Taken from Pickett's History of Alabama
* Sejour dans la nation Creck, par Le Clerc Milfort, pp. 240,
252,
21&, 219.
When the Creeks returned from war with captives, they marched into
their town with shouts and the firing of guns. They stripped them
naked and put on their feet bear-skins moccasins, with the hair
exposed. The punishment was always left to the women, who examined
their bodies for the their war-marks. Sometimes the young warriors
who
had none of these honorable inscriptions were released and used as
slaves. But the warrior of middle age, even those of advanced
years,
suffered death by fire. The victim's arms were pinoned, and one end
of
a strong grape vine tied around his neck, while the other was
fastened
to the top of a war-pole, so as to allow him to track around a
circle
of fifteen yards. To secure his scalp against fire, tough clay was
placed upon his head. The immense throng of spectators were now
filled
with delight, and eager to witness the inhuman spectacle. The
suffering warrior was not dismayed, but, with a manly and insulting
voice, sang the war-song. The women then made a furious onset with
flaming torches, dripping with hot black pitch, and applied them to
his back, and all parts of his body. Suffering excruciating pain,
he
rushed from the pole with the fury of a wild beast, kicking, biting
and trampling his cruel assailants under foot. But fresh numbers
came
on, and after a long time, and when he was nearly burned to his
vitals, they ceased and poured water upon him to relieve him --
only
to prolong their sport. They renewed their tortures, when with
champing teeth and sparkling eye-balls, he once more broke through
the
demon throng to the extent of his rope, and acted every part that
the
deepest desparation could prompt. Then he died. His head was
scalped,
his body quartered, and the limbs carried over the town in
triumph.*
* Adair, pp. 390-391.
1798: An enumeration of the towns found in the Creek nation by Col.
Hawkins, in 1798, will conclude the notice of the manners and
customs
of these remarkable people, though, hereafter, they will often be
mentioned, in reference to their commerce and wars with the
Americans.
1792: The most populous settlement, with the exception of Mobile, was
upon the Tensaw river and lake of that name. It was composed of
both
whigs and royalists. The latter had been driven from Georgia and
the
Carolinas. Added to these, were men, sui generis, appropriately
called
old Indian countrymen, who had spent much of their lives in Indian
commerce. The most conspicuous and wealthy inhabitant of this
neighborhood was Captain John Linder, a native of the Canton of
Berne,
in Switzerland. He resided many years in Charleston, as a British
engineer and surveyor. There General McGillivray became acquainted
with him, and, during the revolution, assisted in bringing here his
family and large negro property.
In February, 1791, a party of emigrants, consisting of Colonel
Thomas
Kimbil, John Barnett, Robert Sheffield, Barton Hannon, and ---
Mounger, with a wife and children, three of whom were grown, set
out
from Georgia for the Tombigby. Entering the Creek nation, one of
the
children was injured by a fall, which compelled the elder Mounger
and
his younger family to stop upon the trail. They were afterwards
robbed
by the Indians of everything they possessed, and had to make their
way
back to Georgia on foot. The three young Moungers, and the other
emigrants, continued to the Tensaw, passing the creeks and rivers
upon
rafts. They found upon their arrival at Tensaw, the Halls, Byrnes,
Mims, Kilcreas, Steadhams, Easlies, Linders and others. Crossing
the
Alabama and Tombigby upon rafts, they found residing below McIntosh
Bluff, the Bates, Lawrences and Powells. Above there, on the
Tombigby,
they discovered the Danleys, Wheets, Johnsons, McGrews, Hockets,
Freelands, Talleys and Bakers. Among these few people, Colonel
Kimbil
and his little party established themselves, and began the
cultivation
of the soil with their horses, upon the backs of which they had
brought a few axes and ploughs.
The garrison at St. Stephens was composed of one company, commanded
by
Captain Fernando Lisoro. The block house, the residence of the
commandant, and the church, were good buildings, of frame-work,
clay
and plaster. The other houses were small, and covered with cypress
bark. All the inhabitants of this place, and of the country, were
required to labor so many days upon the public works, to take the
oath
of allegiance, and to assist in repelling the depredations of the
Creeks, who stole horses and other property. 1792: Some French
farmers
also lived upon this river, who dwelt in houses made almost
entirely
of clay, while those of the Americans were constructed of small
poles,
in the rudest manner. They all cultivated indigo, which was worth
two
dollars and fifty cents per pound. The burning of tar engaged much
of
the time of the Spaniards, still lower down.
1792: Upon Little river, dividing the modern counties of Baldwin
and
Monroe, lived many intelligent and wealthy people, whose blood was
a
mixture of white and Indian. This colony was formed at an early
period, for the benefit of their large stocks of cattle, for the
wild
grass and cane were here never killed by the frost. A most
remarkable
woman, a sister of General McGillivray, lived occasionally among
these
people. Sophia McGillivray, a maiden beautiful in all respects, was
living at her native place, upon the Coosa, when Benjamin Durant, a
man of Huguenot blood, came from South Carolina, to her mother's
house. A youth of astonishing strength and activity, he had
mastered
all who opposed him at home. Being informed by the traders that a
man
in the Creek nation was his superior, he immediately set out for
that
region, to which he had long before been inclined to go. He was
handsome, his complexion was almost as brown as that of the pretty,
dark-eyed Sophia. She went with him to the Hickory Ground, only a
few
miles distant, where many Indians collected, to see the antagonists
meet. They encountered each other, and a tremendous fight ensued.
Durant felled his antagonists to the ground, where he lay, for a
time,
insensible. The conqueror was proclaimed the champion of the
nation.
He soon married Sophia, and went to reside upon one of the estates
of
her father, the wealthy Lachlan McGillivray, situated upon the
Savannah river. During the seige of Savannah, she was there with
her
father, her husband and her little boy Lachlan Durant, who is now
favorably known to many of our modern citizens, and is yet a
resident
of Baldwin county. When the city was surrendered to the Americans,
she
parted from her father, amid a flood of of tears, and set out for
her
native Coosa, while he, as we have seen, sailed with his British
friends to Scotland.
Sophie Durant had an air of authority about her, equal, if not
superior, to that of her brother, Alexander. She was much better
acquainted witht the Indian tongue, for he had long lived out of
the
nation. When, therefore, he held councils in the vicinity of her
residence, she was accustomed to deliver his sentiments in a set
speech, to which the Chiefs listened with delight. Her husband
became
a wealthy man, and "Durant's Bend," * and other places
upon the
Alabama, still preserve his memory. In the summer of 1790, while
McGillivray was at New York, the Creeks threatened to descend upon
the
Tensaw settlers and put the whole of them to death. Mrs. Durant
mounted a horse, with a negro woman upon another, and set out from
Little river, camped out at night, and, on the fourth day, arrived
at
the Hickory Ground, where she assembled the Chiefs, threatened them
with the vengeance of her brother upon his return, which caused the
arrest of the ringleaders, and put a complete stop to their
murderous
intentions. Two weeks afterwards, this energetic and gifted woman
was
delivered of twins, at the Hickory Ground. 1792: One of them
married
James Bailey, who was killed at the fall of Fort Mims, in 1813, and
the other lived to be an old woman. At a later period Mrs. Durant
will
again appear in this history.
* The most remarkable bend upon the Alabama, embracing a large
tract
of land lying between Montgomery and Selma, formerly the property
of
the late Honorable William Smith, and now owned by John Steele, of
Autauga. It was cultivated by Benjamin Durant as early as 1786.
The territory of the present county of Montgomery contained a few
white inhabitants in 1792. Among others, there was a white woman,
who
had lived with her husband at Savannah. He was there a foot soldier
in
one of the British regiments, but deserted from the army, when she
fled with him to the Chattahoochie. He died at Cusseta, and his
bold
and adventurous wife continued to wander through the Creek nation,
and
finally settled in the territory of the present county of
Montgomery,
upon the eastern side of a creek, which still bears her name, for
she
was called by no other than that of "Milly." Here, among
the Cuwalla
Indians, she established herself, without husband, father,
children,
or even a single friend. Espousing one of the sons of the forest,
she
soon began to have comforts around her. Her stock of cattle became
large, to which was added in a few years, a large drove of ponies.
For
many years Milly lived alone upon this creek. The trading path
leading
from Pensacola to Tookabatcha passed by her house. But, at the
period
of 1792, her solitary hours were agreeably relieved by the prattle
of
a little white girl. In 1790, a party of Creeks advanced to the
Georgia frontiers, and, surrounding the house of one Scarlett,
killed
him and his wife and children. A little girl, named Tempey Ellis,
about eight years old, the child of a neighbor, was in the house at
the time, and, when the attack was made, she concealed herself
under
the bed. After all the family lay upon the floor, in the sleep of
death, a warrior discovered Tempey Ellis, and, dragging her out by
the
hair, raised his hatchet to kill her; but, reflecting that he could
possibly obtain a handsome sum for her ransom, he placed her on his
horse and carried her to Auttose, on the Tallapoosa. Here she was
often beaten, and made to bring water from the springs. 1792: One
day
Milly heard that the Auttoses had a white girl in slavery. She
immediately mounted her pony, rode to Auttose, paid ten ponies and
six
head of cattle for Tempey, and the next day carried this
unfortunate
child to her house. For several years she acted the part of a most
affectionate mother. Subsequently the child was delivered to
Seagrove,
the Creek Agent, at St. Mary's, and was sent from thence to her
friends in Georgia. Old Milly was exceedingly attached to Tempey,
and
gave her up with great reluctance.*
* I have conversed with Tempey Ellis. She is now a respectable old
woman, the wife of Mr. Thomas Frizell, residing in Pike county,
Alabama.
Near the prairies, within a few miles of this solitary woman, lived
William Gregory, a native of one of the States, who had resided for
years among the Indians. He was now a stockkeeper, and lived in a
cabin, which contained his Indian family. As far as the eye could
reach over the beautiful and gently rolling plains his cattle and
horses fed, undisturbed by man or beast. It is said that William
Gregory was a kind-hearted man, who fed the wanderer "without
money
and without price," and who, even in a lawless land, possessed
a heart
which prompted him to be honest.
In 1785 came also into this neighborhood a Jew, named Abram
Mordecai,
a native of Pennsylvania, and who established a trading house at
the
spot where now stands the house of Mrs. Birch, two miles west of
Line
Creek. Here also lived James Russell, another trader, who, being a
tory, had sought this place to be rid of whig persecution. A tory,
named Love, and Dargan, a Dutchman and notorious horse thief, lived
near the site of Mount Megs, where they carried on a small
commerce.
All these traders had Indian wives except Mordecai, whose faithful
spouse was Indian considerably darkened with the blood of Ham.
At Econchate, Red Ground, now embracing the southern suburbs of the
city of Montgomery, lived several white traders. Charles
Weatherford
established a trading house upon the first eastern bluff below the
confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, and laid out the first
race-paths ever known in East Alabama. Often would the noted horse
thief, fresh from the frontiers of Georgia, here for the first time
try the speed of his stolen ponies.
1792: The most blood-thirsty, fiendish and cruel white man that
ever
inhabited any country was Savannah Jack, or, as he was universally
called by this outlawed world, "Savaner Jack," who lived
at Souvanoga,
upon the Tallapoosa. He boasted that he had killed so many women
and
children, upon the Cumberland and Georgia frontiers, in company
with
his town's people, that he could swim in their blood if it was
collected in one pool.
Thus we see that the territory of Montgomery county, now the focus
of
so much wealth and intelligence, was then a wilderness, inhabited
by
Indians and the few singular characters who have been named.
Indeed,
all over the territory of Alabama and Mississippi, wherever an
Indian
town of importance was found, white traders lived. Some of them
became
wealthy, but like all property acquired in a commerce with Indians,
it
generally left the owner in his old age. One of these up-country
traders, "Woccocoie Clarke," living at Woccocoie, in the
modern Coosa
county, transported his merchandise and skins upon seventy
pack-horses. His squaw, who was of great assistance to him, he
called
Queen Anne, for Clarke was an Englishman.
