The Exiles of Florida Part 24

"It is to be regretted that this corps had not been accompanied with one or two hunters, who, with their dogs, might have tracked the blood-stained footsteps of those Indians; have restored to liberty the captives they were dragging away with them, and have prevented them from ever again repeating such atrocities; nor could the severest casuist object to our fellow citizens in Florida resorting to such measures, in order to protect the lives of their women and children."

"Very respectfully,

Your most obedient servant,

J. R. POINSETT.

Hon. HENRY A. WISE,

House of Representatives."

It is no part of our present duties to comment on the code of morals which the Secretary of War had adopted. He undoubtedly felt, that neither the Indians nor negroes "possessed any rights which white men were bound to respect." He was not, he could not, have been ignorant of the cold-blooded ma.s.sacre of nearly three hundred Exiles and Indians at Blount's Fort, in 1816; nor of the manner in which the present war had been brought on; nor of the objects for which it was prosecuted; nor does it appear possible that he, a large slaveholder of South Carolina, could have expected these blood-hounds would follow the trail of Indians. But we must bear in mind that he had been exceedingly vexed with the indomitable resistance of the Exiles. They appeared perfectly determined not to be enslaved, and that determination had given him much trouble; and he must have foreseen the defeat of his party in the next Presidential contest, should all these facts become known to the public.

With these feelings, he was prepared to apply almost any epithets to the Indians, as the friends and allies of a people to whose real character he dared not publicly allude, although they were occasioning the Administration so much trouble.

Having shown that no blood-hounds had been previously employed, he proceeded to argue the propriety of employing them in future, by adopting the policy proposed by the Legislature of Florida, who, as we have already seen, had taken measures to obtain them some twenty days prior to the date of this communication.

The Secretary of War thus exonerated himself and the Federal Executive from the responsibility of employing blood-hounds, on the thirtieth of December; and the animals arrived in Florida, under charge of Colonel Fitzpatrick, just one week _subsequently_ to that date.

One feature was most obvious, in the commencement and prosecution of this war: we allude to the very respectful, almost obsequious obedience of the Executive to the popular feeling in favor of slavery, in every part of the country where that inst.i.tution existed. This war had been commenced at the instance of the people of Florida. General Jessup attempted to change the articles of capitulation which he had signed, when the people of Florida protested against peace, unless attended by a restoration of slaves; and now, when the popular voice of the nation had paralyzed the Executive arm in regard to obtaining blood-hounds, the people of Florida, in their Legislature, took up the subject and carried the policy into practice, so far as to obtain the animals; but that would be of no use unless they could be employed by the army of the United States. Preparatory to this adoption of the purchase made by the Legislature of Florida, Mr. Poinsett had argued the propriety of their employment, in his letter to Mr. Wise; and twenty-six days afterwards, he wrote General Taylor as follows:

"WAR DEPARTMENT, Jan'y 26, 1840.

"SIR: It is understood by the Department, although not officially informed of the fact, that the authorities of the Territory have imported a pack of blood-hounds from the Island of Cuba. And I think it proper to direct, in the event of those dogs being employed by any officer or officers under your command, that their use be confined altogether to tracking the Indians; and in order to insure this, and to prevent the possibility of their injuring any person whatever, that they be muzzled and held with a leash while following the track of the enemy.

"Very respectfully,

Your most obedient servant,

J. R. POINSETT.

Brig. Gen'l Z. TAYLOR,

Com'd'g Army of the South, Florida."

From the commencement of this war, the officers of our army had found it necessary to employ persons who could communicate with the Indians in their own tongue. This was usually done through negroes, who could safely approach both Exiles and Indians; they were, in fact, the only cla.s.s of persons who could safely go from our posts to those of the enemy. No Indians could do it unless by arrangement made through those negroes; inasmuch as Creeks, Chickasaws and Choctaws were employed to act with our troops in hunting down the Seminoles, who shot those Creeks, Choctaws and Chickasaws, when opportunity permitted, with just as little ceremony as they did white men.

