S 
 
 University Library 
 University of California Berkeley 
 
SATUKIOVA. 
 
 Pa 71. 
 
INDIAN WARS 
 
 OP THE 
 
 UNITED STATES, 
 
 fnm tJF* Bisnmjrij tn tji* -jUrmnt i 
 
 WITH ACCOUNTS OP 
 
 THE ORIGIN, MANNERS, SUPERSTITIONS, &c. 
 OF THE ABORIGINES. 
 
 fROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES. 
 
 BY WILLIAM V. MOORE, ' 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PUBLISHED BY JAS. B. SMITH & CO. 
 
 NO. 610 CHESTNUT ST. 
 
 1858. 
 
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1850, by 
 
 J. & J. L. GIHON, 
 
 the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 '/ ^SS 
 
 INTRODUCTION. General Account of the Indians of North Ame 
 rica Page 9 
 
 CHAPTER I. Early Indian Wars of Florida 50 
 
 II. Early Indian Wars of Virginia - . . 90 
 
 III. Early Indian Relations of New England Ill 
 
 IV ThePequodWar 118 
 
 V. King Philip's War 123 
 
 VI. King William's War HO 
 
 VII. Wars of the Five Nations (to the Close of the last 
 
 French and Indian War) 153 
 
 VIII. Queen Anne's War 174 
 
 IX. Lovewell's War 180 
 
 X. Last French and Indian War. 185 
 
 XI. Pontiac's War 204 
 
 XII. War of the Western Indians 210 
 
 XIII. Indian Wars of Carolina previous to the Revolution. . 216 
 
 XIV. Cresap's War ,225 
 
 XV. Indian Wars of the Revolution 231 
 
 XVI. North- Western War (during Washington's Adminis 
 tration) 250 
 
 XVII. Tippecanoe War 256 
 
 XVIII. North-Western War (1812 and 1813) 266 
 
 XIX. The Creek War 282 
 
 XX. Seminole War (1817) 292 
 
 XXI. Black Hawk's War 300 
 
 XXII. Seminole War 305 
 
 (7) 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 AN a general history of the United States, the Indian wars 
 are apt to be passed over rather slightly. The press of other 
 matter leaves little room for the consideration of them; and 
 they appear as detached and unimportant incidents. But 
 when we consider that every inch of the soil, now in pos 
 session of the people of this republic, was either purchased 
 or conquered from the aborigines, the means by which this 
 immense acquisition was accomplished must certainly be 
 regarded as highly worthy the attention of history. Nor is 
 this the only reason why this subject should be distinctly 
 treated, and attentively studied, by the people of this coun 
 try. Our citizens are too apt to forget what their ancestors 
 did and suffered for their good; and the historian should 
 faithfully remind them, as often as occasion may occur, of 
 those times when the rifle was carried to the meadows and 
 the corn-field as a protection to the husbandman ; and when 
 the setting sun was the signal for transforming every dwell 
 ing-house into a garrisoned castle. 
 
 In the hope of calling public attention to this portion of 
 our history, by treating it distinctly and independently, the 
 following work has been composed. It comprises a narra 
 tive of all the Indian wars conducted within the territory of 
 the United States, between the aborigines and the European 
 race, from the discovery to the present time all, which were 
 deemed of sufficient importance, in their nature or results, 
 to claim a place in general history. 
 
 In order to bring the annals of so long a period within the 
 compass of a moderate-sized volume, it was necessary to 
 avoid minute details, and to carry the narrative forward 
 with an eye to the general nature and main results of each 
 contest. Still the author hopes that there is enough of indi 
 vidual action and character in the history to interest, with 
 out that prolixity which would weary the reader. The gene 
 ral subject is full of interest and instruction, and if the au 
 thor is deficient in either, it has not been for want of a fer 
 tile field of incident, and an infinite variety of characters 
 and actions. 
 
 (8) 
 
INDIAN WARS 
 
 OP THE 
 
 UNITED STATES, 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 GENERAL ACCOUNT OP THE INDIANS 
 OF NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 ORIGIN. 
 
 T the time when North 
 America was first visited 
 by the Europeans, it was 
 inhabited by many inde 
 pendent savage tribes, who 
 subsisted by hunting, fish 
 ing, the spontaneous pro- 
 7 ductions of the earth, and 
 some cultivation of the 
 soil. These tribes com 
 monly lived remote from each other, in the bosom of 
 immense forests ; and each claimed an extensive tract 
 of land as its hunting ground. 
 
 But the great body of the North American Indians 
 
 (9) 
 
10 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 are evidently of a race different from the Esquimaux 
 and concerning their origin various opinions have been 
 entertained. 
 
 Blome, Adair, and Boudinot, have thought them the 
 descendants of the ten tribes of Israel; others have 
 imagined them the offspring of the Canaanites expelled 
 by Joshua ; Grotius, adopting the opinion of Martyr, 
 the companion of Columbus, believed part at least of 
 America to have been peopled by ^Ethiopians and 
 Christians ; and the late ingenious De Witt Clinton, go 
 vernor of the state of New York, maintained that the 
 American Indians are of Tartar origin ; and that, in 
 ages past, they overcame and exterminated a prior 
 race of inhabitants, who had made greater progress in 
 civilization than themselves. But, whatever may be 
 the difficulty of accounting for the ancient fortifications 
 to which this learned writer refers, his opinion seems to 
 rest on no solid foundation ; for there is no appearance 
 that, before their intercourse with the Europeans, the 
 Indians had ever seen a people who had attained any 
 considerable degree of improvement. 
 
 But to enter into speculations of this kind is not the 
 object of the present work ; and it may serve our pur 
 pose to allege, in general, that the progenitors of the 
 Indian tribes emigrated from the north-east parts of 
 Asia to the north-west parts of America, and thence 
 gradually spread themselves over that great continent. 
 At what time this emigration began, it is needless to en 
 quire and impossible to ascertain. It is not unreason 
 able to believe, that families or tribes performed the 
 passage at different periods and at different places 
 Savages are often carried to great distances in their 
 frail barks. The islands of the South Sea, although 
 
ORIGIN OF THE INDIANS. 11 
 
 widely separated from each other, are mostly inhabited ; 
 and the person who thoroughly understands the lan 
 guage of any one island, is seldom at a loss to hold 
 communication with the natives of any other; which 
 proves that those people are all of one common stock, 
 and that the period of their settlement in the islands is 
 not very remote. 
 
 In this inquiry, the Indians can give us no assistance ; 
 for of their own history, beyond the traditionary re 
 cords of two or three generations, they know nothing ; 
 and the strange notions which some of them entertain 
 of their origin need not surprise us. According to the 
 unambitious belief of the Osages, a people living on the 
 banks of one of the lower tributaries of the Missouri, 
 they are sprung from a snail and a beaver. The Man- 
 dans believed their ancestors once lived in a large village 
 under ground, near a subterranean lake ; that by means 
 of a vine tree, which extended its roots to their cheer 
 less habitation, they got a glimpse of the light ;, that in 
 formed by some adventurers, who had visited the upper 
 world, of the numerous buffaloes pasturing on the plains, 
 and of the trees, loaded with delicious fruits, the whole 
 nation, with one consent, began to ascend the roots of 
 the vine ; but that, when about the half of them had 
 reached the surface, a corpulent woman climbing up, 
 broke the roots by her weight ; that the earth immedi 
 ately closed, and concealed for ever from those below, 
 the cheering beams of the sun. From a people who 
 entertain such fanciful notions of their origin, no valu 
 able information concerning their early history can be 
 expected. 
 
 The character of man, to a great extent, is formed 
 by the circumstances in which he is placed; and, as all 
 
12 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the North American nations, at the time of their first 
 discovery by Europeans, were in the same savage state, 
 and procured subsistence by similar means, there was 
 a striking uniformity in their appearance, character, 
 manners, customs, and opinions. But, by their inter 
 course with Europeans, that uniformity has, in some 
 measure, been broken. Many of the tribes have re 
 ceived several articles of merchandise, horses, arms, 
 cloth, culinary utensils, and intoxicating liquors, from 
 their white neighbours or visiters, and this has had some 
 influence on their habits of life. 
 
 COLOUR. 
 
 The colour of the human race seems to depend on 
 two circumstances, climate, and manner of life. In 
 general, mankind are of a darker colour as we advance 
 towards the equator, and whiter as we approach the 
 polar regions. The complexion is affected also by tne 
 degree t)f elevation above the level of the sea. Climate, 
 . however, is not the only circumstance on which colour 
 depends : it is determined, in a considerable degree, by 
 the manner of life. In the same parallel of latitude, 
 savages who are almost always in the open air, and 
 who live in a rude and dirty manner, are of a darker 
 complexion than the members of more civilized society. 
 