Besides skins of various kinds, the traders bought up beeswax,
hickory-nut oil, snake-root, together with various medicinal barks,
and transported them to Augusta and Pensacola on packhorses, and to
Mobile and New Orleans in large canoes. The pack-horses used in
this
trade were generally small ones, raised in the nation, but were
capable of sustaining heavy loads and of enduring great fatigue. A
saddle of a peculiar shape was first placed upon the pony. The load
consisted of three bundles, each weighing sixty pounds. Two of
these
bundles were suspended across the saddle, and came down by the
sides
of the pony, while the third was deposited on top of the saddle.
The
whole pack was covered with a skin to keep off the rain. Thus the
pony
sustained a load of one hundred and eighty pounds. Even liquids
were
conveyed in the same manner. Taffai, a mean rum, was carried on
these
horses in small kegs. Indeed, these hardy animals transported
everything for sale; and even poultry of all kinds was carried in
cages made of reeds strapped upon their backs. A pack-horseman
drove
ten ponies in a lead. He used no lines, but urged them on with big
hickories and terrible oaths. Accustomed to their duty, they,
however,
seldom gave trouble, but jogged briskly along. The route and the
stopping places became familiar, and, as evening approached, the
little fellows quickened their trot with new life and activity.
When
the sun retired over the hills the caravan stopped; the packs were
taken off, piled in a heap, and covered with skins; the horses were
belled and turned out to find their food, which consisted of grass
and
young cane. It was usually late the next morning before the horses
were collected and packed, for no person in an Indian country is
fool
enough to regard time. An attack from the natives upon traders was
of
rare occurrence. They imagined that they needed the supplies which
they brought into their country, and regarding these singular
merchants as their best friends, did not even rob them. A
pack-horseman always drank taffai--it cheered him in the forest and
emboldened him in distress. With a bottle slung by his saddle he
often
indulged, while those before and behind him followed his custom.
Those
going to Pensacola and other places were frequently in want of the
stimulant, and it was customary for the traders, whom they met
coming
from the market, to halt and treat and interchange jokes. The
trader
who suddenly rushed by a thirsty party was long remembered as a
mean
fellow.
1792: Nothing stopped these men on their journey. They swam all
swollen creeks and rafted over their effects or produce. Where they
had no canoes, rivers were crossed in the same manner. If they
reached
a stream having large cane on its banks, these were presently cut,
ten
feet long, and tied up into bundles about three feet in
circumference,
which were placed in the water. Across these others were laid,
which
formed an admirable raft, capable of sustaining great weight. Logs
were, also, often employed in the construction of rafts. Guided by
long grapevines, they were generally dragged safely across to the
opposite side, where the wet ponies stood, ready to receive their
packs again. Then all hands drank taffai, and journeyed on, with
light
hearts and laughing faces. The average travel was twenty-five miles
a
day. The route from Pensacola was a well-beaten path, leading up
the
country and across the fatal Murder Creek, and thence to within a
few
miles of the Catoma, when it diverged into several trails, one of
which led to Tookabatcha, along the route of the old Federal road,
the
other to Montgomery and Wetumpka, by the Red Warrior's Bluff, now
Grey's Ferry, upon the Tallapoosa. This trail continued to the
Tennessee river.*
* Conversations with Abram Mordecai, James Moore, and many other
old
traders; also conversations with Hiram Mounger, of Washington
county,
Mrs. Sophia McComb, Mrs. Howse and Lachlan Durant. In many things,
they are supported by the reports contained in Indian Affairs. vol.
1.
Northward, there were no white settlements between the Alabama
river
and the vicinity of Nashville. Here, in 1792, the Creeks committed
many depredations. They pushed their hostilities to the very doors
of
Nashville. They attacked the house of Thompson, a wealthy and
respectable man, killed the whole family, except his interesting
daughter, just arrived at womanhood, whom they carried in captivity
to
Kialigee, upon the Tallapoosa river, together with an amiable lady,
named Caffrey, with her little son. The unhappy prisoners found in
this town a young woman, named Sarah Fletcher, who had, several
years
before, been captured in the Miro district, which was also called
Cumberland district. Miss Thompson was ransomed by Riley, a trader,
for eight hundred weight of dressed deer-skins, worth two hundred
and
sixty dollars, and was treated with kindness by her benefactor, and
restored to her friends. Mrs. Caffrey was separated from her son,
beaten with sticks, scratched with gar's teeth, and made to work in
the fields. After two years, she was also carried to Nashville, but
without her boy. The little fellow became an Indian in his
feelings,
and, when he had been in the nation five years, it was with
difficulty
that Mordecai could separate him from his Indian playmates, and
carry
him to Seagrove. That gentleman sent him to Governor Blount, and he
finally reached his mother's arms. The bloody Coosawdas, who lived
upon the Alabama, were frequently out upon the Cumberland, engaged
in
the massacre of the settlers and the plunder of their effects.
Captain
Isaacs, the Chief of this town, returned, in 1792, with Elizabeth
Baker, a young lady from Cumberland. How miserable and lonely must
have been the journey, with these sanguinary warriors, who bore the
scalps of her father, mother, brothers and sisters, daily suspended
upon poles before her eyes. When she arrived in Coosawda, the
savages
hung their trophies upon the council-house, and danced around them
with exulting shouts. But she found a friend in Charles
Weatherford,
who lived across the river. He ransomed Miss Baker, and placed her
in
charge of his wife, Sehoy, the half sister of General McGillivray,
and
the mother of the celebrated William Weatherford, who will figure
in
this history hereafter. The unfortunate captive ultimately reached
her
friends. It would be an endless task, to enumerate all the
instances
of murder and captivity which occurred upon the frontiers of
Georgia
and Tennessee.*
* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 431-433-270-274-634.
_________________________________________________________________
Dec 1801: Emigrants flocked to the Mississippi Territory by various
routes, all of which were difficult, and some of them very
circuitous.
A party set out from North Carolina, consisting of Thomas Malone, a
young clerk in the land office of Raleigh; John Murrel and his
family;
James Moore, Goodway Myrick, George Nosworthy, Robert Caller,
William
Murrel, and sixty negroes. With great difficultly they ascended the
Blue Ridge with their wagons, and descended through its dark gorges
into the valley of the Tennessee. Constructing flat-boats at
Knoxville, they floated down the river to the head of the Muscle
Shoals, where they disembarked at the house of Double-Head, a
Cherokee
Chief. Placing their effects upon the horses, which had been
brought
down by land from Knoxville, they departed on foot for the "Bigby
settlements," about St. Stephen's, a great distance off, and
to which
not a solitary direct path led. After a fatiguing march, they
reached
the residence of Levi Colbert, a celebrated Chickasaw Chief, who
gave
them the necessary directions. Pursuing their journey, they came
upon
the Tombigby, at the Cotton Gin, which had not long before been
erected by the Federal Government to encourage the Chickasaws in
the
cultivation of the great staple.
* Public Lands, vol. 1, p. 114.
Jan. 1802: Desiring to lessen the fatigues of the long and painful
trip, the party constructed two canoes at this point, each forty
feet
in length, and very large, but of miserable workmanship, being
executed with no other tools than axes and grubbing hoes. These
they
placed in the river, in parallel positions, five feet apart. They
were
connected by a platform made of cane, upon which were deposited the
effects of the expedition, which were piled up high above the heads
of
the emigrants, who now sat down in long rows in the two canoes. A
few
of the men went by land with the horses towards St. Stephens, to
make
preparations for the arrival of the main party. This rude and
singular
craft, then quite common in savage regions, had proceeded but two
miles down the rapid, crooked and swollen stream, when it struck
with
great force against a log, which extended half across the channel,
and
immediately disappeared. The cane ligament which bound the Siamese
canoes burst asunder, and every soul was washed deep under the
waves.
Those who rose again were presently seen struggling with the
torrent,
amid the wreck, now tossed about in the fury of the waters. Murrel
rose, but in his arms was the lifeless body of a daughter. His wife
also came to the surface, with a babe at her breast, both, happily,
alive. Malone and others, swimming ashore, became active in
assisting
many of the party in reaching limbs of trees by extending to them
grapevines and canes. At length, all who survived huddled upon a
small
piece of land, surrounded by water.
It was now night. The north wind swept over the gloomy swamp. The
ducks, in their rapid flight, whizzed through the air. The wolves
howled upon the prairies. The owls screamed and hooted upon the
lofty
trees. The mighty timber crashed as the angry currents passed by.
Such
were the unwelcome sounds that fell upon the ears of this miserable
party. No succor came. No encouraging voice saluted them. Benumbed
with cold, they hovered together to keep alive, shivering and
knocking
their agitated limbs against each other, while their wet apparel
froze
fast upon them. Being without fire, they had no way to produce one.
It
was two miles back to the old camp, and the route lay over thick
cane,
water and small islands. A resolute young negro man volunteered to
find it. He plunged into the low grounds, and, strangely, made his
way
to the camp. In the meantime, the helpless pioneers, despairing of
his
return, bewailed their condition with deep moans and bitter
lamentations. Beneath the shadows of one of the darkest nights ever
known, they mournfully counted over the missing and the drowned.
Two
long hours passed away, when the cheerful halloo of the negro was
heard afar off. It was answered by a united and sympathetic shout.
All
eyes were turned in the direction from which the sound came, and in
the darkness was seen an indistinct light, which shone over the
tops
of the distant canes like a far-off Aurora Borealis. It was fire,
and
the noble negro had brought it from the old camp. At length he
came,
with a cracking, crashing noise, familiar only to the ears of those
who have walked through the dense cane swamps of Alabama.
Fires were kindled with dry cane, and around them sat the sufferers
until the morning sun dispelled the horrid night. It was now
ascertained that one white child and twenty-one negroes were
entombed
beneath the tide of the angry Tombigby. The survivors groped their
way
to the Cotton Gin, without provisions, without hats, without tools,
without firearms, without money, and with no clothes except those
which drooped upon their limbs They were friendless and alone in a
savage country, far from their point of destination, and still
further
from their native land.
Who saved these people from starvation, and enabled them to reach
Washington county, Alabama, after a journey of one hundred and
twenty
days from North Carolina? Not the Indians, for one of them stole a
negro from the brave Malone, for the return of whom he had to give
his
watch. Those animals who cling to their unfortunate masters to the
last moment, and are never once guilty of the crime of ingratitude,
who hunted rabbits, opossums and raccoons for their famished
owners.
They saved the lives of these people.
1799: Several years previous to this period two brothers from New
England came to the Boat Yard, upon Lake Tensaw. William Pierce
pursued the business of weaving, a profitable employment in those
days. His brother John established the first American school in
Alabama. There the high-blood descendants of Lachlan McGillivray,
the
Taits, Weatherfords and Durants, the aristocratic Linders, the
wealthy
Mims's, and the children of many others, first learned to read. The
pupils were strangely mixed in blood, and their color was of every
hue. It was not long before these Yankee brothers engaged in
mercantile pursuits. Oct.1802: They established a cotton gin at the
Boat Yard, the first in that part of the country. Six months before
this Ahram Mordecai, an Indian trader, procuring the consent of the
Creek Chiefs and the approbation of Col. Hawkins, had established a
cotton gin at Weatherford's race track, on the first eastern bluff
below the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa. It was built by
Lyons
& Barnett, of Georgia, who brought their tools, gin saws and
other
materials from that State on pack-horses. The same enterprising
mechanics also built the one for the Pierces, and another at
McIntosh
Bluff, upon the Tombigby.
1802: Abram Mordecai was a queer fellow. He traded extensively with
the Indians, exchanging his goods for pink root, hickory-nut oil
and
peltries of all kinds. These he carried to New Orleans and Mobile
in
boats, and to Pensacola and Augusta on pack-horses. The hickory-nut
oil was a luxury with French and Spanish epicures. It was
manufactured
by the Indians in a simple manner--by boiling the cracked nuts in
water, and skimming off the oil as it floated on the surface.