When those negroes visited the Seminoles, they were supposed to convey to them as accurate intelligence in regard to our troops, as they brought back respecting the enemy's forces; they were, therefore, supposed to have put their brethren, the Exiles, upon their guard in respect to the blood-hounds. Understanding perfectly the nature and _education_ of those animals, it does not appear very extraordinary to us that the Exiles remained for a time in the interior, where neither blood-hounds nor civilized troops were accustomed to penetrate. This policy of the Exiles rendered useless the whole expenditure of money and honor, made in the purchase of blood-hounds and Spaniards, with a view to their capture.

But the animals had been obtained, and authority given to our officers to employ them. The Spaniards attended them. The dogs were attached to different regiments, and fed liberally on b.l.o.o.d.y meat; young calves were provided, and driven with each scouting party, to supply food for them.

The Spaniards were supplied with a sufficient number of a.s.sistants to keep the dogs in their leashes. Thus provided, several parties, composed of regular troops, militia, Indians, Spaniards, dogs and calves, started for the interior. Their marches continued in some instances for days before they found even the track of an enemy; but when they found foot-prints of Indians, and the dogs were looked to with confidence to lead on the warlike host, while some more humble officer, following the canine leaders, Spaniards and Indians, was expected to bear aloft the glorious stars and stripes, as they engaged in deadly conflict with the wily foe;--lo! just at that moment, when all hearts were palpitating; while hope was at its height; when the stern resolve clothed each brow with the dark scowl of battle, the dogs were blithe and frolicsome, but paid no more attention to the tracks of the Indians than to those of the ponies on which they sometimes rode.

This grand experiment for closing the Florida War was now p.r.o.nounced a _dead failure_; and the use of dogs, and calves, and Spaniards, was discarded; and the whole affair served no other purpose than to bring odium upon the Administration, and ridicule upon the officers who proposed the employment of blood-hounds to act as allies of the American army.

General Taylor, having had command of the army in Florida nearly two years, and the sickly season having commenced, requested to be relieved from that responsible station. His request was granted, and he left Florida for his plantation in Louisiana. Brevet Brigadier General Armistead, by order of the War Department, a.s.sumed the position from which General Taylor retired.

CHAPTER XIX.

HOSTILITIES CONTINUED.

Presidential Election of 1840--The War discussed as one of the issues--Effect on the Election--Publication of Jay's View--Action of the Executive paralyzed--Spanish Indians--Destruction of Indian Key--Troops inactive--Allies commit new depredations--New Expedient--Its failure--Chiefs invited to Fort King--Exiles refuse to treat--Ma.s.sacre of Lieutenant Sherwood and party--Melancholy fate of Mrs. Montgomery--White men disguised as Indians--Murder of Cora Tustenuggee--Order of Secretary of War--Letter to General Armistead--Bribery of Indians--Mr. Thompson's Bill--Discussion of the causes of the War in Congress--Enemy find protection in large swamps--Their renewed depredations--General distress--People of Florida again driven from their homes--Employed in public service--Their Slaves employed--They become interested in continuing the War.

[Sidenote: 1840.]

The Presidential election of this year was conducted differently from any that had preceded it. The opponents of Mr. Van Buren arraigned him before the people for his extravagance in the expenditure of the public treasure, and the immense losses which the nation sustained by the default and irresponsibility of officers appointed by him. It const.i.tutes an era in our political history, from which we date the practice of calling directly upon the people to pa.s.s judgment of condemnation upon the action of our National Executive. Every honorable means was resorted to for the purpose of exposing the errors of the Administration during the previous four years.

Among the subjects made prominent before the country, was that of the extravagant expenditures in prosecuting the "Florida War." Speeches were made in Congress exposing the various practices by which the people's money was squandered in that unfortunate conflict; the policy of attempting to compel the Indians to emigrate, and the cruelty practiced towards them, were commented on with severity. These speeches were printed in pamphlet form, and sent to the people in vast numbers: but the real cause of the war, the deep depravity of that policy which sought the enslavement of the Exiles, was not mentioned; nor does it appear that any member of Congress was conscious, even, that such a people as the Exiles was living in Florida.[126] But, nevertheless, it is quite certain that this war proved one of the princ.i.p.al causes of Mr.

Van Buren's defeat; and, during the pendency of the election, these complaints paralyzed the action of the Executive.