 Both of those causes have operated on the North 
 American Indians. They are all of a red copper co 
 lour, with some diversity of shade. The men are tall, 
 large boned, and well made; with small black eyes, 
 lodged in deep sockets, high cheek-bones, nose more or 
 less aquiline, mouth large, lips rather thick, and the hair 
 of tne head black, straight, and coarse. In general, 
 they carefully extract the hair of the beard and other 
 
EMPLOYMENTS AND DRESS OF THE INDIANS. 13 
 
 parts of the body, and hence were long believed desti 
 tute of that excrescence. The general expression of 
 the countenance is thoughtful and sedate. Formerly 
 some tribes flattened the heads of their infants by arti 
 ficial pressure ; but at present that practice is unknown 
 to the east of the Rocky Mountains. They hav a 
 sound understanding, quick apprehension, and retentive 
 memory, with an air of indifference in their general 
 behaviour. 
 
 The women, or squaws, differ considerably from the 
 men, both in person and features. They are small and 
 short, with homely, broad faces ; but have often an ex 
 pression of mildness and sweetness in their looks. 
 
 EMPLOYMENTS AND DRESS. 
 
 Except when engaged in war, hunting and fishing 
 are the sole employment of the men. By means of 
 these, by the spontaneous productions of the earth, and 
 by a partial cultivation of the soil, they procure a pre 
 carious subsistence ; feasting freely when successful in 
 the chase, but capable of great abstinence when provi 
 sions are less plentiful. 
 
 . Some of the tribes, when first visited by Europeans, 
 raised considerable crops; and they taught the early 
 settlers in New England to plant and dress maize. At 
 present several nations cultivate maize, beans, pump 
 kins, and water-melons ; and in this way considerably 
 increase their means of subsistence. 
 
 Hunting, war, the desire of revenge, or the love of 
 amusement, are the usual incitements of the men? to ac 
 tion. Subjected to much fatigue and many privations, 
 exposed to continual dangers, and under perpetual ap 
 prehensions of being attacked by his enemies, the Indian 
 
14 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 has little gaiety in his character. He is rather gloomy 
 and silent. Grave in his whole deportment, he seldom 
 opens his mouth but to utter what he deems important. 
 He is sagacious and penetrating ; and his observations 
 are often rational and shrewd. He will smile, but rarely 
 laughs ; and never indulges in playful sallies, or unne 
 cessary remarks, merely for the sake of talking. He 
 generally speaks in a low tone of voice, and employs 
 few words, except in council, where his elocution is 
 loud, rapid, and vehement. The young men not unfre- 
 quently engage keenly in games and amusements. In 
 general, the Indians are cool and circumspect, with 
 much apparent apathy. 
 
 The squaw is often a perfect contrast to her partner. 
 She is sprightly in her demeanour, and her countenance 
 is enlivened by a pleasant smile. Her risibility is easily 
 excited, and she is not deficient in prattling loquacity. 
 
 The sight, smell, and hearing of the Indians, being 
 frequently and attentively exercised, are all remarkably 
 acute. They can trace the footsteps of man or beast 
 through the forest, and over the plain and mountain, 
 where an inexperienced eye cannot discern the slightest 
 vestige. They can often judge, with much accuracy, 
 how many persons have been in the companj', how long 
 it is since they passed, and even, at times, to what na 
 tion they belonged. They can pursue their course 
 through the pathless forest, or over the snowy moun 
 tain, with undeviating certainty; and are guided by 
 marks which entirely escape the notice of an Eu 
 ropean. 
 
 Strangers to letters, and untutored by learning, their 
 passions, which are little curbed by parental authority, 
 grow up wild and unpruned, like the trees of their na 
 
INDIAN SQUAW. Page 14. 
 
I 
 
INDIAM COSTUME. page 15. 
 
EMPLOYMENTS AND DRESS OF THE INDIANS. 1$ 
 
 live forests. They are fickle and capricious ; irascible 
 and- impetuous ; kind to their friends, vindictive and 
 cruel towards fheir enemies ; and in order to execute 
 their revenge, they readily exercise dissimulation and 
 deceit, and shrink from no toil or danger. Their dis 
 tinguishing qualities are strength, cunning, and ferocity ; 
 and as war is their first employment, so bravery is their 
 first virtue. 
 
 The ancient weapon of the hunter was the bow and 
 arrow ; but many of them have now procured muskets. 
 Their dress differs considerably in different tribes. It 
 consisted originally of skins; but many of them are 
 now provided with blankets and different kinds of cloth. 
 The dress of the Konzas, a tribe on the Missouri, may 
 serve as a sample. They protect their feet with moc 
 casins, or shoes made of dressed deer, elk, or buffalo 
 skin : leggins of deer-skin reach to the upper part of 
 the thigh : a breech-doth passes between the legs, and is 
 attached to a girdle fastened round the loins. A blanket 
 or skin covers the upper part of the body ; but in warm 
 weather it is laid aside. In some tribes the hair is 
 allowed to flow loosely over the face and shoulders ; in 
 others it is carefully braided, knotted, and ornamented, 
 and is always well greased. In many cases the head is 
 bare, both in summer and winter; but in others, both 
 men and women wear a cap like an inverted bowl. 
 The men have also a war cap, which they put on as a 
 symbol of mourning, or when preparing for battle. It 
 is commonly decorated with the feathers of rare v birds, 
 or with the claws^of beavers or eagles, or other similar 
 ornaments. A quill or feather is also suspended from 
 it for every enemy that the warrior has slain in battle. 
 They often suspend from their ears wampum beads, 
 
16 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 silver and tin trinkets, and they are fond of bracelets 
 and rings. The face and body are often besmeared 
 with a mixture of grease and coal. They are very 
 attentive to personal decoration; and vermilion is an 
 important article at their toilet. The faces of the men 
 are painted with more care than those of the women ; 
 and the latter have more pride in adorning the counte 
 nances of their husbands than their own. A tobacco 
 pouch, attached to the girdle or carried in the hand, is 
 a usual part of their equipment. The women's dress is 
 partly like that of the men ; but their leggins only reach 
 to the knee ; they have sleeveless shifts, which come 
 down to the ankle, and a mantle covers all. 
 
 On the north-west coast of America, between 52 
 and 53 north latitude, the dress of the natives consists 
 of a single robe, tied over the shoulders, falling down 
 to the heels behind, and a little below the knee before, 
 with a deep fringe round the bottom. It is generally 
 made of the bark of the cedar tree, spun like hemp. 
 Some of those garments are interwoven with stripes 
 of the sea-otter's skin, which gives them the appearance 
 of fur on one side : others have stripes of red and yel 
 low threads fancifully introduced towards the borders, 
 which produce a very agreeable effect. The men have 
 no other covering, and they unceremoniously lay it 
 aside whenever it suits their convenience to do so. Be 
 sides the robe, the women have a close fringe hanging 
 down before them, and they cut their hair so short that 
 it needs little care or combing : the men have theirs in 
 plaits, smeared with grease and red aafrth, and, instead 
 of a comb, they have a small stick, suspended by a 
 string from one of the locks, which they employ to 
 alleviate any itching or irritation of the head. 
 
DWELLINGS, FURNITURE, AND FOOD. 17 
 
 DWELLINGS, FURNITURE, AND FOOD. 
 
 The wigiuams, tents, or lodges of the Indians are dif 
 ferently constructed in different nations. The rudest 
 are formed of branches resting against each other at 
 the top, covered with leaves or grass, and forming a 
 very imperfect shelter against the weather. The na 
 tions on the west of the Rocky Mountains have houses 
 formed of a frame of sticks, covered with mats and 
 dried grass. Many tribes erect long poles, in a circular 
 form at the bottom, and resting against each other at 
 the top, which they cover with skins : others have ob 
 long lodges, consisting of a wooden frame, covered 
 with grass mats and earth. The light is admitted by a 
 small door, and by an aperture in the top, which serves 
 also for the escape of the smoke. The fire is in the 
 middle of the lodge, and the family sit round it on the 
 bare ground; but they spread a skin for a stranger. 
 They readily kindle a fire by rapidly turning one piece 
 of smooth wood upon another ; but in the vicinity of 
 Europeans, they are now generally provided with flint 
 and steel. On the north-\vest coast, some tribes live in 
 houses considerably elevated above the ground, and 
 supported by upright posts. 
 
