The Exiles of Florida Part 19

Colonel Humphreys stated that his claim had been examined by the late agent, General Wiley Thompson, and decided _against_ him; but insisted that the decision was wrong, and avowed his ability to show it erroneous by proper proof whenever he should have an opportunity, and again demanded that the slaves should be brought back to Florida, where he could present his proof without trouble. This letter was inclosed in one directed to Mr. Downing, Delegate in Congress from Florida, and by him transmitted to the Secretary of War, and by that officer referred to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Thus driven to the wall, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs came out in plain and unmistakable language, a.s.serting the doctrine, that the Government held the power and const.i.tutional right to dispose of prisoners taken in war, whatever their character may be. This doctrine had been eloquently sustained by General Gaines, on the trial in New Orleans. It was the doctrine avowed by Hon. John Quincy Adams in the House of Representatives, during the next session of Congress; but it called down upon him much abuse in that body, and in the Democratic papers of the country. The Commissioner's report to the Secretary of War set forth in distinct language, that the claims of individuals to slaves were precluded by the action of the Government in sending these people West; that they had been captured by the army and disposed of by the Executive, and the action of the Department could not be changed in consequence of individuals claiming them as slaves. In short, he repeated the doctrine advanced by General Gaines at New Orleans. The report also confirmed the policy of General Taylor in disregarding the claims of individuals to persons captured by the army, and was a tacit condemnation of that pursued by General Jessup, and previously sanctioned by the Secretary of War. This report was pa.s.sed over to the Secretary.

That officer (Mr. Poinsett) having received this report, transmitted it to Colonel Humphreys. This drew from that gentleman a still more elaborate argument in favor of his claim, which occupies nearly four heavy pages in doc.u.mentary form. This was also transmitted to Mr.

Downing, and by him pa.s.sed over to the Secretary of War; but we are not informed whether the Secretary of War replied to this second argument or not.

It is, however, important to the truth of history to notice this recognition of the doctrine by a slave-holding Secretary of War, that the Executive in time of war may separate slaves from their masters, and send them out of the country, without regard to the relation previously subsisting between them and their owners. The principle was thus recognized by Mr. Poinsett, although a citizen of South Carolina, acting under the advice and direction of Mr. Van Buren, a Democratic President of the United States.

General Jessup also, in a report to the War Department, declared, that, in his opinion, the treaty of Payne's Landing exonerated the Indians from all claims for slaves which accrued prior to that date, and that Colonel Humphreys and other claimants could only demand a proportion of the seven thousand dollars allowed by the Indians for slaves then residing among them. This suggestion was obviously just, and was approved by the Secretary of War; and we are naturally led to inquire, why the same obviously just rule was not applied to some hundreds of other cases precisely like that of Colonel Humphreys?

In the meantime, Lieutenant Reynolds having accomplished his mission, so far as the emigration of the captives shipped on board the two boats which left New Orleans on the nineteenth and twenty-first of May were concerned, returned to that city in order to complete the duties a.s.signed him in regard to the thirty-one prisoners who had been detained there by legal sequestration. Collins, faithful to the trust reposed in him, also returned to New Orleans with the full purpose of securing those people as slaves to Watson. They reached the city on the twenty-third, and found the slaves still in the possession of the Sheriff; as the time a.s.signed by the court within which the plaintiff was to enter bail had not expired.

On the twenty-fifth of June, Mr. Collins addressed a note to Mr.

Reynolds, inquiring whether there had been any decision of the court upon the claim of Love to the Seminole negroes left at that place; and what number he (Reynolds) was satisfied belonged to the Creek Indians; and demanding that such as belonged to them should be delivered to him, under the order of the Commissioner of "Indian Affairs."

Mr. Reynolds replied that he understood the case had been dismissed; but as he (Reynolds) was then acting under a superior officer (Major Clark), he would refer Mr. Collins to him.

On the following day, Collins addressed Major Clark on the subject; but receiving no answer, and becoming vexed and disgusted with the business, he left the city on the twenty-seventh for his home in Alabama. In justice to Mr. Collins, we let him speak for himself, and quote the remainder of his report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, being that portion which relates to his efforts to get possession of these thirty-one Exiles. It reads as follows:

"On arriving at New Orleans on my return, I found the representatives of Love had withdrawn their claim against those thirty-two negroes that were left there, thirty-one of which Lieutenant R. expressed himself satisfied belonged to the claim. I addressed a note to Lieutenant R. requesting that such of the negroes as he was satisfied of the ident.i.ty might be turned over to me; he in turn referred me to Major Clark who was his senior officer, and who had received similar instructions to his own. I had, in company with Lieutenant R. the day before, called upon Major Clark, and learned his determination in relation to the negroes. He did not recognize the validity of his order, inasmuch as 'By order of the Secretary of War' did not precede your signature, and had even the hardihood to state, that, by an examination of the lists, none of those negroes in New Orleans were embraced in the claim I presented, and subsequently ordered Lieutenant Reynolds to send the negroes forthwith to Arkansas.