Another cause operated to call public attention to the war. Hon. William Jay, of New York, published a small book upon the action of our Government in regard to slavery. It was a work of much merit, and, coming from the pen of one so intimately a.s.sociated with the best interests of the country, it exerted an influence upon the public mind.

It had been published some two or three years; but at the time of which we are writing, it attracted attention in most of the free States, and gave public men to understand that their official acts were to be made known to coming generations.

The intimate relation which this war bore to slavery, rendered every movement in regard to it dangerous to the Executive character, and caused our army to be almost inactive for several months; but the allies, driven to desperation, prepared to wreak their vengeance on every white person who should venture within their reach. A small band, composed of Spanish negroes and Indians, among whom were said to be some maroons from Cuba, resided far down in the Peninsula of Florida. They were called Spanish Indians, and had remained neutral up to the period of which we are speaking; but finding their brethren driven from their own possessions, and compelled to encroach upon the territory so long occupied by themselves, they took up arms against the United States.

Every vessel that happened to be wrecked upon their coast was plundered, and the crews ma.s.sacred.

On the morning of the seventh of August, a number of these people, said to have been led on by Spanish maroons, crossed over to a small island called "Indian Key," situated at some twenty miles distant from the main land, and attacked the dwellings, burned the storehouses, and destroyed most of the property belonging to the inhabitants. There were but four or five families resident on the island. Of these, Dr. Perrine, a man of some distinction, was murdered in his own house; but, by his valor, he enabled the other members of his family to escape, amid the darkness of night. The allies obtained much plunder, but found no powder, which was said to have been the princ.i.p.al object of the foray.

During the summer and autumn, our troops in Florida were inactive. The season was sickly, and the officers and men lay supinely in their encampments. The enemy felt secure in their strong-holds--sallying forth in occasional forays, murdering the people, and plundering the settlements with impunity. The Administration appeared astonished at the audacity with which a few Indians and negroes hurled defiance at our army and the nation. The expedient of employing savages to a.s.sist in the war had failed; the more questionable policy of employing blood-hounds, had not only failed, but was supposed by many to reflect discredit upon the army and nation. Nearly five thousand troops were kept in Florida, maintained at vast expense; but they could neither conquer the Indians, nor even protect the white people. Under these circ.u.mstances, the Executive saw but one resource; of that he availed himself. By his direction, twelve Seminole and Mickasukie Indians, who had emigrated West, were induced by sufficient pecuniary considerations to leave their families in the Western Country and return to Florida, for the purpose of persuading the Indians and Exiles to emigrate. Thus, after four years of war and constant expenditure of blood and treasure, the President discovered that moral power is greater and stronger than physical violence.

But this discovery came too late. He could no longer do justice to those fathers and mothers and children who had been slain, nor to those who had been enslaved; who had been taken far into the interior, sold and transferred from hand to hand like brutes. They had pa.s.sed from Executive control. The crime now stained our national escutcheon, and no effort could wash it out. The very means which he adopted to close the war, operated to prolong it. These Seminoles and Mickasukies informed their brethren of their own condition, of the manner in which they were treated, and the violations of faith on the part of our Government in not giving them a territory for their separate use, as stipulated in the treaty, and constantly represented to them by our officers; that they were without a home and without a country, residing on Cherokee lands, under Cherokee protection, to prevent the Creeks from enslaving their friends, the Exiles. Many officers at the time doubted their desire to induce the emigration of their brethren.[127]

They, however, obtained an interview between the Commanding General and two Seminole chiefs at Fort King. The chiefs were attended by some forty warriors, who remained in that vicinity four or five days, receiving food and articles of clothing from the United States; but they suddenly disappeared, and it was believed they originally came with hostile, rather than pacific, intentions. When it was found they had left clandestinely, the troops attempted to follow them, but were unable to find any traces of their flight.

While these things were transpiring, the army lay idle in their quarters; neither the Executive, nor the Secretary of War, nor the Commanding General, knowing what to do.

The Exiles learned from the Seminoles and Mickasukies, who visited them from the West, that many of their brethren who surrendered under the articles of capitulation, had been reenslaved, in violation of our plighted faith; and they refused to hold further intercourse with the agents of our Government. To them there appeared but one alternative--victory or death; and they greatly preferred the latter to slavery. Taking their families far into the interior, they hastened to renew the war with vigor and energy.