Mordecai
bought cotton of the Indians in small quantities, ginned it, and
carried it to Augusta on pack-horses, in bags much smaller than
those
of the present day. He was a darkeyed Jew, and amorous in his
disposition. Tourculla, (Captain Isaacs,) the Chief of the
Coosawdas,
hearing of his intrigues with a married squaw, approached his house
with twelve warriors, knocked him down, thrashed him with poles
until
he lay insensible, cut off his ear, and left him to the care of his
wife. They also broke up his boat, and burned down his gin-house. A
pretty squaw was the cause of the destruction of the first cotton
gin
in Alabama.*
* Conversations with Lachlan Durant, James Moore, Abram Mordecai,
and
many other old traders.
1803: General Bowles, quitting the island where Ellicott found him,
boldly advanced into the Creek nation, disturbed the mild and
beneficial influence which Hawkins had began to engender, declared
his
eternal hostility to Spain and the United States, and became an
object
of dread to all quiet minds, and a terror to all interests against
which he acted. Among other outrages, he headed a party of Indians,
advanced upon St. Marks, captured the fort, and plundered the store
of
Panton, Leslie & Co. Hawkins united with the Spanish
authorities in a
scheme to rid the country of a common enemy. A large secret reward
was
offered for his capture. A great feast was given by the Indians at
the
town of Tuskegee, where the old French Fort Toulouse stood, to
which
Bowles and the Miccasoochy Chiefs were invited. They attended, and
during the feast the unsuspecting freebooter was suddenly seized by
concealed Indians, who sprang upon him, securely pinioned him and
placed him in a canoe full of armed warriors. They then rapidly
rowed
down the river. Hawkins and John Forbes, of Pensacola, were in the
town, but were concealed, until Sam McNac, a half-breed, had caused
Bowles to be made a prisoner. Arriving at a point in the present
Dallas county, the canoe was tied up, the prisoner conducted upon
the
bank, and a guard set over him. In the night the guard fell asleep,
when Bowles gnawed his ropes apart crept down the bank, got into
the
canoe, quietly paddled across the river, entered a thick cane
swamp,
and fled. At the break of day, the astonished Indians arose in
great
confusion, but fortunately saw the canoe on the opposite side,
which
Bowles had foolishly neglected to shove off. Swimming over to that
point, they got upon his track, and by the middle of the day once
more
made him a prisoner. He was conveyed to Mobile, and from thence to
Havana, where, after a few years, he died in the dungeons of Moro
Castle.*
* Conversations with old traders, who were present when Bowles was
captured. See also Indian Affairs, vol. 1.
While the inhabitants of the eastern section were disturbed by
Bowles,
a notorious robber, named Mason, was a terror to the people of the
western part of the Mississippi Territory. During the occupancy of
the
country by the Spaniards, the lair of this remorseless human tiger
was
in a cave upon the Ohio, where he secreted his banditti, and the
booty
which he had acquired in a long and bloody havoc upon the public.
He
had now stationed himself upon the highway between New Orleans and
Natchez, with his two sons and their desperate associates. The
Western
people boated their produce down the Mississippi, sold it in New
Orleans, purchased horses, and returned offered the most extensive
theatre for the operations of Mason and his banditti. Hence his
sanguinary outrages were perpetrated one day in the Chickasaw
nation
and the next upon Pearl river. At length the peope in all parts of
the
country were aroused by his inhuman murders, and every hand was
raised
against him. Governor Claiborne declared him an outlaw, and offered
a
large reward for his head. The proclamation was widely distributed,
and fell into the hands of Mason; and while he was reading it with
a
smile of scorn and contempt, a blow from behind felled him to the
earth. 1803: His sons were out upon an expedition, and he was alone
with two of his men, who, tempted by the reward, now cut off his
head
and bore it to Washington to Governor Claiborne. Fortunately, on
account of a temporary lack of funds in the treasury, the reward
was
not paid. In the meantime, hundreds flocked to the governor's
quarters
to see the head of Mason, and it was recognized by many who had
seen
him. Among others went two young men, whose respectable father
Mason
and his gang had waylaid and robbed while they were with him. They
immediately recognized his two associates, who brought in the head.
These men were thrown into prison, condemned and hung, and the
reward
was thus saved to the territory, while Mason was also out of the
way.*
* Monette, vol. 2, pp. 351-353. Conversations with aged persons in
Washington county, Alabama.
April 1803: Down to this period, no Protestant preacher had ever
raised his voice to remind the Tombigby and Tensaw settlers of
their
duty to the Most High. Hundreds, born and bred in the wilderness,
and
now adult men and women, had never even seen a preacher. The
mysterious and eccentric Lorenzo Dow, one day suddenly appeared at
the
Boat Yard. He came from Georgia, across the Creek nation,
encountering
its dangers, almost alone. He proclaimed the truths of the gospel
here, to a large audience, crossed over the Alabama, and preached
two
sermons to the "Bigby settlers," and went from thence to
the Natchez
settlements, where he also exhorted the people to "turn from
the error
of their ways." Dec. 27 1804: He then visited the Cumberland
region
and Kentucky, and came back to the Tombigby, filling his
appointments
to the very day. Again plunging into the Creek nation, this holy
man
of God once more appeared among the people of Georgia.*
* Lorenzo Dow's complete works," pp. 76-101.
As early as the summer of 1799, the Rev. Tobias Gibson, a Methodist
missionary from South Carolina, visited the Natchez settlements, by
way of the Cumberland and Ohio--organized religious societies in
Washington and its vicinity, and then departed from the wilderness.
In
the fall of 1800, he again appeared, now as a missionary from the
Tennessee Conference, and formed societies from Bayou Pierre to the
Spanish line, numbering, collectively, two hundred church members.
After performing the most arduous labor in the cause of our Divine
Master, for three years, in this rude and savage land, he died. The
Rev. Mr. Brown, another Methodist missionary, came from Tennessee
in
1802, and brought with him to the Natchez country, a mind stored
with
a knowledge of science, and a heart fervent with piety. He labored
in
Natchez until 1807. Montgomery and Hall, two reverend gentlemen of
the
Presbyterian order, also preached in Natchez for several years. The
Baptists, too, sent a "laborer into the vineyard," in the
person of
the Rev. David Cooper, who arrived in 1802. Dr. Cloud, of the
Episcopal Church, was also sent to "proclaim the glad
tidings." The
efforts of these various sects were highly salutary, serving to
soften
and refine the people, and to banish much sin and vice from the
worst
region that ministers ever entered. *
* Monette, vol 2, pp. 354-357
Mar. 3 1803: Congress established regulations respecting the
English,
Spanish and Georgia grants. Many of the inhabitants claimed
extensive
tracts of land under them. A land office was established at the
town
of Washington, and a board of commissioners formed, composed of
Thomas
Rodney and Robert Williams, who proceeded to consider all claims
arising under these grants, in a district extending from Pearl
river
to the Mississippi. July 9: They continued in office until the 3d
July, 1807, having recorded two thousand and ninety claims. Their
acts
were sanctioned by the President. Feb. 2 1804: Another board of
commissioners, consisting of Joseph Chambers, Epham Kirby and
Robert
Carter Nicholas, was formed at St. Stephens, upon the Tombigby,
whose
district extended from Pearl river eastward. They adjourned on the
21st December, 1805, having admitted to record two hundred and
seventy-six claims, which the President likewise ratified. The
inhabitants living upon public lands about the time of Ellicott's
survey, were afterwards allowed by the government a section of
land;
and those who came just before the board of commissioners was
established, received a quarter section. Mar. 27: Isaac Briggs was
surveyor-general. The Territorial government was made to extend to
the
southern boundary of the State of Tennessee; but the extinguishment
of
the Indian title had been obtained to no portion, except a strip
seventy miles long, above and below Natchez, and extending back
twenty
miles, and the small district upon the Tombigby. The balance of the
territory was occupied by the Creeks, Cherokees, Chickasaws and
Choctaws.
Col. James Caller, of North Carolina, was one of the first
representatives to the Legislative Council, from the county of
Washington, Alabama. The first County Court of this county was held
at
McIntosh Bluff, where John Caller, Cornelius Rain and John Johnson,
presided with great frontier dignity. These justices had no code
before them, and coming from different States, decided cases
according
to the laws of their native land, so that the most amusing
differences
of opinion often prevailed. This was the case all over the
territory;
but the Justices from Georgia holding the laws of South Carolina,
North Carolina, Virginia, and the whole of New England in great
contempt, contended that the practice in the State from which they
came, was alone correct. With their usual success, they generally
managed to carry their points.
-->
Nov. 14 1805: Nothing but an Indian trail led from the Oconee to
the
Alabama river at Lake Tensaw. The houses of accommodation were few,
kept by Indians and half-breeds, and were of the most indifferent
kind. None of the rivers were provided with 1805 ferry-boats, nor
were
the creeks bridged. Oct. 7: The Federal Government, desiring to
open a
better avenue to the new country, obtained from a delegation of
thirty
Creek Chiefs and warriors, then at Washington city, the right of
using
a horse-path through their country, along which the Chiefs agreed
to
establish ferries and bridges, and to open good houses of
accommodation. The Cherokees, at Tellico Blockhouse, granted the
right
for a mail route from Knoxville to New Orleans by way of the
Tombigby.
July 23: The United States also acquired more territory from the
Chickasaws,who ceded about three hundred and fifty thousand acres,
lying in the bend of the Tennessee, a very small portion of which,
in
the shape of a triangle, fell into Alabama and was afterwards
formed
into the county of Madison.
Nov. 16: At Mount Dexter, the Choctaws ceded to the government five
millions of acres, commencing at the Cut-Off, at a point half way
between the Alabama and Tombigby, running north to the Choctaw
corner,
west to Fulluctabuna Old Fields, thence across the Tombigby to the
Mississippi settlements, thence south to Ellicott's line, and east
along that line back to the Cut-Off. *
* Indian Affairs and Land Laws.
Thus the whole southern portion of the present State of Mississippi
was thrown open to the Americans. The new purchase was soon formed
into three counties--Marion, Wayne and Greene. A population from
Georgia and Tennessee poured into the magnificent forest north of
the
Tennessee, about "Hunt's Spring," which had been obtained
from the
Chickasaws, as just mentioned. The population of the Mississippi
Territory had much increased, Natchez had become a large town,
where
boats going down and up the great river landed and traded, while
the
crews engaged in fights, drunkenness, gambling, and all kinds of
debaucheries. It was the greatest thoroughfare in the whole forest
world, and was decidedly a most abandoned place.
The subject of education was not neglected, and Jefferson College
had
been established at Ellicott's Spring, in the vicinity of the town
of
Washington. Many improvements, in the way of houses, farms and new
towns, gave the territory an air of civilization.
_________________________________________________________________
Pickett's History of Alabama - Chapter 35 -
Tecumseh -- Civil War Among
The Creeks
CHAPTER XXXV.
TECUMSEH--CIVIL WAR AMONG THE CREEKS.
The United States and Great Britain were upon the verge of war.