After I saw a settled and determined purpose to thwart me there as well as elsewhere, I left New Orleans on the next day for this place, and since my arrival here, I have learned by a letter from Lieutenant Reynolds, that the negroes were sent off the next day after I left."

"Captain Morrison I did not see. Not perhaps being as fruitful in expedients as some others of them, he stopped at Fort Jackson, and sent to New Orleans for transportation outfit, etc., and pa.s.sed the city on his way up, without but few knowing who he was, or anything else in relation to him. I learned indirectly from Major Clark, (who probably did not intend this admission for me,) that he had between twenty and thirty of the negroes on board belonging to this claim."

"I am, sir, with the highest respect,

Yours, etc.,

N. F. COLLINS.

C. A. HARRIS, Esq.,

Comm'r Indian Affairs, Washington, D. C."

It is most obvious that Collins believed that the military officers of Government, who were serving at a distance from Washington, viewed his mission with no particular favor, and he evidently retired from New Orleans with some degree of indignation.

In the meantime, the claimant Love, despairing of obtaining the negroes, refused to enter bail for costs and damages, in case the suit should be determined against him in the higher court, and the sheriff delivered them over to Mr. Reynolds on the same day that Collins left the city. On the next day, Mr. Reynolds wrote the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, saying, "The thirty-one negroes who were arrested, seized from me and lodged in the jail of this city, were last evening surrendered to me.

The Creek attorney (N. F. Collins, Esq.) nor any authorized agent being present, and not wishing to detain them at the expense of the Government, they were immediately embarked and dispatched West, with twenty-five days' provisions, under the charge of a.s.sistant Conductor Benjamin, who, to satisfy the Indians, had been left with the negroes at the period of the service of the process; of which fact I informed the Department at the time."

These thirty-one prisoners who had been thus detained, were now once more under way for their western home. Their hearts appeared to beat more freely as the n.o.ble steamer, which bore them on their way to their friends and future homes, cut loose from her moorings and sped her way toward her destined port. On board that happy craft, also, were many smiles and hearty congratulations exchanged among those children of the forest, who had been borne along on the tide of ever-varying circ.u.mstances. Although helpless and penniless, and apparently friendless, they had almost miraculously escaped the meshes which our Government and the slave-dealers had spread for their destruction. In due time they reached Fort Gibson, and were delivered over to the care of the proper agent, who conducted them to their friends. And now some nine hundred Seminoles, and some three to four hundred Exiles, had reached the Indian Country; they const.i.tuted the first party of that nation who, driven from their homes--their native wilds--had consented to be taken to a strange land.

They had been a.s.sured by General Jessup and all officers who spoke for the Government, that the treaty of Payne's Landing was to be complied with. To enforce that treaty had been the order of General Jackson.

General Ca.s.s had declared that the _Indians must comply with that treaty_; while, to our Indian agents, he a.s.serted it to be the policy of the Government to _unite the Creeks and Seminoles as one people_.

But the Indians and Exiles were constantly a.s.sured, that they were to have a tract of country set off to their separate use; and when they entered into the articles of capitulation with General Jessup, on the eighteenth of March, 1837, that officer, on behalf of the United States, had stipulated to protect the Indians and "their allies" in the enjoyment of their lives and property.

But now the turpitude and guilt of the Executive were revealed. The orders of the agent directed him to take them on to the territory a.s.signed to the Creeks. This would subject them to Creek jurisdiction and Creek laws; and they were perfectly conscious that every Exile would be immediately enslaved. Yet there was no country which they could call their own. The perfidious pretense of enforcing the treaty of Payne's Landing, without giving them a separate territory according to the supplemental treaty, now stood exposed in its proper light. Abraham was a man of influence with his brethren. He had used his utmost efforts to induce them to emigrate. He had been honest. He believed in the integrity of our nation, of its people, its government; but his error had been fatal. The Exiles were in the Western Country, without a home, and with no means of support, except the stipulation of Government to furnish them provisions for one year.

It was at this time, when a Christian government had violated its faith, most solemnly pledged, in order to enslave a people who for ages had been free, that a Pagan government performed towards the Exiles and Seminoles the Christian duty, the hospitality, of furnishing them temporary homes. The Cherokees had volunteered to exert their influence with the Indians and Exiles in favor of peace. They had induced many of them to come into the American camp under flags of truce which had been violated, and their persons seized, held prisoners, and sent West. They had themselves, apparently, been involved in this treachery practiced by our Government, and, under these circ.u.mstances, they consented to share their own possessions with the Seminoles and Exiles until further arrangements were made; they consented to have the Seminoles and Exiles settle on their land for the present, until the Government could be induced to fulfill its most sacred compacts with these victims of slaveholding persecutions.

CHAPTER XVII.