 Their scanty and simple furniture and culinary uten 
 sils are suited to their humble dwelling* and homely 
 manner of life. A kettle, a wooden bowl, a couple of 
 wooden or horn spoons, a few skins for beds and co 
 vers, and a buffalo's stomach for carrying water, are 
 the chief articles of domestic accommodation. For 
 merly they used earthen pots ; but these are now gene 
 rally superseded by metallic pots or kettles, purchased 
 from the white traders. Some of the tribes on the 
 
 B 
 
18 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 north-west of Lake Superior, cook their victuals in ves 
 sels made of watape, the name given to the split roots 
 of the spruce fir. These they weave so closely as to 
 contain water, which they raise to the boiling point by 
 putting into it a succession of heated stones. 
 
 Many of the tribes are strangers to bread and salt 
 Besides fruits and roots, they feed on the flesh of thte 
 animals they kill, boiled or roasted. In travelling, pem- 
 mican is their favourite food. It consists of flesh cut 
 into thin slices, dried in the sun or over a slow fire, beat 
 to a coarse powder between two stones, and then care 
 fully packed up. In different nations it is known by 
 different names. 
 
 Among the tribes who practise cultivation, maize is 
 sometimes roasted in the ashes, and sometimes bruised 
 and boiled, and is then called hominey. They also boil 
 and eat wild rice, which grows in considerable quanti 
 ties in some parts of the country. They have no fixed 
 time for meals, but eat when they are hungry. They 
 present food to a stranger, at what time soever he en 
 ters their dwelling. 
 
 MARRIAGE AND EDUCATION. 
 
 Polygamy is not uncommon among them ; and the 
 husband occasionally finds it necessary to administer a 
 little wholesome castigation to his more quarrelsome or 
 refractory squaws. But many are satisfied with one 
 wife. The care of the tent and the whole drudgery 
 of the family devolve on the women. They gather 
 "uel, cook the provisions, and repair every article of 
 dress ; cultivate the ground, where any is cultivated 
 carry the baggage on a journey; and pitch the tent 
 when they halt. In these and similar employments, 
 
MR. CATILIN, PAINTING PORTRAITS OF THE INDIANS. Page 19. 
 
MARRIAGE AND EDUCATION. 19 
 
 their lordly fathers, husbands, and brothers, think it de 
 grading to assist them, and unworthy of warriors to 
 engage in such employments. 
 
 Mr. Catlin, whose long residence among the Indians, 
 and careful observation of their habits, entitle his 
 opinion to great respect, regards this assignment of 
 drudgery to the women as no more than an equitable 
 distribution of the labour necessary to the support of 
 the household. He considers the toils of war and the 
 chase, which are almost incessant, and are solely per 
 formed by the men, as a complete offset to the domestic 
 and agricultural cares of the women. On the whole he 
 thinks that the condition of the Indian women is as 
 comfortable as it is possible to render it by any 
 arrangement which would not completely change their 
 mode of life. To withdraw the men from the chase 
 and confine them to the culture of the ground, would 
 render the Indians an agricultural and not a hunting 
 people. Still the condition of the Indian woman is a 
 miserable and degraded one, a condition of incessant 
 labour and care. 
 
 In none of the tribes do the women experience much 
 tenderness ; but among the Sioux they are so harshly 
 treated, that they occasionally destroy their female in 
 fants, alleging that it is better for them to be put to 
 death than to live as miserably as they themselves have 
 done. Even suicide is not uncommon among them, 
 although they believe it offensive to the Father of Life. 
 
 The Indians never chastise their children, especially 
 the boys ; thinking that it would damp their spirits, check 
 their love of independence, and cool their martial ar 
 dour, which they wish above all things to encourage. 
 * Reason," say they, " will guide our children, when 
 
20 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 they come to the use of it : and before that, their faults 
 cannot be very great." They avoid compulsory mea 
 sures, and allow the boys to act with uncontrolled free 
 dom ; but endeavour, by example, instruction, and ad 
 vice, to train them to diligence and skill in hunting ; to 
 animate them with patience, courage, and fortitude in 
 war; and to inspire them with contempt of danger, 
 pain, and death, qualities of the highest order in the 
 estimation of an Indian. 
 
 By gentleness and persuasion they endeavour to im 
 bue the minds of their children with virtuous sentiments, 
 according to their notions of virtue. The aged chiefs 
 are zealous in this patriotic labour, and the squaws give 
 their cordial co-operation. 
 
 Ishuchenau, an old Kanza warrior, often admonished 
 the group of young auditors who gathered around him, 
 of their faults, and exhorted them never to tell a lie, and 
 never to steal, except from an enemy, whom it is just 
 to injure in every possible way. " When you become 
 men," said he, " be brave and cunning in war, and de 
 fend your hunting grounds against all encroachments : 
 never suffer your squaws and little ones to want ; pro 
 tect them and strangers from insult. On no occasion 
 betray a friend ; be revenged on your enemies ; drink 
 not the poisonous strong water of the white people, for 
 it is sent by the bad spirit to destroy the Indians. Fear 
 not death ; none but cowards fear to die. Obey and 
 venerate old people, particularly your parents. Fear 
 and propitiate the bad spirit, that he may do you no 
 harm : love and adore the Good Spirit, who made us 
 all, who supplies our hunting grounds, and keeps all 
 alive." After recounting his achievements, he was 
 wont to add, "Like a decayed prairie tree, I stand 
 
ISHUCHENATT. 
 
 Page 20. 
 
MARRIAGE AND EDUCATION. 21 
 
 alone : the friends of my youth, the companions of 
 my sports, my toils, and my dangers, rest their heads 
 on the bosom of our mother. My sun is fast descending 
 behind the western hills, and I feel it will soon be night 
 with me." Then with hands and eyes lifted towards 
 heaven, he thanked the Great Spirit for having spared 
 him so long, to show the young men the true path to 
 glory and fame. 
 
 Their opinions, in many instances, are false, and lead 
 to corresponding errors in conduct. In some tribes, the 
 young person is taught to pray, with various supersti 
 tious observances, that he may be a great hunter, horse- 
 stealer, and warrior ; so that thus the fountain of virtue 
 is polluted. 
 
 The Indians are entirely unacquainted with letters ; 
 but they have a kind of picture writing, which they 
 practise on the inside of the bark of trees, or on skins 
 prepared for the purpose, and by which they can com 
 municate the knowledge of many facts to each other. 
 
 The Indian names are descriptive of the real or sup 
 posed qualities of the persons to whom they belong: 
 they often change them in the course of their lives. 
 The young warrior is ambitious of acquiring a new 
 name ; and stealing a horse, scalping an enemy, or kill 
 ing a bear, is an achievement which entitles him to 
 choose one for himself, and the nation confirms it. 
 
 The Indian women are industrious wives and affec 
 tionate mothers. They are attentive to the comfort of 
 their husbands, watch over their children with the ut 
 most care and tenderness ; and if they die, lament the 
 loss in the most affecting manner. 
 
 .Chastity is not reckoned a virtue; and, as the women 
 are considered the property of the men, a deviation 
 
22 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 from it, with the consent of the father, husband, or bro 
 ther, is not looked on as an offence. Nay, to counte 
 nance their wives, sisters, or daughters, in conferring 
 favours on strangers, is considered a strong expression 
 of hospitality ; and the refusal of the proffered kindness 
 is regarded by the lady as an unpardonable insult. But 
 some husbands, on discovering unauthorized conjugal 
 infidelity, punish it with severity ; others treat it very 
 lightly. 
 
 The Indians are kind and hospitable to their friends, 
 and to those who are introduced to them in that char 
 acter. Although they themselves sit on the bare ground, 
 yet they courteously spread a buffalo skin for their 
 visiter ; smoke a pipe with him in token of peace and 
 amity ; and the squaw prepares something for him to 
 eat. They have little selfishness, and are ready to share 
 their last morsel with their friends. 
 
 MEDICINE AND SORCERY. 
 
 They are immoderately addicted to intoxicating 
 liquors, which they procure from the white traders, and 
 which have been the means of destroying multitudes of 
 them. Before their intercourse with white men they 
 had no intoxicating beverage ; and, excepting the liquor 
 which they procure from the merchants, their meals are 
 temperate, and their habits of life active. Their dis 
 eases are few, and seldom of long duration. Many of 
 them fall in battle ; and multitudes are occasionally 
 swept away by small-pox. To the healing art they are 
 in a great measure strangers ; although, by means of 
 simples, they in some instances perform surprising 
 cures. In general, however, these pretenders to medical 
 skill are mere quacks and jugglers, who affect to chase 
 

MEDICINE AND SORCERY. 23 
 
 away disease by howling, blowing on the patient, and 
 by various incantations, sleight-of-hand performances, 
 and superstitious rites. 
 