British agents, in Canada and Florida, sought to procure the
co-operation of the whole southwestern Indian force. The Creeks,
more
powerful in numbers than the others, were particularly urged to
join
the English. 1811: Colonel Hawkins had managed them, with much
wisdom
and policy, for several years, but they always remained
dissatisfied,
and were particularly so now, in consequence of a portion of their
Chiefs having granted a public road through the heart of their
country, which had been cut out by Lieutenant Luckett and a party
of
soldiers. This thoroughfare, called the "Federal Road,"
and which run
from Mims' Ferry, upon the Alabama, to the Chattahoochie, was
filled,
from one end to the other, with emigrants for the western part of
the
territory. The Creeks, with their usual sagacity, foresaw that they
should soon be hemmed in by the Georgians on one side, and the
Tombigby people on the other, and many of them contemplated the
expulsion of the latter, at some day not very distant. The
Spaniards
also hated the emigrants, who had continued to drive them, inch by
inch, from the soil which they claimed. With both them and the
Indians
the British agents began to operate, to make secret allies of the
one
and open ones of the other. But the most powerful British
incendiary
was Tecumseh. His father and mother, of the Shawnee family, were
born
and bred at Souvanogee,* upon the Tallapoosa, in Alabama. With
several
children, they removed to the forest of Ohio, where Tecumseh was
born,
in 1768. He had five brothers, who were all celebrated for the
human
blood which they spilt and for their indomitable courage. His only
sister, Tecumapease, a woman of great sense and strong character,
he
devotedly loved, and was much influenced by her. In 1787 he visited
the Cherokees and Creeks, with whom he remained two years, engaging
in
their hunts, festivals and frontier wars. Returning to the Ohio, he
fought a battle with a party of whites, near Big Rock, and another,
with the Kentuckians, on the Little Miami, and still another, at
Paint
Rock, in 1793. He then engaged in the attack upon Fort Recovery, in
1794, and participated in the battle of Maumee Rapids in the same
year. From that period until that in which we propose to connect
him
with Alabama history, Tecumseh was engaged in British intrigues, in
hunts and in skirmishes. Wherever he appeared, devastation and
havoc
ensued. He possessed a fine form, a commanding appearance, and had
the
endurance common to all Indians, together with a high degree of
sagacity. He entertained the most relentless hatred of the
Americans.
* Old Augusta, now the property of Henry Lucas, on the railroad,
where
there are some mounds.
Spring 1812: After many conferences with the British, at Detroit,
Tecumseh left that country with a party of thirty warriors mounted
upon horses, and shaped his course to the south. Passing through
the
Chickasaw and Choctaw of country, he was unsuccessful in arraying
these tribes against the Americans. He went down to Florida, and
met
with complete success with the Seminoles. In the month of October
he
came up to the Alabama, crossed that river at Autauga, where he,
for
the first time, appealed to the Creeks, in a long speech.
Continuing
to Coosawda, he had by this time, collected many followers, who
went
with him to the Hickory Ground. Having from their boyhood heard of
his
feats in the buffalo chase, the bloody wars which he had conducted,
and of his fierce and transcendent eloquence, the warriors flocked
to
see him. He went to Tookabatcha, where Colonel Hawkins was then
holding his grand council with the Indians. This ancient capital
never
looked so gay and populous. An autumnal sun glittered upon the
yellow
faces of five thousand natives, besides whites and negroes, who
mingled with them. At the conclusion of the agent's first day's
address, Tecumseh, at the head of his Ohio party, marched into the
square. They were entirely naked, except their flaps and ornaments.
Their faces were painted black, and their heads adorned with eagle
plumes, while buffalo tails dragged from behind, suspended by bands
which went around their waists. Buffalo tails were also attached to
their arms, and made to stand out, by means of bands. Their
appearance
was hideous, and their bearing pompous and ceremonious. They
marched
round and round in the square; then, approaching the Chiefs, they
cordially shook them with the whole length of the arm, and
exchanged
tobacco, a common ceremony with the Indians, denoting friendship,
as
we have already seen. Captain Isaacs, Chief of Coosawda, was the
only
one who refused to exchange tobacco. His head, adorned with its
usual
costume--a pair of buffalo horns--was shaken in contempt of
Tecumseh,
who, he said, was a bad man, and no greater than he was.
Every day Tecumseh appeared in the square to deliver his
"talk," and
all ears were anxious to hear it, but late in the evening he would
rise and say, "The sun has gone too far to-day--I will make my
talk
to-morrow." At length Hawkins terminated his business and
departed for
the Agency upon the Flint. That night a grand council was held in
the
great round-house. Tecumseh, presenting his graceful and majestic
form
above the heads of hundreds, made known his mission in a long
speech,
full of fire and vengeance. He exhorted them to return to their
primitive customs; to throw aside the plough and the loom, and to
abandon an agricultural life, which was unbecoming Indian warriors.
He
told them that after the whites had possessed the greater part of
their country, turned its beautiful forests into large fields and
stained their clear rivers with the washings of the soil, they
would
then subject them to African servitude. He exhorted them to
assimilate
in no way with the grasping, unprincipled race; to use none of
their
arms and wear none of their clothes, but dress in the skins of
beasts,
which the Great Spirit had given his red children for food and
raiment, and to use the war-club, the scalping-knife and the bow.
He
concluded by announcing that the British, their former friends, had
sent him from the Big Lakes to procure their services in expelling
the
Americans from all Indian soil; that the King of England was ready
handsomely to reward all who would fight for his cause.
Oct.1812: A prophet, who composed one of the party of Tecumseh,
next
spoke. He said that he frequently communed with the Great Spirit,
who
had sent Tecumseh to their country upon this mission, the character
of
which that great Chief had described. He declared that those who
would
join the war party should be shielded from all harm--none would be
killed in battle; that the Great Spirit would surround them with
quagmires, which would swallow up the Americans as they approached;
that they would finally expel every Georgian from the soil as far
as
the Savannah; that they would see the arms of Tecumseh stretched
out
in the heavens at a certain time, and then they would know when to
begin the war. *
* The British officers in Canada had told him when a comet would
appear, and that he might use that as a sign to delude the Southern
Indians.
A short time before daylight the council adjourned, and more than
half
the audience had already resolved to go to war against the
Americans.
Tecumseh visited all the important Creek towns, enlisting all whom
he
could on the side of England. He had much to overcome, in the
obstinacy of many of the prominent Chiefs, who had become attached
to
the Federal Government, which had lavished upon them munificent
presents. Yet he was, in a great measure, successful. He made use
of
gifted and cunning Indians, to carry out his plans, after he should
have left the country. one of these was Josiah Francis, the son of
a
Creek woman, by a trader of Scotch and Irish descent, named David
Francis.* The Shawnee prophet, it was said, inspired him. He placed
him in a cabin by himself, around which he danced and howled for
ten
days. He said that Francis was then blind, but that he would again
see, and would then know all things which were to happen in future.
When the ten days expired the prophet led him forth, and attended
him
all day, for Francis stepped high and irregular, like a blind man.
Towards night the vision of Francis suddenly came to him, and after
that he was the greatest prophet in the whole Creek nation, and was
empowered to make many subordinate prophets. Tecumseh having made
numerous proselytes, once more visited the Big Warrior at
Tookabatcha,
whom he was particularly desirous to enlist in his schemes, but
whom
he had hitherto entreated to no effect, although his house was his
headquarters. The Big Warrior still remained true to the United
States, more from fear of the consequences of a war than any love
he
entertained for the Americans. Tecumseh, after talking with him for
some time to no purpose pointed his finger in his face and
emphatically said: "Tustinuggee Thlucco, your blood is white.
You have
taken my red sticks and my talk, but you do not mean to fight. I
know
the reason. You do not believe the Great Spirit has sent me. You
shall
believe it. I will leave directly, and go straight to Detroit. When
I
get there I will stamp my foot upon the ground and shake down every
house in Tookabatcha." The Big Warrior said nothing, but
puffed his
pipe and enveloped himself in clouds of smoke. Afterwards he
thought
much upon this remarkable speech.
* This David Francis lived for many years in the Autauga town,
where
he had a trading establishment. He was also a silversmith and made
buckles, ornaments and spurs of silver for the Indians. Josiah, his
son, also learned the trade. David Francis was a great uncle to Dr.
Francis, an intelligent and highly respectable gentleman of Benton
county, Alabama.
Dec. 1812: The common Indians believed every word of Tecumseh 's
last
speech, which was intended solely to intimidate the Big Warrior,
and
they began to count up the time it would take the Shawnee Chief to
reach Detroit, when he would stamp his foot, as he had declared.
One
day a mighty rumbling was heard in the earth; the houses of
Tookabatcha reeled and tottered, and reeled again. * The people ran
out, vociferating, "Tecumseh has got to Detroit! We feel the
shake of
his foot!"
* This was an earthquake well known to the old settlers. In
relation
to the visit of Tecumseh to Alabama, I have consulted General
Ferdinand L. Claiborne's MS. Papers and Drake's Life of Tecumseh; I
have also conversed with Lachlan Durant, Mrs. Sophia McComb, Peter
Randon James Moore and others who were at Tookabatcha when Tecumseh
arrived there.
Feb. 1813: Josiah Francis made many prophets, and, among others,
High-Head Jim, of Auttose. The Indians began to dance "the
war-dance
of the lakes," which Tecumseh had taught them. In the
meantime, that
Chief had reached Canada, having carried with him the Little
Warrior,
of the Creek nation, with thirty of his warriors. The British
agents
sent back by them letters to their agents in Florida, with orders
to
allow the Creeks extensive supplies of arms and ammunition. The
Little
Warrior, in returning, by way of the mouth of the Ohio, attacked
seven
families, living near each other, and murdered them in the most
cruel
manner. They dragged Mrs. Crawley from the bodies of her bleeding
children, and brought her, a prisoner, to the Tuscaloosa Falls.
Being
made acquainted with these outrages by General Robertson, the
Chickasaw agent, Hawkins, demanded the punishment of the guilty
warriors. Apr. 16: A council, at Tookabatcha, secretly despatched a
party of warriors, headed by McIntosh, of Coweta, who marched to
the
Hickory Ground, where they separated into smaller parties. One of
these went to the Red Warrior's Bluff, upon the Tallapoosa, now
Grey's
Ferry, and there surrounded a house, and began to shoot at five of
the
Little Warrior's party. They defended themselves with bravery, all
the
time dancing the dance of the lakes. Finally, they were all killed
and
burnt up. A party, headed by Captain Isaacs, pursued the Little
Warrior into a swamp, above Wetumpka, and killed him. Others were
killed at Hoithlewaule. Although the Chiefs, friendly to the United
States, acted with so much justice upon this occasion, it did not
prevent the commission of other murders, more immediately at home.
An
old Chief, named Mormouth, killed Thomas Merideth, an emigrant, at
Catoma Creek, and wounded others.*
* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, pp. 843-845.
Apr. 13: Having engaged in a war with England, the Federal
Government,
fearing to leave the port of Mobile longer in the hands of the
Spaniards, who were the secret allies of Great Britain, resolved to
occupy the whole of the district lying between Pearl and the
Perdido
rivers, and below the line of 31°, which we had claimed since the
treaty with Bonaparte, who ceded to us Louisiana, of which this was
a
part, as was contended. Accordingly, General Wilkinson, with six
hundred men, of the third and seventh regiments, sailing from New
Orleans in transport vessels, commanded by Commodore Shaw, provided
with scaling ladders, and every necessary equipment, landed
opposite
the Pavilion, on the bay of Mobile. He marched up to the town, and
took a position in the rear of Fort Charlotte. After some
correspondence, the Spanish commandant, Captain Cayetano Perez,
capitulated, surrendered the fort, and all the cannon and military
stores, the latter of which Wilkinson agreed the United States
should
pay for. The Spanish garrison retired to Pensacola, and the stars
and
stripes were hoisted upon the ramparts of Fort Charlotte, which was
built of brick, with casements for five hundred men and with four
bastions. It was quite an acquisition to the United States at the
present time. General Wilkinson sent nine pieces of artillery to
Mobile Point, which were there placed in battery. He then marched
to
the Perdido, and on its western bank, on the main road to
Pensacola,
began the construction of a strong stockade under the
superintendence
of Colonel John Bowyer, which was afterwards abandoned. Marching
back
to Mobile, he despatched Captain Chamberlain with soldiers to
Mobile
Point, who began and in two years completed Fort Bowyer.* Thus the
long period had arrived when no Spanish government was found to
exist
upon a foot of the soil of Alabama or Mississippi.
* Memoirs of Wilkinson, vol. 1, pp. 507-520. Conversations with
Major
Reuben Chamberlain.
