The army reached Fort Prince George on the 27th of May, (1761,) and there old Attakullakulla made his appearance, deprecating the proposed vengeance of the whites upon his people. He was told that the English still felt the strongest regard for him individually, but that the illwill and misconduct of the majority of the nation were too palpable and gross to be suffered to go longer unpunished. Colonel Grant marched from the fort in the month of June, and advanced nearly to the spot where Montgomery's progress had been arrested, before coming to an engageHere the Cherokees, on the 10th, made a desperate but unavailing stand; they were routed and dispersed, leaving their towns and villages of the interior to be destroyed by the invaders. Etchoe was burned on the day following the battle; and, according to McCall, "all the other towns in the middle settlement, fourteen in number, shared the same fate the corn, cattle, and other stores of the enemy, were likewise destroyed, and those miserable savages, with their families, were driven to seek shelter and subsistence among the barren mountains."

ment.

Upon the return of the army to Fort Prince George, after this campaign, Attakullakulla again visited the camp, bringing with him a number of other Cherokee chiefs. Broken down by their disastrous losses, and disgusted with the deceitful promises of the French, they gladly acceded to such terms as Colonel Grant thought fit to impose, and a treaty of peace was formally concluded.

26

CHAPTER III.

CAPTAIN STEUART'S AGENCY. — DISTURBANCE IN 1767.-VISIT OF TECUMSEH TO THE SOUTHERN TRIBES.-WEATHERFORD.-SACK OF FORT MIMMS.-WAR OF 1813. - GENERAL JACKSON'S

CAMPAIGN.

BATTLES ON THE TALLUSAHATCHEE, AT TALLADEGA, AUTOSSEE, ETC. -THE HALLIBEES.— - DEFEAT OF THE INDIANS AT HORSE-SHOE BEND.- -END OF THE WAR.

In the year 1762, it was thought advisable by the English government to appoint a general agent and superintendent of Indian affairs at the south. Partly through the earnest intervention of Attakullakulla, but especially because of his known sagacity and influence over the native tribes, this office was conferred upon Captain John Steuart. Upon entering on the duties of his appointment, he called a great council of deputies, from all the southern tribes, at Mobile. Addressing the assembled chiefs in their own style of oratory, he explained to them the relations then existing between France and England, impressing upon them the idea that all residing east of the Mississippi, must now look to the English for supplies and protection. He directed his harangue to the several nations in separate succession, promising entire amnesty to all who had taken up the hatchet in behalf of the French; commending those who had remained faithful to the English; and excusing those who had sided with the enemy, as the victims of deception.

It was proposed to adopt, at this time, a more just and equable policy towards the Indians than had heretofore been used, and to take the necessary steps to secure them against the deception of unprincipled speculators. Affairs, accordingly, looked peaceful and prosperous for some years. The natives made over a large additional tract of

land to the growing colony of Georgia, to be sold, and the avails applied to the discharge of the heavy debts they had incurred for supplies of ammunition, clothing, &c. The following circumstance sufficiently evinces the policy of mild measures towards the Indians: In 1767, the whites having made encroachments upon the Indian lands, some of the Creek warriors began to retaliate by stealing horses which they found upon their own territory. A party of them also attacked a store at Trader's Hill, on the St. Mary's, belonging to one Lemmons, and after plundering it of its contents, burned the buildings. Some of the whites pursued these marauders; recovered the stolen horses; laid hands upon what valuable goods they could discover, and destroyed the villages of the offenders. Far less important affairs have often led to long and bloody wars with the natives; but, in this instance, Governor Wright, at Savannah, restored perfect quiet by decreeing mutual restorations and compensation.

No events of very striking interest connected with the Indians of the Southern States, call for our attention from this period to that of the wars with the western tribes in the early part of the present century. Until they became, to a certain extent, involved in those hostilities, they remained in comparative peace with the American whites. After the termination of the Revolutionary War, and the establishment of the independence of the United States, the intrigues of opposing parties no longer operated to foment disturbance, or to tempt the unfortunate savages to engage in quarrels where they had nothing to gain, and which ever resulted in their final discomfiture.

By a steady increase of numbers, and the adventurous spirit of pioneers, the white settlers every where made advances upon the Indian territory. Sometimes large acquisitions would be made by a government purchase; but to no small extent, the opinion that the occupation of a few

roving savages could give no natural title to lands, as opposed to the claims of those who had reclaimed, enclosed, and improved the wilderness, satisfied the consciences of the encroachers. The argument in favor of this conclusion is by no means without force; but who can take upon himself to draw the line of demarcation which shall decide, upon any principle of universal application, the bounds of so artificial a right as the ownership of land?

In the autumn of 1811, the great Shawanee chief Tecumseh, in pursuance of his bold and extensive plans for a universal association of the Indians against the whites, made a tour among the southern tribes. His eloquent appeals, and the overpowering energy which distinguished this truly great man, proved successful in the winning over to his views of no small number of the Indian warriors, even among those who had long maintained a friendly intercourse with the Americans and the government of the United States.

At the time of the declaration of war with England, (June 18th, 1812,) the whole western border of the United States was in a position of the greatest danger and insecurity. The machinations of Tecumseh and the Prophet had roused an extensive flame of vindictive ferocity throughout the Indian nations, while British agents, it is said, were widely dispersed, and, by munificent promises and artful persuasions, had still farther widened the breach between the savages and their white countrymen. Frightful scenes of depredation and murder called for a prompt and decisive check. Many minor forays are recorded, but the destruction of Fort Mimms in the Tensau settlement of Mississippi, in the summer of the year following, may be considered the first important part taken by the southern tribes in the wars of this period. We shall not undertake, in our brief account of the Indian campaign of 1813, to keep up a distinction between the different tribes of

Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Cherokees, &c., who were drawn into hostilities.

Prominent among the chiefs and leaders of the southern confederacy, was the celebrated Weatherford. His mother was said to have been a Seminole, but he was born among the Creeks. He was, beyond question, possessed of many noble and commanding qualities, but these were combined with cruelty, avarice, and degrading vices. A party of about one thousand warriors, led by this popular chief, fell upon the devoted Fort Mimms, on the 30th of August, 1813. The post was garrisoned by one hundred and sixty efficient soldiers; the rest of its occupants, to the number of one hundred and fifteen, consisted of old men, women and children. The forces were under the command of Major Beasly. No regular preparations had been made for the reception of so powerful an enemy, and although the soldiers did their duty manfully, they were overpowered, and all slain except seventeen. The women and children having ensconced themselves in several blockhouses, met with a more terrible fate. The savages set fire to the buildings, and consumed them, together with their inmates.

The settlers inhabiting exposed districts were now obliged to fly for safety to places of protection, and the hostile hordes of Indians were collecting their warriors for further inroads upon the frontier. To resist them, a large force was called into requisition in Tennessee, and the command bestowed upon General Andrew Jackson. Colonel Coffee, at the head of a considerable body of troops, and such volunteers as could be immediately collected, hastened forward to defend the country in the vicinity of Huntsville. General Jackson, although disabled at this time, by a broken arm, determined to take the field in person, and pushed on the necessary preparations with all that zeal and energy which marked his character through life.