TOTAL FAILURE OF ALL EFFORTS TO ENSLAVE THE EXILES.

Indians and Exiles complain--Government disregards their complaints--Further efforts to enslave Exiles--They fail--General Arbuckle's Report--Collins charges Reynolds with misconduct--Reynolds called on to explain--His reply and proofs--Collins desires claim to be made against Creek Warriors--They refuse to notice it--Political feelings--Watson presents his claim to Congress--Resolution of that body calling for information--Answer--House Doc. 225--Digression--Proceedings on claim before Congress--Its final settlement.

[Sidenote: 1838.]

The Indians and Exiles who had emigrated, now found themselves separated at the distance of more than a thousand miles from their brethren in Florida, with whom they could hold no intercourse. They were without a country--without permanent homes--residing upon the lands of the Cherokees, at the mere sufferance of that Tribe, whose humanity had been awakened, and whose sympathy had been extended to them. Their situation and discontent were duly communicated to the Executive; but it appears to have been regarded as of too little importance to receive attention.

But while the President and the War Department disregarded all complaints coming from the Seminoles and Exiles, they relaxed no effort to secure Watson in the possession of the ninety human beings whom he had purchased of the Creek Indians, at the request of the Executive.

As the last resort, instructions were sent to General Arbuckle, commanding in the West, to make investigations, and ascertain what more could be done for the reenslavement of those people. That officer replied to this communication as follows:

"HEAD QUARTERS 2D DEPARTMENT, WESTERN DIVISION,} _Fort Gibson_, Aug. 27th, 1838. }

"SIR: I had the honor, on the 22d instant, to receive your instructions of the 21st ultimo, together with the papers to which they refer. I extremely regret that the United States is liable to suffer loss in consequence of the Creek warriors having sold, and received pay, for the negroes they captured from the Seminole Indians in Florida; and these negroes having been imprudently returned to the possession of their former owners at New Orleans, and brought to this place, with two hundred or more other negroes belonging to the Seminoles. Owing to these transactions, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to identify at most but few of them; and from the present position of this case, it is not probable _that one of the negroes will be obtained except by force_. For further information in relation to this subject, I beg leave to refer you to my letter to Captain Armstrong, Acting Superintendent of the Western Territory, of this date, a copy of which is herewith enclosed. I shall do all in my power to prevent loss to the Government, and will at an early period have the honor to advise you of the measures taken in the case."

"I have the honor to be, Sir, with great respect,

Your obedient servant,

M. ARBUCKLE,

_Brevet Brig. Gen'l, U. S. A._

Hon. J. R. POINSETT,

Secretary of War."

The letter to Captain Armstrong, Superintendent of the Western Territory, was as follows:

"HEAD QUARTERS 2D DEPARTMENT, WESTERN DIVISION,} _Fort Gibson_, Aug. 27, 1838. }

"SIR: I received by the last mail, from the honorable the Secretary of War, a communication under date of the 21st ultimo, on the subject of the negroes captured by the Creek warriors, together with a letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of War, under date of the 19th ultimo, relating to this subject, copies of which are herewith enclosed. All other papers or transactions in relation to this matter, it is presumed, you are apprized of. It will be seen by the communication first referred to, that it was not known at Washington, at the date of that letter, that the Creek warriors had been paid for the negroes. That circ.u.mstance, however just to the warriors and proper, so far as you have had an agency in the affair, will increase the difficulty of obtaining the negroes, as it is believed the Creek warriors will not now give themselves any trouble to have the negroes delivered to the individuals to whom they sold them. And notwithstanding the pledge of the Seminole chiefs to me, to surrender the negroes in the event the Government should so require (after reconsidering their claim to them), I do not believe they will comply with their promise, with the knowledge that the negroes are to be taken from this country as the servants of a white man. Finally, as the Seminoles are greatly under the influence of their negroes, there is scarcely a hope that the captured negroes will be surrendered without the application of force (which is not required); and, in that event, it is not probable they could be had, as they would no doubt run away the moment they are informed a military force is to be employed to take them. And in such case, it is believed, they would be a.s.sisted, when necessary, by most of the Seminoles, and by all the Seminole and Creek negroes; and if the captured negroes could be placed in the possession of the Creek agent, he would not detain them a moment without he had a suitable guard for that purpose. I am therefore of the opinion, that the best means that can now be resorted to, to prevent loss to the United States, is, if possible, to induce the Seminoles to refund, from their annuity, the sum paid to the Creek warriors for the negroes, and the interest on the same until paid. I will be much gratified if you can visit this post in six or eight days, when the Seminole chiefs can be a.s.sembled here, with the object of inducing them to agree to the measure proposed, or such other as may be deemed advisable. In the event that it may not be convenient for you to be at this post at an early period, I request that you will favor me with your views on the subject of this communication by the return of mail."

"I am, Sir, with much respect,

Your obedient servant,

M. ARBUCKLE,