The effects of Tecumseh's visit began to be realized in every
corner
of the Creek confederacy. Even at the Falls of Tuscaloosa, where a
Creek town had for several years been established, the inhabitants
were extremely belligerent. The Chief, Ocheoce Emarthla, with a few
warriors, dropped down the Warrior river in canoes, paid Mr. Gaines
a
visit, and were insulting in their bearing and importunate in their
demands for goods upon a credit. They disclosed to Tandy Walker, an
honest white man, formerly a government blacksmith, their
intentions
shortly to attack the settlers and seize upon the factory. In an
eastward direction the Alabamas were furious advocates of American
extermination. The Indian executions, to which allusion has just
been
made, connected with the occasional shocks of the earthquake,
filled
the Indian world with excitement and fanaticism.
May 1813: Peter McQueen, a half-breed of Tallase, the venerable
Hobothle Micco, and other prominent men, who had inclined to the
talks
of Tecumseh, now assumed decided attitudes. The hostile spirit
increased fearfully, and the whole nation was soon agitated with
quarrels, fights, murders and robberies, and everything foreboded a
direful civil war. The prophets practised their incantations in
towns,
fields, and in the woods, wherever they found Indians to influence.
Alarmed at this unusual state of things, the Chiefs friendly to the
United States frequently despatched runners to Hawkins, who urged
them
in return to adhere to the cause of the Federal Government, and to
take all means to avert a civil war. The agent seems to have been
strangely benighted, slowly allowing his mind to be brought to the
conviction that anything serious would grow out of these
difficulties.
The Big Warrior, on the contrary, was much alarmed. He endeavored
to
assemble the Chiefs of the neighboring towns, but a majority
refused
to appear, and continued to give countenance to the prophets. He
despatched a runner to the Alabamas with this talk: "You are
but a few
Alabama people. You say that the Great Spirit visits you
frequently;
that he comes in the sun, and speaks to you; that the sun comes
down
just above your heads. Now we want to see and hear what you have
seen
and heard. Let us have the same proof, then we will believe. You
have
nothing to fear--the people who did the killing upon the Ohio are
put
to death, and the law is satisfied." The messenger was seized,
killed
and scalped at the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, where a
portion of the war party were engaged in "the dance of the
lakes."
They then paddled down to Coosawda, pursued Captain Isaacs into the
cane, across the river, and, being unable to find him, returned,
burnt
up his houses, destroyed his stock and murdered two of his chief
warriors.* The Indians also commenced hostilities upon the
Americans.
June 1813: Between Burnt Corn and the Escambia, Greggs, an American
mailrider, was seized, most severely beaten, and left upon the
Federal
Road, after being robbed of his mail bags and horse. Without
anything
to eat, save the berries in the woods, the lacerated youth, after
wandering ten days through the forests, reached Montgomery Hill.
The
mail was carried to Pensacola and rifled of its contents in a
Spanish
trading house.** June 25: Gen. Wilkinson, with his lady, had
reached
Sam McNac's, near the Catoma, with an escort, which had attended
him
from Mims' Ferry. He wrote back to Judge Toulmin, informing him of
the
dangers attendant upon a trip through the Creek nation, but that he
was resolved to go on to Georgia. In a short time McNac, who for
some
time lived upon the Federal Road, for the purpose of accommodating
travellers, was driven off, some of his negroes stolen, while his
cattle were driven to Pensacola for sale. Other half-breeds,
suspected
of friendship for the Americans, were treated in the same manner.
Remaining concealed for some time upon his island in the Alabama,
McNac ventured to visit his place upon the road. Here he suddenly
encountered High-Head Jim, one of the prophets of Auttose, who,
after
shaking him by the hands, began to tremble all over, and to jerk in
every part of his frame, convulsing the calves of the legs, and,
from
the severe agitation, getting entirely out of breath. This practice
had been introduced by the prophet Josiah Francis, the
brother-in-law
of McNac, who said he was so instructed by the Great Spirit.
Wishing
to make terms for the moment, McNac pretended that he was sorry for
his former friendship for the whites, and avowed his determination
to
join the hostiles. High-Head Jim, led away by his artifice,
disclosed
to him all their plans; that they were soon to kill the Big
Warrior,
Captain Isaacs, William McIntosh, the Mad Dragon's Son, the Little
Prince, Spoke Kange, and Tallase Fixico, all prominent Chiefs of
the
nation; that, after the death of these traitors, the Creeks were to
unite, in a common cause, against the Americans; those upon the
Coosa,
Tallapoosa and Black Warrior were to attack the settlements upon
the
Tensaw and Tombigby; those near the Cherokees, with the assistance
of
the latter, were to attack the Tennesseans; the Georgians were to
fall
by the fierce sallies of the Lower Creeks and Seminoles; while the
Choctaws were to exterminate the Mississippi population.
* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, p. 846.
** Conversations with Mr. George S. Gaines, of Mobile, and Dr.
Thomas
G. Holmes, of Baldwin county.
The most extravagant delusions prevailed upon the Coosa, at this
period. Nearly all these people moved out of their towns, into the
woods, dancing and preparing for war. Letecau, a prophet of
eighteen
years of age, a native of the town of Abaucooche, went with
eighteen
subordinate prophets, to the old Coosa town, from whence they sent
out
runners, inviting all the unbelievers to come and witness their
magical powers. A large assembly of both sexes congregated upon the
banks of the river, and surrounded the prophets. Letecau, with his
wand, drew a circle in front, and he and his subordinates began
"the
dance of the lakes." After powerful exertions for some time,
the
warwhoop was given by Letacau, who fell, with his men, upon three
Chiefs, whom they killed. The other friendly Chiefs sprang into the
river, made their escape to their towns, and assembling their
warriors
returned and killed Letecau and his prophets. They proceeded to
Little
Ocfuske, where Tecumseh's talk had been taken, and there put a
number
of his deluded followers to death.
June 1813: The hostiles destroyed the stock of the friendly
Indians,
at the Hillabee towns, several of whom they killed. They carried
off
seventy negroes belonging to Robert Graison, and committed many
other
depredations. The town of Kialigee was burned down, and several of
the
inhabitants shot. These things overwhelmed the Big Warrior with
fear,
and he entreated Hawkins to relieve him with the federal troops. He
had collected a large supply of corn at Tookabatcha, where he built
a
fort. Hawkins prevailed upon two hundred warriors of Coweta and
Cussetta, to march to Tookabatcha, where they soon arrived, and,
after
some annoyance from the attacks of a few of the war party,
succeeded
in carrying off the Big Warrior, and those who adhered to him, in
safety over to the Chattahoochie.*
* Upon the civil war among the Creeks, see Indian Affairs, vol. 1,
pp.
849-851.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
BATTLE OF BURNT CORN--
ARRIVAL OF GENERAL CLAIBORNE'S ARMY.
July 10 1813: Peter McQueen, at the head of the Tallase warriors;
High
Head Jim, with the Autaugas; and Josiah Francis, with the Alabamas,
numbering in all three hundred and fifty, departed for Pensacola
with
many pack-horses. On their way they beat and drove off all the
Indians
who would not take the war talk. The brutal McQueen beat an
unoffending white trader within an inch of his life, and carried
the
wife of Curnells, the government interpreter, a prisoner to
Pensacola.
The village of Hatchechubba was reduced to ashes.
The inhabitants of the Tombigby and the Tensaw had constantly
petitioned the governor for an army to repel the Creeks, whose
attacks
they hourly expected. But General Flournoy, who had succeeded
Wilkinson in command, refused to send any of the regular or
volunteer
troops. The British fleet was seen off the coast, from which
supplies,
arms, ammunition and Indian emissaries were sent to Pensacola and
other Spanish ports in Florida. Everything foreboded the
extermination
of the Americans in Alabama, who were the most isolated and
defenceless people imaginable. Determined, however, to protect
themselves to the best of their means and abilities, they first
sent
spies to Pensacola to watch the movements of the Indians there
under
McQueen, who returned with the report that the British agents were
distributing to them ample munitions of war. Colonel James Caller
ordered out the militia, some of whom soon rallied to his standard
in
the character of minute volunteers. He marched across the Tombigby,
passed through the town of Jackson, and by the new fort upon the
eastern line of Clarke, and from thence to Sisemore's Ferry, upon
the
Alabama, where, on the western bank, he bivouacked for the night.
The
object of the expedition was to attack the Indians as they were
returning from Pensacola. July 26 1813: The next morning Caller
began
the crossing of the river to the east side, which was effected by
swimming the horses by the side of the canoes. It occupied much of
the
early part of the day. When all were over the march was resumed in
a
southeastern direction to the cow-pens of David Tait, where a halt
was
made. Here Caller was reinforced by a company from Tensaw Lake and
Little River, under the command of Dixon Bailey, a half-breed
Creek, a
native of the town of Auttose, who had been educated at
Philadelphia
under the provisions of the treaty of New York of 1790. Bailey was
a
man of fine appearance, unimpeachable integrity, and a strong mind.
His courage and energy were not surpassed by those of any other mam
The whole expedition under Caller now consisted of one hundred and
eighty men, in small companies. Two of these were from St.
Stephens,
one of which was commanded by Captain Bailey Heard, and the other
by
Captain Benjamin Smoot and Lieutenant Patrick May. A company, from
the
county of Washington, was commanded by Captain David Cartwright. In
passing through Clarke county, Caller had been re-inforced by a
company under Captain Samuel Dale and Lieutenant Girard W. Creagh.
Some men had also joined him, commanded by William McGrew, Robert
Caller, and William Bradberry. The troops of the little party were
mounted upon good frontier horses, and provided with rifles and
shot-guns, of various sizes and descriptions. Leaving the cow-pens,
Caller marched until he reached the wolf-trail, where he bivouacked
for the last night. The main route to Pensacola was now before
them.
July 27 1813: In the morning, the command was re-organized, by the
election of Zachariah Philips, McFarlin, Wood, and Jourdan, to the
rank of major, and William McGrew, lieutenant-colonel. This unusual
number of field officers was made to satisfy military aspirations.
While on the march, the spy company returned rapidly, about 11
o'clock
in the forenoon, and reported that McQueen's party were encamped a
few
miles in advance, and were engaged in cooking and eating. A
consultation of officers terminated in the decision to attack the
Indians by surprise. The command was thrown into three
divisions--Captain Smoot in front of the right, Captain Bailey in
front of the centre, and Captain Dale in front of the left. The
Indians occupied a peninsula of low pine barren, formed by the
windings of Burnt Corn Creek. Some gently rising heights overlooked
this tongue of land, down which Caller charged upon them. Although
taken by surprise, the Indians repelled the assault for a few
minutes,
and then gave way, retreating to the creek. A portion of the
Americans
bravely pursued them to the water, while others remained behind,
engaged in the less laudable enterprise of capturing the Indian
pack-horses. Caller acted with bravery, but, unfortunately, ordered
a
retreat to the high lands, where he intended to take a strong
position. Seeing those in advance retreating from the swamp, about
one
hundred of the command, who had been occupied, as we have stated,
in
securing Indian effects, now precipitately fled, in great confusion
and terror, but, in the midst of their dismay, held on to the
plunder,
driving the horses before them. Colonel Caller, Captain Bailey, and
other officers, endeavored to rally them in vain. The Indians
rushed
forth from the swamp, with exulting yells, and attacked about
eighty
Americans, who remained at the foot of the hill. A severe fight
ensued, and the whites, now commanded by Captains Dale, Bailey and
Smoot, fought with laudable courage, exposed to a galling fire, in
open woods, while McQueen and his warriors were protected by thick
reeds. The latter, however, discharged their pieces very
unskillfully.
Captain Dale received a large ball in the breast, which, glancing
around a rib, came out at his back he continued to fight as long as
the battle lasted. At length, abandoned by two-thirds of the
command,
while the enemy had the advantage of position, the Americans
resolved
to retreat, which they did in great disorder. Many had lost their
horses, for they had dismounted when the attack was made, and now
ran
in all directions to secure them or get up behind others. Many
actually ran off on foot. After all these had left the field three
young men were found still fighting by themselves on one side of
the
peninsula, and keeping at bay some savages who were concealed in
the
cane. They were Lieutenant Patrick May, of North Carolina, now of
Greene county, Alabama, a descendant of a brave revolutionary
family;
a private named Ambrose Miles and Lieutenant Girard W. Creagh, of
South Carolina. A warrior presented his tall form. May and the
savage
discharged their guns at each other. The Indian fell dead in the
cane;
his fire, however, had shattered the lieutenant's piece near the
lock.