 Some of their medicine-men or conjurors, who are 
 their only doctors, pretend to have seen the Great Spi 
 rit, and to have conversed with him in some visible 
 form, as of a buffalo, beaver, or other animal ; and to 
 have received from him some medicine of peculiar effi 
 cacy. The animal whose form had appeared is con 
 sidered to be the remedy ; and they imitate its cry in 
 making their medical applications. The medicine bag, 
 in which these savage physicians have a few herbs, en 
 tire or pulverized, and which they administer with a 
 little warm water, is an indispensable requisite in Indian 
 medical practice. Indeed, the head of every family has 
 his medicine bag, which is a place of sacred deposit, 
 and to the sanctity of which he commits his most pre 
 cious articles. The value of its contents an Indian only 
 can appreciate. 
 
 In every stage of society, persons appear who ac 
 commodate themselves to the state of the public mind. 
 Of this description are the jugglers, conjurors, or 
 powahs, among the ignorant and superstitious Indians. 
 They are partly medical quacks, partly religious im 
 postors. Many of them are dexterous jugglers and 
 cunning cheats. They pretend to foretell future events, 
 and even to influence the weather. It is likely that they 
 are often, in some measure, the dupes of their own 
 artifices. 
 
 The sweating-houses of the Indians are often em 
 ployed for medical purposes, although they are places 
 of social recreation also. A hole is dug in the ground, 
 and over it is built a small close hut, with an opening 
 
24 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 just large enough to admit the patient. A number of 
 heated stones are placed in the bottom of the hole. The 
 patient enters, having a vessel full of water along with 
 him ; and being seated on a place prepared for his re 
 ception, the entrance is closed. He sprinkles water on 
 the heated stones, and is soon, by the steam, thrown 
 into a state of profuse perspiration. After this has con 
 tinued for some time, the person is taken out and 
 plunged into cold water. This process is repeated seve 
 ral times, always ending with the steam-bath. The In 
 dians use this as a general remedy ; but its salutary 
 effects are experienced chiefly in rheumatic diseases, in 
 which its efficacy is at times very great. 
 
 The Indians bear disease with composure and re 
 signation ; and when far advanced in life, often long for 
 the hour of dissolution. " It is better," said an aged 
 sachem, " to sit than to stand, to sleep than to be awake, 
 to be dead than alive." The dying man exhorts his 
 children to be industrious, kind to their friends, but im 
 placable to their enemies. He rejoices in the hope of 
 immortality. He is going to the land of spirits, that 
 happy place where there is plenty of game and no 
 want, where the path is smooth and the sky clear. 
 
 BURIAL CEREMONIES, MOURNING, &c. 
 
 When the sick person expires, the friends assemble 
 round the body, the women weep and clap their hands, 
 and bewail their loss with loud lamentations. Different 
 nations dispose of the bodies of departed friends, and 
 express their grief, in different ways. Many Indian 
 tribes bury their dead soon after death. They wrap up 
 the body carefully in a buffalo robe, or dressed skin, and 
 carry it to the grave on the shoulders of two or three 
 
BURIAL CEREMONIES AND MOURNING. 25 
 
 men. Along with the body they bury a pair or two of 
 moccasins, some meat, and other articles, to be used on 
 the journey to the town of brave spirits, which thev 
 generally believe lies towards the setting sun. The 
 favourite weapons and utensils of the warrior are also 
 deposited by his side. It is believed that unless this be 
 done, the spirit of the deceased appears among the trees 
 near his lodge, and does not go to its rest till the pro 
 perty withheld be committed to the grave. In some 
 places they discharge muskets, make a noise, and vio 
 lently strike the trees, in order to drive away the spirit, 
 which they imagine fondly lingers near its old abode. 
 A mound is sometimes raised over the grave, propor 
 tioned in size to the dignity of the deceased ; or the 
 place is marked out and secured by short sticks driven 
 into the ground over and around it. Some of those 
 graves are commonly near each of their villages. 
 
 The tribes on the Columbia construct long narrow 
 sheds, in which they deposit the dead, carefully wrapped 
 up in skins, and covered with mats. The Killamucks, 
 a tribe living near the shore of the Pacific Ocean, on 
 the south of the Columbia, inclose their dead in an ob 
 long wooden box, which they place in an open canoe, 
 lying on the ground, with a paddle and some other arti 
 cles of the deceased by his side. The Chinooks, Clat- 
 sops, and neighbouring nations, support the canoe on 
 posts, about six feet from the ground, and reverse a 
 larger canoe over it. The whole is wrapped up in mats 
 made of rushes, and fastened with cords, usually made 
 oi the bark of white cedar. But instead of laying the 
 body in a box like the Killamucks, they roll it carefully 
 in a dressed skin. Vancouver saw canoes, containing 
 dead bodies, suspended from the branches of trees, 
 
26 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 about twelve feet from the ground. The Chopunnish, a 
 tribe living on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, 
 lay their dead in burying places constructed of boards, 
 like the roof of a house. The bodies are rolled in skins, 
 laid over each other, and separated by a board above 
 and belo'w. They devote horses, (fanoes, and other 
 kinds of property, to the dead. Carver mentions some 
 tribes on the St. Peter's which annually carry their dead 
 for interment to a cave on the banks of the Mississippi. 
 It appears that some others occasionally burn the dead, 
 or at least the flesh, and afterwards bury the bones. 
 
 On the death of a relation, the survivors give way to 
 excessive grief, bedaub themselves with white clay, 
 blacken their faces, cut off their hair, and not unfre- 
 quently mangle themselves in a shocking manner, thrust 
 ing knives or arrows into the muscular parts of their 
 thighs or arms, or cutting off a joint of one of their 
 fingers. For a while they nightly repair to the place 
 of sepulture to give expression to their grief; and may 
 occasionally be seen affectionately plucking the grass 
 from the grave of a deceased relation or friend. 
 
 Among those tribes in the extreme northern parts of 
 the continent, where provisions are scarce, and pro 
 cured with difficulty, it is not uncommon for an aged 
 person, who is unable to provide for himself, to request 
 his family to put him to death ; and the request is com 
 plied with, or he is treated with much neglect. But this 
 unnatural conduct results entirely from the pressure of 
 circumstances, and the privations and sufferings to 
 which those poor people are exposed ; for in more 
 favourable situations they behave towards the aged 
 and infirm with respect and tenderness. 
 
RELIGION. 27 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 Of the religion of the Indians we have no full and 
 dear account. Indeed, of the opinions of a people who 
 have nothing more than a few vague and indefinite no 
 tions, no distinct- explanation can be given. * On this 
 subject the Indians are not communicative ; and to ob 
 tain a thorough knowledge of it would require familiar, 
 attentive, unsuspected, and unprejudiced observation. 
 But such observation is not easily made; and a few 
 general, and on some points uncertain, notices only can 
 be given. 
 
 On looking at the most renowned nations of the an 
 cient heathen world, we see the people prostrating 
 themselves before innumerable divinities; and we are 
 ready to conclude that polytheism is the natural belief 
 of man, unenlightened by revelation. But a survey of 
 the vast wilds of America will correct this opinion. For 
 there we find a multitude of nations, widely separated 
 from each other, all believing in One Supreme God, a 
 great and good spirit, the father and master of life, the 
 maker of heaven and earth, and of all other creatures. 
 They believe themselves entirely dependent on him, 
 thank him for present enjoyments, and pray to him for 
 the good things they desire to obtain. They consider 
 him the author of all good ; and believe he will reward 
 or punish them according to their deeds. 
 
 They believe in inferior spirits also, both good and 
 bad ; to whom, particularly to the good, they give the 
 , name of Manitou, and consider them tutelary spirits. 
 The Indians are careful observers of dreams, and think 
 themselves deserted by the Master of life, till they re 
 ceive a manitou in a dream ; that is, till they dream of 
 
28 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES- 
 
 some object, as a buffalo or beaver, or something elsa, 
 which they think is an intimation that the Great Spirit 
 has given them that object as a manitou, or medicine. 
 Then they are full of courage, and proud of their pow 
 erful ally. To propitiate the manitou, or medicine, 
 every exertion is made, and every personal considera 
 tion sacrificed. " I was lately the proprietor of seven 
 teen horses," said a Mandan ; " but I have offered them 
 all to my medicine, and am now poor." He had turned 
 all these horses, which constituted the w r hole of his 
 wealth, loose into the plain, committed them to his me 
 dicine, and abandoned them for ever. But, although 
 they offer oblations to the manitous, they positively deny 
 that they pay them any adoration, and affirm that they 
 only worship the Great Spirit through them. 
 
