of Governor Roane certainly indicated to Mr. Collins a strong repugnance to the policy adopted by the War Department, and must have convinced him that his mission was, at least, unpopular among men removed from the moral atmosphere in which the Executive appeared to live. We are not informed of its effects upon Mr. Reynolds; but that gentleman could not have been very greatly disappointed, as he had clearly predicted the failure of all attempts to separate the Indians and negroes.

A rise in the Arkansas River enabled them to resume their journey. They reached Fort Gibson on the twelfth of June, and both Indians and negroes were turned over to the care of Captain Stephenson, the agent appointed to reside with the Western Seminoles. Here Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Collins expected to make a final effort to separate the Indians and negroes, in order that the latter might be transported back to that interminable slavery which all knew awaited their return to Georgia. For this purpose, Lieutenant Reynolds addressed Brigadier General Arbuckle, in command at Fort Gibson; but, as the correspondence between these officers brought the important mission of Mr. Collins in that Western Country to a close, we will present these letters to the reader.

On the twelfth of June, the day of his arrival, Lieutenant Reynolds addressed General Arbuckle the following note:

"GENERAL: I herewith enclose orders, received from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, for the surrender of a certain number of negroes, belonging to the Seminole Indians, to Mr. N. F. Collins, the attorney appointed by the Creek Delegation which recently visited Washington, which appointment has been ratified by the Department; and feeling myself bound to turn over all in my possession, in obedience to such orders, and the Seminole chiefs and Indians refusing _positively_ to give them up, I have to request the employment of such a force, General, as you may deem _adequate_ for carrying into effect my instructions.

I am, General, very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

JNO. G. REYNOLDS,

_1st Lieut. U. S. M. C., and Disb'g Agent, Ind. Dept._

General M. ARBUCKLE,

Commanding, etc., Fort Gibson."

General Arbuckle was in command of the military forces of the United States in that Western Country, and of course felt great responsibility in regard to maintaining peaceful relations with the Indians of that region. Having maturely reflected upon the communication of Mr.

Reynolds, he returned the following answer:

"HEAD QUARTERS WESTERN DEPARTMENT, THIRD DIVISION,} _Fort Gibson_, June 13th, 1838. }

"SIR: I have received your letter of the 12th instant, with the papers accompanying it, in which you request me to furnish such a force as I deem adequate, to enable you to turn over a number of negroes that were captured by the Creek warriors in Florida, to Nathaniel F. Collins, their attorney.

"I have given your application much reflection, and have determined to decline a compliance therewith for the following reasons:

"First. The difficulty and uncertainty of identifying the negroes actually captured by the Creek warriors, who are now with their former owners, and in company with a large number of other Indian negroes, and there being no individual of character present (as far as I am informed) who could with certainty designate them.

Secondly. The Seminole chiefs positively declare that General Jessup promised that the negroes taken from them by the Creek warriors should be returned; and there is reason to believe that such a promise was made, other than the declaration of the chiefs.

"In addition to the above, it is proper that I should state, that the Seminole chiefs, at the council I held with them yesterday, voluntarily pledged themselves to give up the negroes in question, provided the President of the United States should, after being informed of the facts in the case, so decide; yet they state that many of the negroes have died, and that several are claimed to have been captured that were brought in by their owners when they surrendered."

"I am, Sir, very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

M. ARBUCKLE,

_Brevet Brigadier General, Commanding_.

J. G. REYNOLDS,

1st Lieut. U. S. M. C., and Disb'g Agent, Ind. Dept."

Collins now gave up all as lost. He appears to have realized, that almost every officer of the army west of Florida, had conspired against this policy of enslaving the Exiles, while he himself seemed to entertain no doubt of the honor and rect.i.tude of his own position; and in order to do him justice, and render our narrative brief as consistent, we here insert so much of his report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, drawn up after his return to Alabama, as relates to his mission up to the time of leaving Fort Gibson, on his return. It is as follows:

"TUSKOGEE, ALABAMA, July 29, 1838"

"SIR: Immediately after my arrival (about the first of this month), I was taken sick with the fever, from which I am just recovering, which will account for the delay in communicating the result of my mission to procure the Seminole negroes that were to have been turned over to me, as agent of the Creek Indians."

"I left Washington on the 10th of May, and arrived in New Orleans on the 22d, the day after Lieutenant Reynolds had left there with the Indians and all the negroes, except thirty-two that were detained by the civil authority, at the instance of Love. I did not overtake Reynolds until he arrived at Vicksburg, when, after some exertion, I succeeded in having his order handed to him; and he came ash.o.r.e, and suggested the probability of his being able to induce the Indians to consent to deliver the negroes willingly (between thirty-five and forty of which, by a comparison of our lists, we found he had in his possession), if I would go on board and proceed up the river with him. This I acceded to, as I was anxious to pursue such a course as would tend, ever so remotely, to conciliate the Indians, and harmonize with the views of the officer in charge. The experience of a day or two however proved that these calculations were erroneous, and I went on to Little Rock, to get a force to coerce their delivery. On our arrival there, Lieutenant R.

called upon the acting Governor of Arkansas for a.s.sistance; _but from some cause or other_ he refused it, as will be seen by the correspondence forwarded you by Lieutenant R. I then proceeded with the party to Fort Gibson, calculating certainly on being able to obtain the necessary a.s.sistance at that place. Lieutenant R., on arriving within three miles of the fort, landed one of the boats, and proceeded with the other (having all the negroes and some Indians) directly to the fort, and made known to General Arbuckle the situation of the affair, and presented him with all the papers.