Resolving also to retreat, these intrepid young men made a rush for
their horses, when Creagh, brought to the ground by the effects of
a
wound which he received in the hip, cried out, "Save me,
lieutenant,
or I am gone!" May instantly raised him up, bore him off on
his back
and placed him in the saddle, while Miles held the bridle reins. A
rapid retreat saved their lives. Reaching the top of the hill they
saw
Lieutenant Bradberry, a young lawyer of North Carolina, bleeding
with
his wounds, and endeavoring to rally some of his men. The Indians,
reaching the body of poor Ballad, took off his scalp in full view,
which so incensed his friend Glass that he advanced and fired the
last
gun upon them.
The retreat was continued all night in the most irregular manner,
and
the trail was lined, from one end to the other, with small squads,
and
sometimes one man by himself. The wounded traveled slowly, and
often
stopped to rest. It was afterwards ascertained that only two
Americans
were killed and fifteen wounded. Such was the battle of Burnt Corn,
the first that was fought in the long and bloody Creek war. The
Indians retraced their steps to Pensacola for more military
supplies.
Their number of killed is unknown. Caller's command never got
together
again, but mustered themselves out of service, returning to their
homes by various routes, after many amusing adventures. Colonel
Caller
and Major Wood became lost, and wandered on foot in the forest,
causing great uneasiness to their friends. When General Claiborne
arrived in the country he wrote to Bailey, Tait and McNac,
respectable
half-breeds, urging them to hunt for these unfortunate men. They
were
afterwards found, starved almost to death and bereft of their
senses.
They had been missing fifteen days.*
* Conversations with Dr. Thomas G. Holmes, of Baldwin county,
Alabama,
the late Colonel Girard W. Creagh, of Clarke, and General Patrick
May,
of Greene, who were in the Burnt Corn expedition.
General Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne, the brother of the ex-Governor
of
the Mississippi Territory, was born in Sussex county, Virginia, of
a
family distinguished in that commonwealth from the time of Charles
I.
On the 21st November, 1793, in his twentieth year, he was appointed
an
ensign in Wayne's army on the Northwestern frontier. He was in the
great battle in which that able commander soon after defeated the
Indians, and for his good conduct, was promoted to a lieutenancy.
At
the close of the war he was stationed at Richmond and Norfolk, in
the
recruiting service, and subsequently was ordered to Pittsburg,
Forts
Washington, Greenville and Detroit, where he remained with the rank
of
captain and acting adjutant general until 1805, when he resigned
and
removed to Natchez. He was soon afterwards a member of the
Territorial
legislature, and presided over its deliberations. We have already
seen
how active he was in arresting Aaron Burr, upon the Mississippi
river,
at the head of infantry and cavalry. On the 8th March, 1813,
Colonel
Claiborne was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, and was
ordered by General Wilkinson to take command of the post of Baton
Rouge. In the latter part of he was ordered by General Flournoy to
march with his whole command to Fort Stoddart, and instructed to
direct his principal attention to "the defence of
Mobile."
1813: On the 30th July, General Claiborne reached Mount Vernon near
the Mobile river with the rear guard of his army, consisting of
seven
hundred men, whom he had chiefly sustained by supplies raised by
mortgages upon his own estate.* The quartermaster at Baton Rouge
had
only provided him with the small sum of two hundred dollars. He
obtained, from the most reliable characters upon the eastern
frontier,
accurate information in regard to the threatened invasion of the
Indians, an account of the unfortunate result of the Burnt Corn
expedition, and a written opinion of Judge Toulmin, respecting the
critical condition of the country generally. It was found that
alarm
pervaded the populace. Rumors of the advance of the Indians were
rife,
and were believed. In Clarke county--in the fork of the rivers--a
chain of rude defences had hastily been constructed by the
citizens,
and were filled to overflowing with white people and negroes. One
of
these was at Gullett's Bluff, upon the Tombigby, another at
Easley's
station, and the others at the residences of Sinquefield, Glass,
White
and Lavier. They were all called forts. Two block-houses were also
in
a state of completion, at St. Stephens.
* Upon the conclusion of the Creek war General Claiborne returned
to
Soldier's Retreat, his home, near Natchez, shattered in
constitution,
from the exposure and hardships of the campaigns and died suddenly
at
the close of 1815. The vouchers for the liberal expenditures which
he
made were lost and his property was sold.
Aug. 10 1813: The first step taken by Claiborne was the
distribution
of his troops, so as to afford the greatest protection to the
inhabitants. He despatched Colonel Carson, with two hundred men, to
the Fork, who arrived at Fort Glass without accident. A few hundred
yards from that rude structure he began the construction of Fort
Madison. He sent Captain Scott to St. Stephens with a company,
which
immediately occupied the old Spanish block-house. Aug. 22 1813: He
employed Major Hinds, with the mounted dragoons, in scouring the
country, while he distributed some of the militia of Washington
County
for the defence of the stockade. Captain Dent was despatched to
Oaktupa, where he assumed the command of a fort with two
block-houses
within a mile of the Choctaw line.
* MS. papers of General F. L, Claiborne.
Pickett's History of Alabama - Chapter 37 - Terrible Massacre at Fort Mims
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Albert James Pickett: HISTORY OF ALABAMA.
(Kindly contributed by William C. Bell)
______________________________________________________________
CHAPTER XXXVII.
TERRIBLE MASSACRE AT FORT MIMS.
In the meantime, the wealthy half-bloods about Little river had
dropped down the Alabama, in their boats, and had secreted
themselves
in the swamp about Lake Tensaw. Uniting with the whites, they soon
began the construction of a fort around the residence of Samuel
Mims,
a wealthy Indian countryman, to whom we have often alluded, and
who,
originally, was one of the pack-horsemen of the Honorable George
Galphin.
Being about to relate a horrible affair, in which people of all
ages
and both sexes were subjected to savage butchery, a particular
description of the place where it occurred is deemed necessary.
Mims
lived within four hundred yards of the Boat Yard, upon Lake Tensaw,
a
mile east of the Alabama river, and two miles below the Cut-Off.
His
house was a large frame building of one story, with spacious
shed-rooms. Around it pickets were driven, between which fence
rails
were placed. Five hundred port-holes were made, three and a half
feet
only from the ground. The stockading enclosed an acre of ground, in
a
square form, and was entered by two ponderous but rude gates, one
on
the east and the other on the west. Within the enclosure, besides
the
main building, were various out-houses, rows of bee-gums, together
with cabins and board shelters, recently erected by the settlers,
wherever a vacant spot appeared. At the southwest corner a
block-house
was begun, but never finished. This defence was situated on a very
slight elevation. A large potato field lay adjoining on the south,
in
which were a row of negro houses. Woods intervened between the
picketing and the lake, while in a northern direction cane swamps,
which grew denser as they approached the river, were hard by. On
the
east the fiat lands continued for several miles, interspersed with
cane marshes and some ravines. It was altogether a most ill-chosen
place for a fort, as it ultimately proved.*
* Conversations with Dr. Thomas G. Holmes, of Baldwin.
Drawing (map) of Fort Mims
July 28 1813: No sooner was Fort Mims partially finished than the
citizens poured in, with their provisions and effects. Colonel
Carson,
who had reached Mount Vernon in advance of Claiborne, sent over
Lieutenant Osborne, with sixteen men. Afterwards Claiborne
despatched
one hundred and seventy-five more volunteers to Fort Mims under the
command of Major Daniel Beasley, with Captains Jack, Batchelor and
Middleton. Aug. 6: He found seventy militia upon duty, commanded,
for
the present, by Dunn and Plummer, two inexperienced officers.
Permitting them to elect their officers, the brave Dixon Bailey was
unanimously chosen for the post of captain, and Crawford for
ensign.
Aug. 7: The next day General Claiborne, arriving at Fort Mims and
inspecting the works, addressed a general order of instruction to
Beasley, charging him "to strengthen the picketing, build two
more
block-houses, respect the enemy, to send out scouts frequently, and
allow the suffering people provisions, whether whites or friendly
Indians." Returning to his headquarters, at Mount Vernon, he,
for the
moment, directed his attention to other portions of the frontiers.*
In
the meantime, Major Beasley had extended the picketing on the east
side sixty feet deep, forming a separate apartment for the
accommodation of the officers and their baggage. He greatly
weakened
his command by sending small detachments to Forts Madison, Easley,
Pierce, and Joshua Kennedy's saw-mill, where citizens had
collected,
and asked for assistance.** At this mill the government had a large
contract for lumber to put Fort Charlotte, of Mobile, in repair,
and
build a fort at Mobile Point, and it was deemed necessary to
strengthen it with troops to prevent the Indians from burning it
down.***
* Claiborne's MS. papers.
** Conversations with Dr. Thomas G. Holmes.
*** Claiborne's MS. papers.
Aug. 14 1813: The whole population of Fort Mims, consisting of
whites,
Indians, soldiers, officers and negroes, now amounted to five
hundred
and fifty-three souls. Crowded together in an Alabama swamp, in the
month of August, much sickness prevailed.* In the meantime,
Crawford
was dismissed from the post of ensign for having deserted from the
regular army, and Peter Randon, a half-breed, was appointed in his
place. Beasley kept up a correspondence with Claiborne, several
times
acquainting him with alarms, which turned out to be false.**
* Conversations with Dr. Thomas G. Holmes.
** Claiborne's MS. papers.
The Creeks, whom we left returning to Pensacola from the battle
ground
of Burnt Corn, were again liberally supplied with arms and
ammunition.
Making their way back to the Tallapoosa without molestation, active
preparations were made by them for immediate war. Warriors from the
towns of Hoithlewale, Fooshatche, Cooloome, Ecunhutke, Souvanoga,
Mooklausa, Alabama, Oakchoieooche, Pockuschatche, Ochebofa,
Puckuntallahasse, Wewocoe and Woccocoie marched in a southern
direction, while others, from Tallase, Auttose and Ocfuske, formed
a
front of observation towards Coweta to conceal the movement.*
* Indian Affairs, vol. 1, p. 858. The Spaniards and the British
agents
charged McQueen's party to "fight the Americans. If they prove
too
hard for you, send your women and children to Pensacola, and we
will
send them to Havana, and if you should be compelled to fly
yourselves,
and the Americans should prove too hard for both of us, there are
vessels enough to take us all off together."--Ibid.
Associated with McQueen and Francis was William Weatherford, the
son
of Charles Weatherford, a Georgian, who had lived almost a
life-time
in the Creek nation. His mother, Sehoy, was the half-sister of
General
McGillivray, and a native of Hickory Ground. William was
uneducated,
but was a man of great native intellect, fine form and commanding
person. His bearing was gentlemanly and dignified, and was coupled
with an intelligent expression, which led strangers to suppose that
they were in the presence of no ordinary man. His eyes were large,
dark, brilliant and flashing. He was one of "nature's
noblemen"--a man
of strict honor and unsurpassed courage. He was now with the large
Indian army, conducting them down to attack the Tensaw settlers,
among
whom were his brother and several sisters, and also his
half-brother,
David Tait.* How unhappily were these people divided! His sister,
Hannah McNac, with all her sons, belonged to the war party, while
the
husband was a true friend of the Americans, and had fled to them
for
protection. Aug. 20 1813: Weatherford led his army to the
plantation
of Zachariah McGirth, a little below the present Claiborne,where,
capturing several negroes, among whom was an intelligent fellow
named
Joe, from whom they learned the condition of Fort Mims, and the
proper
time to attack it, he halted for several days to deliberate. One of
the negroes escaped, and conveyed intelligence to the fort of the
approach of the Indians. Major Beasley had continued to send out
scouts daily, who were unable to discover traces of the enemy. The
inmates had become inactive, free from alarm, and abandoned
themselves
to fun and frolic. The negro runner from McGirth's plantation now
aroused them for a time, and Fort Mims was further strengthened.