 They have no regular periodical times either of pri 
 vate or public religious worship. They have neither 
 temples, altars, stated ministers of religion, nor regular 
 sacrifices ; for the jugglers are connected rather with 
 the medical art than with religious services. The In 
 dians in general, like other ignorant people, are be 
 lievers in witchcraft, and think many of their diseases 
 proceed from the arts of sorcerers. These arts the jug 
 glers pretend to counteract, as well as to cure natural 
 diseases. They also pretend to predict the weather and 
 to make rain ; and much confidence is placed in their 
 prognostications and their power. 
 
 The devotional exercises of the Indians consist in 
 singing, dancing, and performing various mystical cere 
 monies, which they believe efficacious in healing the 
 sick, frustrating the designs of their enemies, and se 
 curing their own success. They often offer up to the 
 Great Spirit a part of the game first taken in a hunting 
 
RELIGION. 29 
 
 expedition, a part of the first produce of their fields, 
 and a part of their food. At a feast, they first throw 
 some of the broth, and then of the meat, into the fire. 
 In smoking, they generally testify their reverence for 
 the Master of life, by directing the first puff upwards, 
 and the second downwards, or the first to the rising, 
 and the second to the setting sun : at other times they 
 turn the pipe to every point of the compass. 
 
 They firmly believe in the immortality of the soul, 
 and in a state of future retribution : but their concep 
 tions on these subjects are modified and tinged by their 
 occupations in life, and by their notions of good and evil. 
 They suppose the spirit retains the same inclinations as 
 when in the body, and rejoices in its old pursuits. At 
 times, an Indian warrior, when about to kill and scalp 
 a prostrate enemy, addresses him in such terms as the 
 following : 
 
 " My name is Cashegra : I am a famous warrior, 
 and am going to kill you. When you reach the land 
 of spirits, you will see the ghost of my father : tell him 
 it was Cashegra sent you there." The uplifted toma 
 hawk then descends upon his victim. 
 
 The *Mandans expected, when they died, to return to 
 the original subterraneous abode of their fathers : the 
 good reaching the ancient village by means of the lake, 
 which the weight of the sins of the bad will render 
 them unable to pass. They who have behaved them 
 selves well in this life, and been brave warriors and 
 good hunters, will be received into the town of brave 
 and generous spirits; but the useless and selfish will 
 
 The Mandan tribe is now entirely extinct. Catlin. 
 4 
 
30 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 be doomed to reside in the town of poor and useless 
 spirits. 
 
 The belief of those untutored children of nature has 
 an influence on their conduct. Among them the grand 
 defect is, an erroneous estimate of good and evil, right 
 and wrong. But how much soever we may lament their 
 errors on these interesting points, we need not be sur 
 prised at them ; for how many, even in more enlightened 
 communities, and with clearer means of information, 
 can scarcely be said to have sounder principles, or a 
 better practice ? A reverential and grateful sense of the 
 divine perfections and government, manifesting itself by 
 a devout regard to his institutions, and obedience to his 
 will, by benevolence, integrity, candour, and kindness 
 towards men, and by sobriety and industry, is too little 
 valued and practised by many who enjoy the light of 
 revelation. Hitherto the Indians have learned little but 
 vice by their intercourse with white men. 
 
 Although they have no regular system of religious 
 worship, yet they have many superstitious notions ; 
 some of them of a more general, others of a more local 
 nature. The Mandans had their medicine stone, which 
 was their great oracle ; and they believed w 7 ith implicit 
 confidence whatever it announced. Every spring, and 
 occasionally during summer, a deputation, accompanied 
 by jugglers, magicians, or conjurors, visited the sacred 
 spot, where there is a large stone, about twenty feet in 
 circumference, with a smooth surface : there the depu 
 ties smoked, taking a few whiffs themselves, and then 
 ceremoniously offering the pipe to the stone. They left 
 their presents, and withdrew to some distance during 
 the night. Before morning the presents disappeared, 
 the Great Spirit having, according to their belief, taken 
 
RELIGION. 31 
 
 them away ; and they read the destinies of their nation 
 in some marks on the stone, which the jugglers, who 
 made them, and secretly managed the whole transaction, 
 could easily decipher. The Minnetarees have also a 
 stone of the same kind. 
 
 On the northern bank of the lower part of the Mis 
 souri there is a singular range of rocks, rising almost 
 perpendicularly about 200 or 300 feet above the level 
 of the river. These rocks the Indians call Manitou; 
 and on or near them the neighbouring nations deposit 
 most of their offerings to the Great Spirit or Father of 
 Life ; because they imagine he either inhabits or fre 
 quently visits those rocks, and offerings presented there 
 will sooner attract his notice and gain his favour than 
 any where else. Those offerings consist of various 
 articles, among which eagles' feathers are held in high 
 est estimation ; and they are presented in order to obtain 
 success in war or hunting. 
 
 They believe also in the existence of evil spirits ; 
 but think these malevolent beings gratify their malignity 
 chiefly by driving away the game, preventing the effi 
 cacy of medicine, or similar injuries. But they do not 
 always confine their operations to such petty mischiefs 
 for Mackenzie, in his first voyage, was warned of a 
 manitou, or spirit, behind a neighbouring island, which 
 swallowed up every person who approached it: and, 
 near the White Stone river of the Missouri there is an 
 oblong mound, about seventy feet high, called by the 
 Indians the Mountain of Little people, or Little Spirits, 
 which are supposed to be malignant beings in human 
 shape, about eighteen inches high, with remarkably 
 large heads. They are provided with sharp arrows, in 
 the use of which they are very expert ; and they are 
 
32 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 always on the watch to kill those who approach the 
 mountain of their residence. The tradition is that many 
 persons have fallen victims to their malevolence ; and 
 such is the terror of them among the neighbouring 
 nations, that on no consideration will they approach the 
 mound. 
 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Among the Indians, society is in the loosest state in 
 which it can possibly exist. They have no regular 
 magistrates, no laws, no tribunals, to protect the weak 
 or punish the guilty. Every man must assert his own 
 rights, and avenge his own wrongs. He is neither 
 restrained nor protected by any thing but a sense of 
 shame, and the approbation or disapprobation of his 
 tribe. He acknowledges no master, and submits to no 
 superior authority ; so that an Indian community seems 
 like a mound of sand on the sea-shore, which one gale 
 has accumulated, and which the next may disperse. 
 
 But, amid this apparent disunion, the Indian is strong 
 ly attached to his nation. He is jealous of its honour, 
 proud of its success, and zealous for its welfare. Guided 
 by a few traditionary notions, and by the opinion and 
 example of those around him, he is ready to exert all 
 his energies, and sacrifice even life itself for his country. 
 Here sentiment and habit do more than wise laws can 
 elsewhere accomplish. 
 
 Where all are equally poor, the distinctions founded 
 on wealth cannot exist; and among a people where 
 experience is the only source of knowledge, the aged 
 men are naturally the sages of the nation. Surrounded 
 by enemies, and exposed to continual peril, the strongest, 
 boldest, and most successful warrior, is highly respected; 
 and the influence gained in youth by courage and enter- 
 
INDIAN CHIEFS. 
 
 Page 82. 
 
GOVERNMENT. 83 
 
 prise is often retained in old age by wisdom and elo 
 quence. In many of the tribes, the sachems or chiefs 
 have a sort of hereditary rank ; but, in order to main 
 tain it, they must conciliate the good will of the most 
 influential persons of the community. They have 
 nothing like monarchial revenues, pomp, or authority; 
 but maintain their distinction by bravery, good conduct, 
 and generosity. 
 
 The most important concerns of the tribe are dis 
 cussed in a council composed of the chiefs and warriors, 
 in which the principal chief presides. Every member 
 delivers his opinion with freedom, and is heard with 
 attention. Their proceedings are considered sacred, and 
 are kept a profound secret, unless it be thought the pub 
 lic good requires a disclosure. In that case the decision, 
 with the reasons on which it is founded, is published by 
 a member of the council, who recommends a compliance 
 with it. In the stillness of the morning or evening this 
 herald marches through the village, solemnly communi 
 cating the information, and giving suitable exhortations. 
 He also instructs the young men and children how to 
 behave, in order to gain the esteem of good men, and 
 the approbation of the Good Spirit. 
 