A party of some thirty Indians and Exiles were lurking about Micanopy, when, on the twenty-eighth of December, Lieutenant Sherwood, Lieutenant Hopson, Sergeant Major Carrol, and ten privates of the 7th Infantry, left Micanopy for the purpose of escorting Mrs. Montgomery, wife of a Lieutenant of that regiment, through the forest to Watkahoota, eight miles distant. The lady was on horseback, while others of the party rode in a wagon drawn by mules, and some marched on foot. The enemy having observed their movements, preceded them to a hommock, about four miles from Micanopy, where they secreted themselves, and awaited the approach of Mrs. Montgomery and party. When they were fairly within the hommock, through which the road pa.s.sed, they were fired upon, and two privates fell dead. The war-whoop was raised, and the little party found themselves confronted by savages. Lieutenant Sherwood is said to have rallied his escort with promptness. Mrs. Montgomery, attempting to get into the wagon, was shot dead. Sherwood very discreetly retreated to the open forest, and dispatched Lieutenant Hopson to Micanopy for a reinforcement. Knowing the impossibility of retreating from Indians, and conscious that they gave no quarter, he bravely determined to defend himself or die on the field. But his a.s.sailants numbered three times as many warriors as he had. They out-flanked and surrounded his ill-fated party, all of whom with himself fell victims to that policy which had brought this war, with all its crimes, upon our nation.

We cannot withhold our sympathy from those patriotic men who enter the public service expecting to act in an honorable sphere in favor of just measures; but who are often made the instruments of injustice, and their lives sacrificed to the spirit and policy of oppression. Our officers and soldiers, serving in this Florida War, were duly conscious of the dishonorable employment in which they were engaged; that they were daily subjected to dangers and death for the purpose of enabling the people of Florida to seize men and women, and sell them into interminable bondage.

Officers and men who would cheerfully meet danger and death upon the field of honorable warfare in defense of freedom, were compelled to meet death in all its various and revolting forms in Florida to uphold oppression, to sustain an inst.i.tution which they abhorred; nor can we wonder that the consciousness of these facts should have created a feeling of hostility between our regular troops and the slaveholders of Florida, who were constantly charging them with inefficiency and want of energy in the capture of negroes. This feeling ran so high that the white men of Florida were charged with disguising themselves as Indians, and actually committing murders and robberies upon mail carriers and express riders, in order to continue hostilities and keep up the war.[128] This feeling greatly increased the embarra.s.sment of the Executive.

A chief named "Cora Tustenuggee," after due consultation with the interpreters sent to induce him to emigrate, concluded to surrender, and go West. He collected his band, numbering about one hundred in all.

Among them were some half breeds, descendants of the pioneer Exiles.

They had intermarried with Indians of this band, and were treated as Indians. While on their way to one of our posts, near Palaklikaha Lake, they were fired upon by a party at dragoons who were said to have been conscious of the intentions of the Indians. This supposed violation of faith was greatly aggravated by the subsequent wanton murder of the chief, after he and his band had quietly submitted as prisoners. These people were immediately sent to Tampa Bay, and then embarked for the Western Country, where they joined their brethren, still resident on the Cherokee lands, and under Cherokee protection.

The Presidential election being past, the Executive felt more untrammeled; and Mr. Poinsett, Secretary of War, resisting the instruction which he might have drawn from four years of unfortunate experience, appears to have determined to leave this Florida War in as unpromising condition as he found it. He sent instructions to the Commanding General to renew the war with whatever force he could bring into the field.

It is a somewhat singular fact, that when the Secretary understood, and the country was fully informed, that he would leave the Department on the fourth of March, he wrote the commanding officer on the eighteenth of February, thirteen days prior to his own political dissolution, saying, "The Department entertains the well-grounded hope that you will be able to bring the war to a close upon the terms required by the treaty of Payne's Landing, and by the _interests and feelings of the people of Florida_."

The reader must be aware that the _feelings and interests_ of the people of Florida _required_ the capture and enslavement of the Exiles; for which the Secretary of War had so long labored, and which appeared to be his ruling pa.s.sion--"strong in the hour of his political death."