But
the Indians not appearing the negro was pronounced to be a liar,
and
the activity of the garrison again abated. Aug. 29 1813: At length
two
young negro men were sent out to mind some beef cattle that grazed
upon the luxuriant grass within a few miles of the fort. Suddenly
they
came rushing through the gate out of breath, and reported that they
had counted twenty-four painted warriors. Captain Middleton, with a
detachment of horse, was immediately despatched with the negroes to
the place, but being unable to discover the least sign of the
enemy,
returned about sunset, when one of the negroes, belonging to John
Randon, was tied up and severely flogged for alarming the garrison,
with what Major Beasley deemed a sheer fabrication. Fletcher, the
owner of the other, refused to permit him to be punished, because
he
believed his statement, which so incensed the major that he ordered
him, with his large family, to depart from the fort by 10 o'clock
the
next day. Aug. 30: The next morning Randon's negro was again sent
out
to attend the cattle, but seeing a large body of Indians fled to
Fort
Pierce, being afraid to communicate the intelligence to those who
had
whipped him. In the meantime Fletcher's negro, by the reluctant
consent of his master, was tied up and the lash about to be applied
to
his back; the officers were preparing to dine; the soldiers were
reposing on the ground; some of the settlers were playing cards;
the
girls and young men were dancing, while a hundred thoughtless and
happy children sported from door to door, and from tent to tent.
* David Tait was the son of Colonel Tait. a British officer, who
was
stationed at the Hickory Ground, upon the Coosa, in 1778, as we
have
seen.
Aug. 30 1813: At that awful moment one thousand Creek warriors,
extended flat upon the ground in a thick ravine, four hundred yards
from the eastern gate, thirsted for American blood. No eyes saw
them
but those of the chirping and innocent birds in the limbs above
them.
The mid-day sun sometimes flashed through the thick foilage, and
glanced upon their yellow skins, but quickly withdrew, as if afraid
longer to contemplate the murderous horde. There lay the prophets,
covered with feathers, with black faces, resembling those monsters
which partake of both beast and bird. Beside them lay curious
medicine
bags and rods of magic. The whole ravine was covered with painted
and
naked savages, completely armed.
The hour of 12 o'clock arrived, and the drum beat the officers and
the
soldiers of the garrison to dinner. Then, by one simultaneous
bound,
the ravine was relieved of its savage burden, and soon the field
resounded with the rapid tread of the bloody warriors. The sand had
washed against the eastern gate, which now lay open. Major Beasley
rushed, sword in hand, and essayed in vain to shut it. The Indians
felled him to the earth with their clubs and tomahawks, and rushing
over his body into the additional part of the fort, left him a
chance
to crawl behind the gate, where he shortly after expired. To the
last
he called upon the men to make a resolute resistance. The eastern
part
of the picketing was soon full of Indians, headed by five prophets,
whom the Americans immediately shot down, while engaged in dancing
and
incantations. This greatly abated the ardor of the enemy, many of
whom
retreated through the gate for the moment. They had been assured
that
American bullets would split upon the sacred persons of the
prophets,
and pass off harmless. The unhappy inmates of Fort Mims now made
all
efforts to defend the place, but their attempts were confused and
ineffective. The assailants, from the old line of picketing, in the
additional part of the fort, and from the outside stockading,
commenced a general fire upon the Americans. Soldiers, negroes,
women
and children fell. Captain Middleton, in charge of the eastern
section, was soon despatched, together with all his men. Captain
Jack,
on the south wing, with a company of riflemen, defended his
position
with great bravery. Lieutenant Randon fought from the guard-house,
on
the west, while Captain Dixon Bailey repulsed the enemy, to the
best
of his ability, on the northern line of pickets, against which much
the largest number of Indians operated. The number of savages was
so
great that they apparently covered the whole field, and they now
rent
the air with their exulting shouts. Many of the younger prophets
surrounded the main building, which was full of women and children,
and danced around it, distorting their faces, and sending up the
most
unearthly screams. The pickets and houses afforded the Americans
some
protection, where the young men, the aged, and even the boys,
fought
with desperation. Captain Bailey was the man to whom the eyes of
all
the settlers were turned at this critical moment. He maintained his
position, and was the only officer who gained the port-holes before
they were occupied by the enemy. His repeated discharges made lanes
through the savage ranks. Fresh numbers renewed their efforts
against
him, and often an Indian and an American would plant their guns
across
the same port-hole to shoot at each other. Bailey encouraged the
whole
population in the fort to fight, assuring them that Indians seldom
fought long at one time, and, by holding out for a little while
longer, many would be saved. Failing in his entreaties to prevail
upon
several to rush through the enemy to Fort Pierce, only two miles
distant, there procure reinforcements, and attack the assailants in
the rear, he resolved to go himself, and began to climb over the
pickets for that purpose; but his neighbors, who loved him dearly,
pulled him back.
About three o'clock, the Indians, becoming tired of the contest,
plundered the additional part of the fort, and began to carry off
the
effects to the house of Mrs. O'Neil, which lay three hundred yards
distant, on the road to the ferry. Weatherford overtook them, on a
fine black horse, and brought them back to the scene of action,
after
having impressed them by an animated address. About this time, Dr.
Osborne, the surgeon, was shot through the body, and carried into
Patrick's loom-house, where he expired in great agony. The women
now
animated the men to defend them, by assisting in loading the guns
and
bringing water from the well. The most prominent among these was
Mrs.
Daniel Bailey, who, provoked at the cowardice of Sergeant Mathews,
severely punctured him with a bayonet as he lay trembling against
the
wall. Many instances of unrivalled courage could be enumerated, if
our
space permitted it. One of Jack's soldiers retreated to the
half-finished block-house, after his Commander and all his
brothers-in-arms had fallen, and from that point, discharged his
gun
at intervals, until he had killed over a dozen warriors. James and
Daniel Bailey, the brothers of the gallant Captain, with other men,
ascended to the roof of Mims' dwelling, knocked off some shingles
for
port-holes, where they continued to shoot the lusty warriors on the
outside of the picketing. But the superior force of the assailants
enabled them constantly to bring fresh warriors into the action.
They
now set fire to the main building, and many of the out-houses. The
shrieks of the women and children went up to high heaven.
To Patrick 's loom-house had been attached some extra picketing,
forming what was improperly termed a bastion. Hither Captain
Bailey,
and those of his command who survived, entered and continued to
pour
upon the savages a most deadly fire. Many citizens attempted to
reach
that spot, now the only one of the least security. The venerable
David
Mims, attempting to pass to the bastion, received a large ball in
the
neck; the blood gushed out; he exclaimed: "Oh, God, I am a
dead man!"
and fell upon his face. A cruel warrior cut around his head, and
waved
his hoary scalp exultingly in the air. Some poor Spaniards, who had
deserted from the Pensacola garrison, kneeled around the well and
crossed themselves, and, while interceding with the Most High, were
despatched with tomahawks. "To the Bastion! To the
Bastion!" was now
the fearful cry of the survivors. Soon it was full to overflowing.
The
weak, wounded and feeble, were pressed to death and trodden under
foot. The spot presented the appearance of one immense mass of
human
beings, herded together too close to defend themselves, and, like
beeves in the slaughter-pen of the butcher, a prey to those who
fired
upon them. The large building had fallen, carrying with it the
scorched bodies of the Baileys and others on the roof, and the
large
number of women and children in the lower story. The flames began
to
reach the people in the bastion. Dr. Thomas G. Holmes, an assistant
surgeon in the garrison, seized an axe, cut some pickets in two,
but
did not take them down, suffering them to remain until a suitable
opportunity offered to escape. The brave Dixon Bailey now cried
aloud
that all was lost, that his family were to be butchered, and begged
all to make their escape, if possible. His negro man, Tom, (still
living, at Sisemore's plantation) took up his favorite son, who was
thirteen years of age, but feeble with the fever, and bore him
through
the pickets, which Holmes now threw down, and gained the woods in
safety. But, strange to say, the infatuated negro presently brought
back the poor boy to a squad of hostiles, who dashed out his brains
with war-clubs. Little Ralph cried out, "Father, father, save
me! Of
his Heavenly Father the poor little heathen had probably never
heard.
In front of the northern line of picketing was a fence, fifty yards
distant, in every lock of which many warriors had placed
themselves,
to cut off all retreat; besides which, others stationed themselves
at
various points to shoot those who should run. Dr. Holmes, Captain
Bailey, and a negro woman named Hester, the property of Benjamin
Steadham, were the first to escape through the aperture. Holmes,
receiving in his flight several balls through his clothes, but no
wounds, strangely made his way over the fence, gained the swamp,
and
concealed himself in a clay hole, formed by the prostration of an
immense tree. Bailey reached the swamp, but, being badly wounded,
died
by the side of a cypress stump. Hester received a severe wound in
the
breast, but reached a canoe in the lake, paddled to Fort Stoddart
that
night, and was the first to give intelligence to General Claiborne
of
the horrible affair.
Returning again to the fatal spot, every house was seen to be in
flames. The bastion was broken down, the helpless inmates were
butchered in the quickest manner, and blood and brains bespattered
the
whole earth. The children were seized by the legs and killed by
beating their heads against the stockading. The women were scalped,
and those who were pregnant were opened, while they were alive, and
the embryo infants let out of the womb. Weatherford had some time
previous left the horrid scene. He had implored the warriors to
spare
the women and children, and reproached them for their barbarity;
but
his own life was threatened for interposing, many clubs were raised
over his head, and he was forced to retire. In after years he never
thought of that bloody occasion without the most painful emotions.
He
had raised the storm, but he could not control it.
The British agents at Pensacola had offered a reward of five
dollars
for every American scalp. The Indians jerked the skin from the
whole
head, and, collecting all the effects which the fire had not
consumed,
retired to the east, one mile from the ruins, to spend the night,
where they smoked their pipes and trimmed and dried their scalps.
The
battle had lasted from twelve to five o'clock.
Of the large number in the fort, all were killed or burned up
except a
few half-bloods, who were made prisoners; some negroes, reserved
for
slaves; and the following persons, who made their escape and lived:
Dr. Thomas G. Holmes; Hester, a negro woman: Socca, a friendly
Indian;
Peter Randon, lieutenant of Citizens' company; Josiah Fletcher;
Sergeant Mathews, the coward; Martin Rigdon; Samuel Smith, a
half-breed; Mourrice, Joseph Perry, Mississippi volunteers; Jesse
Steadham; Edward Steadham; John Hoven; --- Jones; and Lieutenant W.
R.
Chambliss, of the Mississippi volunteers.
Dr. Holmes lay concealed in the clay hole until nine o'clock at
night.
The Gin-House at the Boat Yard had been fired, and the
conflagration
threw a light over the surrounding country in addition to that
still
afforded by the ruins of Fort Mims. Hence, he was forced to resume
his
position, until twelve o'clock, when the flames died away.
Remembering
that he had never learned to swim, he abandoned the idea which he
first entertained, of crossing the Alabama and making his way to
Mount
Vernon. He therefore bent his course towards the high lands. He
frequently came upon small Indian fires, around which the bloody
warriors lay in profound sleep. Bewildered and shocked in every
direction in which he turned by unwelcome and fearful sights like
these, he at length, after a great deal of winding and turning,
fell
back into the river swamp, hid in a clump of thick canes, and there
subsisted upon water, mutton reed and roots. All this time he was
in
the immediate neighborhood of the scene of the tragical events we
have
described, and heard distinctly the Indians killing the stock of
the
citizens. When silence ensued, after the fifth day, he made his way
to
the Race-Track, and from thence to Pine-Log Creek, where he spent
the
night. Reaching Buford's Island the next day, and seeing the tracks
of
people and horses, he determined to fall in with them, although
they
should prove to be hostile Indians, so desperate had he become from
starvation. At the Tensaw Lake, Holmes found the horses tied, and,
rejoicing to find that they belonged to his friends, fired off his
gun. John Buford and his party, supposing the discharge proceeded
from
the war party, fled up into a bayou in a boat, where they remained
two
days. The disappointed Holmes went to the abandoned house of
Buford,
where he fortunately obtained some poultry, which he devoured
without
cooking. Three days afterwards he was discovered by Captain Buford
and
conveyed to Mount Vernon, where the other fourteen who escaped had
arrived and reported him among the slain.