 The authority of the chiefs and warriors is hortatory 
 rather than coercive. They have influence to persuade, 
 but not power to compel. They are rather respected as 
 parents and friends, than feared and obeyed as superiors. 
 The chief is merely the most confidential person among 
 the warriors ; neither installed with any ceremony, nor 
 distinguished by any badge. He may recommend, or 
 advise, or influence ; but he has no power to enforce his 
 commands, or to punish disobedience. In many of the 
 tribes he gradually acquires his rank by his own supe- 
 
 C 
 
34 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 rior merit, and the good opinion of his companions , 
 and he may lose his authority as he gained it. 
 
 The people commonly settle their controversies among 
 themselves, and do not apply to their chiefs, except for 
 advice. In some of the tribes peace is preserved, and 
 punishment inflicted in a very summary manner by offi 
 cers appointed by the chief for that purpose. These 
 officers are distinguished by having their bodies black 
 ened, and by having two or three ravens' skins fixed in 
 their girdles behind, so that the tails project horizontally. 
 They have also a raven's skin, with the tail projecting 
 from their forehead. These officers, of whom there 
 are two or three in a village, and who are frequently 
 changed, beat any person whom they find acting in a 
 disorderly manner. Their authority is held sacred, and 
 none dares resist them. They often attend the chief, 
 and consider it a point of honour to execute his orders 
 at any risk. 
 
 ELOaUENCE. 
 
 The eloquence of the Indian orators occasionally dis 
 plays itself in strong and figurative expressions, accom 
 panied with violent but not unnatural gesticulations, 
 Many of their speeches are on record ; and we shall 
 give two of them, as a specimen of the manner in which 
 these untaught children of nature express themselves. 
 
 The first is that of Logan. In the year 1774, the 
 family of Logan, a distinguished chief, who had always 
 been friendly to white men, was inhumanly massacred 
 by a detachment of Virginia militia, acting under British 
 authority. Logan was highly exaspej&ted, and joined 
 the hostile tribes. The Indians were defeated, and com 
 pelled to sue for peace. But Logan scorned to be seen 
 among the suppliants. Lest, however, the sincerity of a 
 
ELOQUENCE. 35 
 
 treaty from which such an eminent chief absented him 
 self should be suspected, he sent the following speech, 
 by general Gibson, to Lord Dunmore, governor of the 
 province : " I appeal to any white man to say if ever 
 he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him no 
 meat ; if ever he came cold and naked and he clothed 
 him not. During the course of the last long and bloody 
 war, Logan remained idle in his lodge, the advocate of 
 peace. Such was my love of the whites, that my coun 
 trymen pointed at me as they passed, and said, * Logan 
 is the friend of white men.' I had even thought to have 
 lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. Last 
 spring, colonel Cresap, in cold blood, and unprovoked, 
 murdered all the relations of Logan, not sparing even 
 my women and children. There runs not a drop of my 
 blood in the veins of any living creature. This called 
 on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have killed 
 many. I have glutted my vengeance. For my country 
 I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not think mine 
 is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. Logan will 
 not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to 
 mourn the death of Logan ? Not one." 
 
 The second speech is that of a Pawnee chief, named 
 Sharitarouish ; and we introduce it merely because it is 
 recent, having been addressed to the president of the 
 United States, in council, on the 4th of February, 1822 ; 
 and because the chief who delivered it, on ae< 
 his remote situation, could have had Ii 
 with white men, having been, along v 
 conducted from the banks of the Platte 
 by major O'Fallon, agent of the State; 
 dians of the Missouri. He spoke to the 
 follows : 
 
36 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 " My great father, I have travelled a great way to see 
 you: I have seen you, and my heart rejoices. I have 
 heard your words : they have entered one ear, and shall 
 not escape by the other. I will carry them to my people 
 as pure as they came from your mouth. 
 
 " My great father, I am going to speak the truth. The 
 Great Spirit looks down upon us ; and I call him to 
 witness all that may pass between us on this occasion. 
 If I am here now, and have seen your people, your 
 houses, your vessels on the big lake, and a great many 
 wonderful things, far beyond my comprehension, which 
 appear to have been made by the Great Spirit, and 
 placed in your hands, I am indebted to my father here, 
 (pointing to major O'Fallon,) who invited me from home, 
 and under whose wings I have been protected. Yes, 
 my great father, I have travelled with your chief; I 
 ,have followed him, and trodden in his tracks. But there 
 is still another great Father, to whom I am much in 
 debted. HE is the Father of us all. He made us, and 
 placed us on this earth. I feel grateful to the Great 
 Spirit for strengthening my heart for such an under 
 taking, and for preserving the life which he gave me. 
 The Great Spirit made us all. He made my skin red, 
 and yours white. He placed us on this earth, and in 
 tended that we should live differently from each other. 
 He made the whites to cultivate the earth, and feed on 
 '-tic animals ; but he made us red skins to rove 
 uifivated woods and plains, to feed on 
 o clothe ourselves with their skins. 
 o that we should go to war, take scalps, 
 s from our enemies, and triumph over them, 
 mid cultivate peace at home, and pro- 
 iness of each other. I believe there are 
 
ELOQUENCE. 37 
 
 no people, of any colour, on earth, who do not believe 
 in the Great Spirit, and in rewards and punishments. 
 We worship HIM : but we worship him not as you do. 
 We differ from you in appearance and manners, as well 
 as in our customs ; and we differ from you in our reli 
 gion. We have no large houses, as you have, to wor 
 ship the Great Spirit in. If we had them to-day, we 
 should want them to-morrow ; for we have not, like you, 
 a fixed habitation. We have no settled home, except 
 our villages, where we remain but two moons in twelve. 
 We, like the animals, rove through the country ; while 
 you whites reside between us and heaven. But still, 
 my great father, we love the Great Spirit ; we acknow 
 ledge his supreme power. Our peace, health, and 
 happiness depend upon him ; and our lives belong to 
 him. He made us, and he can destroy us. 
 
 " My great father, some of your good chiefs, as they 
 are called (the missionaries), have proposed to send some 
 of their good people among us, to change our habits, to 
 make us work, and live like the white people. I will not 
 tell a lie ; I am going to speak the truth. You love your 
 country ; you love your people ; you love the manner in 
 which they live : and you think your people brave. I 
 am like you, my great father : I love my country ; I 
 love my people ;' I love the manner in which we live ; 
 and I think myself and my warriors brave. Spare me, 
 then, my father ; let me enjoy my country, and pursue 
 the buffalo and the beaver, and otner wild animals ; and 
 with their skins I will trade with your people. I have 
 grown up, and lived thus long, without working : I hope 
 you will suffer me to die without it. We have plenty 
 of buffalo, beaver, deer, and other wild animals ; we 
 have also abundance of horses ; we have every thing 
 
38 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 we want ; we have plenty of land, if you will keep your 
 people off it. My father (Major O'Fallon) has a piece 
 of land, on which he lives (Council Bluffs), and we wish 
 him to enjoy it : we have enough without it. We wish 
 him to live near us, to give us good counsel, to keep 
 our ears and eyes open, that we may continue to pursue 
 the right road, the road to happiness. He settles all 
 differences between us and the whites, and between the 
 red skins themselves. He makes the red skins do jus 
 tice to the whites; he saves the effusion -of human 
 blood ; and preserves peace and happiness in the land. 
 You have already sent us a father. It is enough. He 
 knows us, and we know him ; we have confidence in 
 him ; we keep our eye constantly upon him ; and since 
 we have heard your words we will listen more atten 
 tively to his. 
 
 " It is too soon, my great father, to send these good 
 men among us. We are not starving yet; we wish 
 you to permit us to enjoy the chase until the game of 
 our country be exhausted ; until the wild animals be 
 come extinct. Let us exhaust our present resources, 
 before you make us toil and interrupt our happiness. 
 Let me continue to live as I have done ; and after I 
 have passed to the Good or Evil Spirit from off the 
 wilderness of my present life, the subsistence of my 
 children may become so precarious as to need and 
 embrace the assistance of those good people. 
 
 "There was a time when we did not know the 
 whites. Our wants were then fewer than they are 
 now ; they were always within our control ; we had 
 seen nothing which we could not get. Before our 
 intercourse with the whites, who have caused such a 
 destruction in our game, we could lie down to sleep, 
 
WAR, CUSTOMS, ARMS, &r, 39 
 
 and when we awoke, we found the buffalo feeding 
 lound our camp: but now we kill them for their skins, 
 and feed the wolves with their flesh, to make our chil 
 dren cry over their bones. 
 