He held a lengthy interview with the Seminole chiefs, in which the various talks and promises of General Jessup were detailed, the number and ident.i.ty of the negroes denied, and the validity of the whole transaction questioned, etc.; and hence the conclusion, as he had received no order in relation to the negroes, he should not interfere; and directed Lieutenant R. to land them with the Indians. First, however, to conclude the farce, he exacted from each chief separately the promise, _if the President should decide that the negroes should be given up_, that they would deliver them to him. This of course they promised; any explanation or remonstrance urged by me was unavailing."

CHAPTER XVI.

FURTHER DIFFICULTIES IN THE WORK OF ENSLAVING THE EXILES.

General Gaines in person defends those left at New Orleans--He appeals from the judgment--Effect of appeal--Authorities at Washington informed of difficulties--General Jessup retires from the command--General Taylor succeeds him--He refuses to follow policy of General Jessup--Recognizes no prisoners as slaves--Letter from Adjutant General--He promptly refuses to have any thing to do in Watson's slave-dealing transaction--This indignant answer is received without reply by Department--Other persons claim the Exiles detained at New Orleans--Commissioner driven to the necessity of declaring correct law on the subject--Same as that avowed by General Gaines, by General Taylor, and by Hon. J. Q.

Adams--Claim of Colonel Humphreys for slaves--Jessup's answer--Reynolds returns from Fort Gibson to New Orleans--Collins reaches the city same day--Inquires as to the situation of the thirty-one Exiles left there--Is referred to Major Clark--Clark's answer--Collins leaves city in disgust--His Letter to Secretary of War charging Reynolds with misconduct--Exiles remaining at New Orleans are delivered to Reynolds--Are sent to Fort Gibson--Join their friends--All are left however without permanent homes or lands--Intention of the Administration to compel them to unite with the Creeks--They refuse--Cherokees tender them lands--They settle upon Cherokee territory.

[Sidenote: 1838.]

After the emigrating company of Indians and Exiles had left New Orleans, under charge of Lieutenant Reynolds, Gen'l Gaines a.s.sumed upon himself the whole responsibility of defending the thirty-one who remained in that city; for as yet there had been no trial upon the merits of the case, although it was pretty evident that the judge was strongly impressed in favor of reenslaving them. The cause was duly brought to a hearing, and, after argument and consideration, the court gave judgment in favor of the claimants.

This was no more than had been expected. General Gaines, faithful to his own convictions of justice, took an appeal to a higher tribunal; and this appeal rendered it necessary for the court to fix a time within which the claimants should enter bail for costs and damages, or the negroes would be delivered up to General Gaines by the sheriff.

In the meantime, the Executive officers at Washington had become informed of the difficulties which had lain across the path of Mr.

Collins, and felt it to be desirable that the whole matter should be arranged with as little discussion as possible.

General Jessup retired from the command of the army in Florida on the fifteenth of May, and returned to Washington, leaving General Zachary Taylor as commander-in-chief of our military forces in that Territory.

He had shown himself prompt in the execution of all orders; cool, deliberate, and firm in battle; faithful to his men, to himself and his country; but, up to this time, he had manifested no particular zeal in the capture of negroes. Indeed, although he had penetrated farther into the Indian Country than any other officer--had fought the bloodiest battles of any commander in Florida, yet he refused to draw any distinctions among his prisoners. With him Indians and negroes were equally _prisoners of war_, and ent.i.tled to the same treatment. Nor would he listen to men who professed to own the persons whom he captured, or who had surrendered themselves as prisoners.

The Administration having been a party in the sale to Watson, determined to carry out the slave-dealing arrangement with him; at least so far as regarded the thirty-one negroes who yet remained in New Orleans. In order to effect this object, it was deemed necessary to have the cooperation and aid of General Taylor. The Adjutant General, therefore, addressed him on the subject, enclosing to him the letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated the ninth of May, addressed to the Secretary of War, and heretofore referred to. General Taylor evidently thought the honor of the service would be compromited by this slave-dealing transaction. He subsequently became President of the United States; and as the reader will feel anxious to understand precisely the views which he entertained, we give that portion of his letter to the Adjutant General which relates to this subject. It is in the following words:

"I have the honor to acknowledge your communication of the tenth of May, 1838, accompanied by one of the ninth from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, addressed to Captain Cooper, Acting Secretary of War, on the subject of turning over certain negroes, captured by the Creek warriors in Florida, to a Mr. Collins, their agent, in compliance with an engagement of General Jessup.

"I know nothing of the negroes in question, nor of the subject, further than what is contained in the communication above referred to; _but I must state distinctly for the information of all concerned, that, while I shall hold myself ever ready to do the utmost in my power to get the Indians and their negroes out of Florida, as well as to remove them to their new homes west of the Mississippi_, I CANNOT FOR A MOMENT CONSENT TO MEDDLE WITH THIS TRANSACTION, _or to be concerned for the benefit of Collins, the Creek Indians, or any one else_."

This language was received at the War Department without reproof, although the Secretary was from South Carolina, bred up in the chivalrous doctrines of the Palmetto State. He quietly suffered a Brigadier General thus plainly to express his contempt for this slave-dealing transaction, in which not only the War Department, but the President of the United States, was involved. He appears to have been willing to encounter almost any kind of disrespect, rather than call public attention to the subject.

In the meantime other claims were presented to the Department for those Exiles, or portions of those, who had been captured by the Creeks.[120]

Gad Humphreys filed with the Secretary of War a list of forty-seven slaves who had fled from him in 1830, stating that they had gone to the Seminoles, and that a part of them had been sent to Fort Pike.

Colonel Humphreys appeared to regard himself as ent.i.tled to the possession of those people; although by the treaty of Payne's Landing the Seminoles had paid for all slaves residing with them prior to 1832; and had been released from all further demands on account of such slaves.