Martin Rigdon, Samuel Smith, Joseph Perry, Mourrice and Jesse
Steadham
escaped through the picketing together. The latter was shot through
the thigh early in the action, and Mourrice in the shoulder.
Leaping
the fence in front of the bastion, over the heads of the squatting
Indians, they reached the swamp, where they remained three days,
when,
finding an old canoe below the Boat Yard, they made their escape to
Mount Vernon. Edward Steadham, who was wounded in the hand while
flying from the bastion, entered the swamp, swam the Alabama above
the
Cut-Off, and arrived at Mount Vernon four days after the massacre.
All
the others who escaped so miraculously made their way with success
through the Indian ranks, and had many similar adventures, reaching
the American headquarters at the most imminent peril. Lieutenant
Chambliss had received two severe wounds in the fort, and in
running
across the field received another. Reaching the woods, he crept
into a
log-heap. At night a party of warriors set fire to it, for the
purpose
of smoking their pipes, and when the heat was becoming intolerable,
and he would soon have been forced to discover himself, they
fortunately were called off to another camp-fire. He left that
place
immediately, wandered about, and for a long time was supposed to be
dead. He made his way, however, to Mount Vernon, and from thence
went
to Soldiers' Retreat, the residence of General Claiborne, near
Natchez, where Dr. John Coxe, an eminent surgeon, extracted two
arrow-heads and a ball from his body.*
* Claiborne's MS. papers.
The day after the fall of Fort Mims the Indians began to bury their
dead, by laying their bodies between the potatoe rows and drawing
dirt
and vines over them; but, from the great number of the dead, it was
abandoned. Many were also wounded, who were put in canoes and
conveyed
up the river. Others wounded started home on foot, and died at
Burnt
Corn Spring. Most of those who were unhurt remained in the
neighborhood to kill and plunder, while another party went to
Pensacola with the scalps suspended upon poles.*
* I am indebted to Dr. Thomas G. Holmes, of Baldwin, Alabama, for
the
prominent facts in the foregoing narrative of the fall of Fort
Mims.
He made notes of the horrible affair a few years after the massacre
took place, while the facts were fresh in his memory. I also
conversed
with Jesse Steadham, of Baldwin, and Lieutenant Peter Randon, the
latter of whom I found in New Orleans, who also escaped.
Zachariah McGirth was the son of James McGirth, who was, as we have
seen, an unprincipled but brave man, and a captain of a company of
tories during the revolutionary war, called the "Florida
Rangers,"
forming a part of a battalion commanded by his brother, Colonel
Daniel
McGirth. When the war terminated Captain James McGirth fled to the
Creek nation, with his children, among whom was Zachariah. The
latter
married a half-breed Creek woman, named Vicey Curnells, had become
wealthy, and was now an inmate of Fort Mims with his wife and eight
children. About ten o'clock on the day of the massacre McGirth
entered
a boat with two of his negroes, and went out of Lake Tensaw into
the
Alabama, with the view of ascending that river to his plantation,
which was situated below Claiborne, for some provisions. Reaching
the
Cut Off he heard a heavy discharge of guns at Fort Mims. With pain
and
anxiety he continued to listen to the firing, and running his boat
a
mile down the river, in a small bayou, resolved to remain there,
being
firmly impressed with the belief that the Indians had attacked the
fort. Late in the evening the firing ceased, and presently he saw
clouds of black smoke rise above the forest trees, which was
succeeded
by flames. The unhappy McGirth now well knew that all was lost, and
that in all probability his family had perished in the flames.
Being a
bold man, like his father, he resolved to go through the swamp with
his negroes to the fatal spot. When he came within a quarter of a
mile
of the fort he placed the negroes in a concealed place, and
approached
alone. All was gloomy and horrible. Dogs in great numbers ran all
over
the woods, terrified beyond measure. Seeing that the savages had
left
the ruins. he returned for his negroes, and a little after twilight
cautiously advanced. McGirth stood aghast at the horrible
spectacle.
Bodies lay in piles, in the sleep of death, bleeding, scalped,
mutilated. His eyes everywhere fell upon forms half burned up, but
still cracking and frying upon the glowing coals. In vain did he
and
his faithful slaves seek for the bodies of his family. Pile after
pile
was turned over, but no discovery could be made, for the features
of
but few could be recognized. He turned his back upon the bloody
place,
crossed the swamp to his boat, and paddled down the Alabama to
Mount
Vernon with a sad and heavy heart.
McGirth, now alone in the world, became a desperate man, ready to
brave the greatest dangers for the sake of revenge. During the
Creek
war he was often employed in riding expresses from the Tombigby to
Georgia, when no one else could be found daring enough to go
through
the heart of the enemy's country. After a long service amid such
dangers, a friend accosted him one day in Mobile, and told him some
people desired to see him at the wharf. Repairing there, he saw---a
common sight in those days--some wretched Indians, who had been
captured. He was asked if he knew them. Hesitating, his wife and
seven
children advanced and embraced him. A torrent of joy and profound
astonishment overwhelmed him. He trembled like a leaf, and was, for
some minutes, speechless.
Many years before the dreadful massacre at Fort Mims, a little
hungry
Indian boy, named Sanota--an orphan, houseless and friendless --
stopped at the house of Vicey McGirth. She fed and clothed him, and
he
grew to athletic manhood. He joined the war party, and formed one
of
the expedition against Fort Mims. Like the other warriors, he was
engaged in hewing and hacking the females to pieces, towards the
close
of the massacre, when he suddenly came upon Mrs. McGirth and his
foster-sisters. Pity and gratitude taking possession of his heart,
he
thrust them in a corner, and nobly made his broad savage breast a
rampart for their protection. The next day he carried them off upon
horses, towards the Coosa, under the presence that he had reserved
them from death for his slaves. Arriving at his home, he sheltered
them, hunted for them, and protected them from Indian brutality.
One
day he told his adopted mother that he was going to fight Jackson,
at
the Horse-Shoe, and that, if he should be killed, she must endeavor
to
reach her friends below. Sure enough, the noble Sanota soon lay
among
the slain at Cholocco Litebixee. Mrs. McGirth, now being without a
protector, and in a hostile region, started off on foot, with her
children, for Fort Claiborne. After much suffering, they reached
their
deserted farm, below Claiborne, where Major Blue, at the head of a
company of horse, discovered these miserable objects and carried
them
to Mobile, where the interview just related took place with the
astonished husband, who imagined that he had some months before
surveyed their half-burnt bodies upon the field of Fort Mims. His
son
was the only member of his family who had perished upon that bloody
occasion.*
* Conversations with Colonel Robert James, of Clarke County,
Alabama,
who often heard McGirth relate these particulars. McGirth, in 1834,
made the same statements to me.
General Claiborne despatched Major Joseph P. Kennedy, with a strong
detachment, to Fort Mims, from his headquarters at Mount Vernon,
for
the purpose of interring the dead. Sept 9 1813: Upon arriving
there,
Kennedy found the air darkened with buzzards, and hundreds of dogs,
which had run wild, gnawing upon the human carcasses. The troops,
with
heavy hearts, succeeded in interring many bodies in two large pits,
which they dug. "Indians, negroes, white men, women and
children, lay
in one promiscuous ruin. All were scalped, and the females, of
every
age, were butchered in a manner which neither decency nor language
will permit me to describe. The main building was burned to ashes,
which were filled with bones. The plains and the woods around were
covered with dead bodies. All the houses were consumed by fire,
except
the block-house, and a part of the pickets. The soldiers and
officers,
with one voice, called on Divine Providence to revenge the death of
our murdered friends." *
* Major Kennedy's MS. report to General Claiborne.
In drawing our account of this sanguinary affair to a conclusion,
it
is proper to observe that General Claiborne was in no way to blame
for
the unfortunate result. He corresponded with Beasley, heard from
him
almost every day, and in his despatches constantly urged him to be
prepared to meet the enemy. Claiborne, from every quarter, received
distressing messages imploring assistance, and we have already seen
how judiciously he distributed his forces, as far as it lay in his
power, for their protection, contrary to the instructions of
Flournoy,
who endeavored to confine his operations chiefly to the defence of
Mobile and the country below Ellicott's line. Aug. 24 1813: Just
before the attack upon Fort Mims, he headed a large detachment of
horse, and rushed to the defense of the people at Easley's station,
upon the Tombigby near the Choctaw line, whom he was induced to
believe a large party of Choctaws and Creeks intended shortly to
attack. They, however, did not appear, and, leaving a strong guard
for
the defence of that fort, he hastened back to Mount Vernon, and
arrived there at twelve o'clock at night, after a march of seventy
miles that day. He was there shocked to learn the fate of the
garrison
of Fort Mims. Supposing that he had already returned to Mount
Vernon,
Beasley addressed him a letter two hours only before the Indians
entered the gate, declaring his ability to maintain the post
against
any number of the enemy.* The major was as brave a man as ever
lived,
but neither he nor his officers, attached to the Mississippi
division,
believed that the enemy were at hand; so often had reports reached
them, which they pronounced untrue, because they were not
immediately
realized, as in the case of the negro who was whipped, and of the
other who was killed by the Indians while tied up, ready to receive
the lash.**
* Beasley's letter, found among Claiborne's MS. papers.
** The people at Fort Pierce, when the attack was made at Fort
Mims,
made their way, under Lieutenant Montgomery to Mobile, where they
safely arrived.
Scalp Bounty
The Wilderness War
by Allan W. Eckert
Because of the bounties placed on scalps, the taking of people of all ages
and sexes soon became something of a business on the frontier. In some cases
the colonists - or, later on, the Americans - offered bounties on Indian
scalps, but the greatest trafficking in scalps came as a result of the wide
range of bounties placed on them by the British. Because different age and
sex scalps brought different prices, the scalps had to be marked for proper
payment to be given. Such bundles of scalps ordinarily were shipped in large
lots of eight to twenty bundles, comprised of eighty-eight to one hundred
scalps per bundle, or no less that seven hundred scalps per shipment. Scalps
taken for British bounties were ordinarily shipped in these bundles to the
governor of Canada in Quebec. Each scalp was stretched on a painted willow
hoop and further painted on the inside of the skin. The colors and markings
were used in a wide combination so that all of the necessary information
about any particular scalp could be had at a glance. The basic hoop and
scalp markings denoted the following:
Four-inch hoop painted black Soldier
Four-inch hoop painted red Man other than soldier
Four-inch hoop painted green Old person
Four-inch hoop painted blue Woman
Two-inch hoop painted green Boy
Two-inch hoop painted yellow Girl
Two-inch hoop painted white Infant
Skin painted red Officer
Skin painted brown Farmer killed in house
Skin painted green Farmer killed in field
Skin painted white Infant
Skin painted yellow Girl
Skin painted white with red tears Small boy
Skin painted half white, half red Older boy
Skin painted yellow with red tears Mothers
Hair braided Wives
Black spot in center of skin Killed by bullet
Red hoe in center of skin Farmer
Black ax in center of skin Settler
Black tomahawk in center of skin Killed by tomahawk
Black scalping knife in center of skin Killed by knife
Black war club in center of skin Beaten to death
Yellow flames in center of skin Tortured to death
Black circle all around Killed at night
White circle all around with yellow spot Killed by day
Small red foot Died fighting
The Wilderness War by Allan W. Eckert, page 450
Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 1978