 " Here, my great father, is a pipe, which I present 
 you, as I am accustomed to present pipes to all the red 
 skins in peace with us. It is filled with such tobacco 
 as we were accustomed to smoke before we knew the 
 white people. It is pleasant, and the spontaneous 
 growth of the most remote parts of our country. I 
 know that the robes, leggins, moccasins, bear-claws, 
 and other articles, are of little value to you ; but we 
 wish you to deposit and preserve them in some con 
 spicuous part of your lodge, so that when we are gone 
 and the sod turned over our bones, if our children 
 should visit this place, as we do now, they may see 
 and recognise with pleasure the deposits of their 
 fathers, and reflect on the times that are past." 
 
 WAR, CUSTOMS, ARMS, &c. 
 
 The form of government among the Indian tribes is 
 not sufficiently strong to restrain the young warriors 
 from the commission of excesses and outrages, which 
 often involve the nation in protracted wars ; and the 
 chiefs, desirous as they may be of checking those im 
 petuous and refractory spirits, have not the power 
 
 Their wars most commonly originate in the stealing 
 of horses, or in the elopement of squaws ; sometimes in 
 encroachments on theif hunting grounds, or in the pro 
 secution of old quarrels, and the desire of avenging the 
 murder of relations. These wars are conducted in a 
 predatory manner. 
 
40 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 A single warrior sometimes undertakes an expedition 
 against the enemy ; but, in cases of great provocation,, 
 the whole tribe engages in the enterprise, under the 
 conduct of the principal chief. Even in this case, how 
 ever, none but volunteers join the army: no one ia 
 obliged to march against his will. 
 
 War is often carried on by a small predatory party, 
 formed by the influence of some approved warrior. 
 This warrior paints himself with white clay, and 
 marches through the village, crying aloud to the Wah- 
 conda, or Father of life, and entreating the young war 
 riors of the nation to have pity on him, and to accom 
 pany him in an expedition against their enemies. He 
 gives a feast to those who are willing to follow him ; 
 and it is distinctly understood that they who partake 
 of his hospitality, pledge themselves to be partners in 
 his enterprise. At the feast, he harangues them, and 
 tells them they must gain celebrity by their martial 
 prowess. This leader of the party, to whom the French 
 gave the name of partisan, busies himself, before setting 
 out, in making medicine, hanging out his medicine bag, 
 fasting, attending to his dreams, and other superstitious 
 observances. On the medicine bag much reliance is 
 placed for the successful termination of the adventure. 
 It usually contains the skin of a sparrow-hawk, and a 
 number of small articles, such as wampum beads and 
 tobacco, all attached to a belt, neatly enveloped in bark, 
 and tied round with strings of the same material. It is 
 of a cylindrical shape, about one, or sometimes two 
 feet long, and is suspended on the back of the partisan 
 by its belt, which passes round his neck. The mocca 
 sins, leggins, and arms of the party are put in order, 
 
WAR, CUSTOMS, ARMS. 41 
 
 and each warrior furnishes himself with some provi 
 sions. 
 
 With the partisan at their head, the party set out, 
 march cautiously, following each other in aline, at. a 
 distance of two or three paces, often treading in each 
 other's footsteps, that their number may not be disco 
 vered ; and they send out spies to explore their route. 
 They easily find out whether any persons have lately 
 passed the same way, by discerning their footsteps on 
 the grass ; and as they have to deal with people whose 
 organs of sense are as acute as their own, they are. 
 careful, as far as possible, to conceal their own tracks. 
 On halting, the medicine bag is not allowed to touch 
 the ground, but is suspended on a forked stick, firmly 
 fixed in the earth for that purpose. They smoke to it, 
 occasionally turning the stem of the pipe towards it, 
 towards the heavens, and towards the earth. The par 
 tisan carefully attends to his dreams, and, if he think 
 them ominous of evil, he at times abandons the en 
 terprise. 
 
 When the spies bring information that they are near 
 the enemy, the partisan opens his medicine bag, re 
 moves its barky envelope, and suspends the contents 
 from his neck, with the bird skin, wampum, and other 
 articles, hanging down on his breast. This is the sig 
 nal to prepare for action. If they have time, they paint 
 themselves, and smoke; they also paint their shields 
 with rude representations of the objects on which they 
 rely for success. The partisan gives the order to ad 
 vance, and they move on with cautious steps, as their 
 great aim is to fall upon the enemy by surprise. If they 
 succeed in this, the attack begins with the horrible yell 
 of the war whoop. This is their only martial music. 
 5 
 
42 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 They kill indiscriminately all who fall in their way ; but 
 if discovered, they either make a hasty retreat, or rush 
 to the attack with impetuous but disorderly fury. If in 
 the forest, they shelter themselves behind trees ; if on 
 open ground, they leap nimbly from side to side, to pre 
 vent the enemy from taking a steady aim, and cover 
 themselves with their bucklers. 
 
 It is not the mere killing of an enemy that confers 
 the highest honour on an Indian warrior, but the 
 striking the body of his fallen foe on the field of battle, 
 and in presence of his friends, who are eager to avenge 
 his death. Scalping is an act of no small celebrity in 
 Indian warfare ; and, in performing it, the victor sets 
 one foot on the neck of his dead or disabled enemy, en 
 twines one hand in his hair, and, by a few slashes of 
 the scalping-knife in his other, round the top of the 
 head, is enabled to pull off the skin with the hair. Car 
 rying away the scalp is simply a mark of victory : the 
 taking of prisoners is reckoned a high honour. 
 
 The wounded of the vanquished party are killed by 
 the conquerors on the field of battle, and their bodies 
 shockingly mangled ; the squaws so far overcoming by 
 habit the tender feelings of the female breast as to take 
 an active part in the inhuman scene. 
 
 In his lodge, the Indian is indolent, sedate, and appa 
 rently callous ; but in hunting, or in quest of an enemy, 
 he is keen, indefatigable, persevering : on the field of 
 battle he seems an infuriated demon : so different are 
 his appearances in different circumstances. The vic 
 torious party bury their dead, or cover them with bushes 
 or stones. They remove their wounded in litters, borne 
 on men's shoulders ; or, if they have horses, on a car 
 of two shafts, with a buffalo skin stretched between 
 
SCALPING. 
 
 Page 42. 
 
WAR, CUSTOMS, ARMS. 43 
 
 them. They return rapidly to their village, and com 
 monly halt on some elevated ground in its vicinity 
 Their friends, eager to be informed of the particulars 
 of the expedition, hasten to meet them. The party en 
 ters the village with savage pomp, ostentatiously ex 
 hibiting the scalps which they have taken raised on 
 poles. Many of the warriors bear the mark indicative 
 of having drunk the blood of an enemy. This consists 
 in rubbing the hand all over with vermilion, and then 
 pressing it on the face and mouth, so as to leave a com 
 plete impression. On those occasions, the wives of the 
 warriors who have been engaged in the enterprise attire 
 themselves in the dress of their husbands, and, with 
 rods in their hands, to which the scalps that have been 
 taken are attached, dance round a large red post, and, 
 in concert with the young warriors, sing the war and 
 scalp songs. This barbarous dance, which is repeated 
 every night for some weeks,, is charming to the squaws ; 
 a circumstance which shows how far the human char 
 acter may be perverted by fashion and habit. 
 
 The Indians dance and sing at the same time : they 
 have, however, but little grace or variety in their move 
 ments, and little music in their notes. Their musical 
 instruments are a sort of drum, and a rattle or skin 
 bag, with small shot or pebbles in it, which makes a 
 noise when shaken. 
 
 It is dangerous to meet a disappointed or defeated 
 war party on its return, as the warriors are apt to in 
 demnify themselves for any disappointment, defeat, 01 
 loss they may have sustained, by taking the property 
 and scalps of the first weak or unguarded party they 
 may encounter. 
 
 No offence against society is inquired into by the 
 
44 4NDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 chiefs : stealing from one ot their own tribe, which is 
 very rare, exposes the thief to contempt ; but cowardice 
 is marked by the highest reprobation. When they go 
 to war, they keep a watchful eye on such of the young 
 men as are making their first essay in arms. If they 
 display the necessary qualifications, they are in due 
 time admitted to the rank of warriors, or, as they ex 
 press it, of braves, or brave men. But if any give clear 
 indications of cowardice, on the return of the party 
 they are treated with neglect and contempt. A coward 
 is at times punished even with death. 
 
 The female prisoners are made slaves, a condition 
 scarcely worse than that of the other squaws. The 
 young male prisoners are often adopted by the families 
 of the tribe which have taken them, and supply the 
 place of the members that have fallen in the expedi 
 tion. Sometimes, on returning to their village, the party 
 show their prisoner a painted red post, distant from 
 twenty to forty yards, and bid him run and lay hold of 
 it. On each side of his course stand men and women 
 with axes, sticks, and other offensive weapons, ready to 
 strike him as he passes. If he instantly spring forward 
 with agility, he may perhaps reach the post without re 
 ceiving a stroke, and is then safe, till a general council 
 of the warriors determine his fate ; but if he fall, he is 
 generally dispatched. 
 
 If the prisoner be rejected by the family to which he 
 is offered, he is then put to death with every circum 
 stance of cruelty ; and the constancy and fortitude of 
 the sufferer are as remarkable as the barbarity of his 
 murderers. The victim, fastened to a stake, sings his 
 death song, insults his tormentors, bears with unshrink- 
 ng firmness the most dreadful tortures, and expiies 
 
WAR, CUSTOMS, ARMS. 45 
 
 without a groan. He triumphs in his fortitude, not 
 merely as a personal virtue, but chiefly as a national 
 characteristic. We are to seek the cause of this patient 
 endurance of the most excruciating pains, not in any 
 nervous insensibility, any constitutional apathy, any 
 muscular rigidity of the Indian, but in the sentiments 
 which he has imbibed, and the habits to which he has 
 been trained. He has been taught, from infancy, to 
 consider courage and fortitude as the glory of man ; to 
 endure privations and pain without a murmur, and with 
 an unsubdued heart, and to despise tortures and death ; 
 and, in his last moments, he proves the efficacy of the 
 education which he has received. In these tragical 
 scenes the women often take an active part ; and their 
 inhumanity, like the fortitude of the men, springs from 
 education. 
 
 Previous to their intercourse with Europeans, the 
 arms of the Indians were bows and arrows, spears, 
 tomahawks, scalping knives, and war clubs. Most of 
 them, however, are now provided with fire-arms ; and, 
 being eager to procure them, their quantity is continually 
 increasing. But the use of these original weapons 
 is far from being entirely superseded. 
 
 At times the bow is formed of pieces of horn neatly 
 spliced, but it is more commonly made of wood. For 
 merly the arrow was pointed with flint or bone, but 
 now generally with iron : the spear is pointed in a simi 
 lar manner. The tomahawk is a hatchet or war axe. 
 The scalping knife is used to cut and tear off the scalp, 
 or integuments of the upper part of the skull with the 
 hair, of their fallen enemies, which the Indians display 
 as trophies of their victory, with as much exultation as 
 ancient heroes manifested in showing the arms of their 
 
46 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 vanquished foes. The head of the war club is globular 
 and at times hollow, inclosing pieces of metal, which 
 make a gingling noise when a stroke is given. Occa 
 sionally, the blade of a knife, or some other sharp in 
 strument, is fastened to the end of it at right angles. 
 The tribes who dwell in the depth of the forest have 
 no bucklers, but shelter themselves behind trees : those, 
 however, who live in an open country, as on the banks 
 of the Missouri, use bucklers or shields of a circular 
 form, about two feet and a half in diameter, and com 
 posed of three or four folds of buffalo's skin, dried in 
 the sun and hardened. These shields are proof against 
 arrows, but not against ball. 
 
 In all their acts of devotion, and on all occasions 
 where their confidence is to be won or their friendship 
 secured, smoking is regarded as an inviolable token of 
 sincerity. 
 
 The pipe, or calumet, as some have called it, is the 
 symbol of peace and the pledge of friendship. Among 
 the rude dwellers of the desert, it serves the same pur 
 poses as a flag of truce in the armies of more civilized 
 communities. The pipe is about four feet long; the 
 bowl made of stone or clay, and the stem of a light 
 wood. It is differently ornamented in different nations. 
 The bearer of this sacred symbol of friendship is never 
 treated with disrespect, because they believe the Great 
 Spirit would not allow such an iniquity to escape with 
 impunity. 
 
 Peace is concluded, and treaties are ratified, by smok 
 ing. Wampum, and wampum belts, are also commonly 
 used on such occasions. Wampum, the current coin of 
 the Indians, is formed of shells found on the coasts of 
 New England and Virginia: some of those shells are of a 
 
LANGUAGES AND GENERAL TRAITS. 47 
 
 purple colour, others white, but the former are leckaned 
 most valuable. They are cut into the shape of oblong 
 beads, about a quarter of an inch long, perforated, and 
 strung on a small leathern thong: several of these 
 strings, neatly sewed together by fine sinewy threads, 
 form a belt, consisting of ten, twelve, or more strings. 
 The value of each bead, and, consequently, of each 
 string or belt, is exactly known. The size of the belt, 
 which is often about two feet long, and three or four 
 inches broad, is proportioned to the solemnity and im 
 portance of the occasion on which it is given. The 
 chiefs occasionally give strings to each other as tokens 
 of friendship ; but belts are reserved for the ratification 
 of national treaties, every stipulation of which is re 
 corded to posterity by the hieroglyphics on the belt. 
 
 Tribes in amity occasionally apply to each other for 
 a supply of their wants. When one tribe is in need of 
 any commodity with which another is well provided, 
 the needy tribe send a deputation of their number to 
 smoke with their wealthier neighbours, and to inform 
 them of their wants ; and it would be a breach of In 
 dian courtesy to send them away without the expected 
 supply. What they smoke is tobacco mixed with the 
 leaves of sumach. 
 
 The Shoshones, a band on the Rocky Mountains, 
 before smoking with strangers, pull off their moccasins, 
 in token of the sacred sincerity of their professions; 
 and by this act they not only testify their sincerity, but 
 also imprecate on themselves the misery of going bare 
 footed for ever, if they prove unfaithful to their word. 
 
 LANGUAGES AND GENERAL TRAITS. 
 
 A number of different languages are spoken by the 
 
48 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Indians; and, in some cases, different dialects of the 
 same language are found among different tribes. 
 
 The original languages, besides that of the Esqui 
 maux, are said to be principally three, the Iroquois, 
 the Lenni Lenape, or Delaware, and the Floridian. 
 These languages are so distinct, as to have no perceiv 
 able affinity. The Iroquois was spoken by the Iroquois 
 or Six Nations, and several other tribes. The Iroquois, 
 or Six Confederated Nations, so famous in Indian his 
 tory, and once so formidable by their numbers, laws, and 
 military prowess, are the Mohawks, Oneidas, Senecas, 
 Cayugas, Onondagoes, and Tuscaroras. The Delaware 
 language was spoken by many nations in the middle 
 provinces ; and the Floridian by the Creeks, Choctaws, 
 Cherokees, Chickasaws, and other tribes in the southern 
 states. These languages are said to be copious and 
 expressive : they often consist of long compounds, and 
 comprise many ideas in one word. 
 
 In their intercourse with the white men the Indians 
 adopt none of their words or names, but apply names 
 of their own invention both to persons and things. 
 
 In short, in the aboriginal inhabitants of North 
 America, we find a race of men subsisting by fishing, 
 hunting, and a partial cultivation of the soil. They are 
 brave, active, shrewd, and penetrating; kind to their 
 friends, but vindictive and cruel towards their enemies ; 
 capable of making great and persevering exertions, and 
 of enduring the most excruciating torments without a 
 sigh or a groan. 
 
 They believe in one Great Spirit, the Creator and 
 Governor of the world, on whom they continually de 
 pend, and from whom all their enjoyments flow. Al 
 though they have no public or social worship, yet they 
 
LANGUAGES AND GENERAL TRAITS. 49 
 
 are grateful to the Great Spirit for past favours, thank 
 him for present enjoyments, and implore from him fu 
 ture blessings ; this they sometimes do with an audible 
 voice, but more frequently in the silent aspirations of 
 the heart. They believe in the doctrine of immortality 
 and future retribution; but their conceptions on the 
 subject are vague, and modified by their peculiar man 
 ners and habits. 
 
 Many attempts have been made to convert them to 
 Christianity, but hitherto with little success. From 
 their intercourse with white men they have derived no 
 advantage : for since the commencement of that inter 
 course they have improved neither in civilization nor 
 morality, and many powerful tribes have either totally 
 disappeared, or present only a feeble remnant. The 
 great diminution of their numbers is owing partly to 
 war, partly to the ravages of small-pox, which seem to 
 have been communicated to them by white men, but, 
 above all, to the destructive effects of intoxicating liquors 
 introduced among them by Europeans, and which have 
 operated like a pestilence among these untutored tenants 
 of the wilderness. 
 
 D 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 EARLY INDIAN WARS OF FLORIDA. 
 
 jEFORE any permanent 
 settlement was effected in 
 the territory at present 
 comprehended within the 
 limits of the United States, 
 many years were spent 
 in exploring the coasts 
 of the continent, and in 
 vainly attempting to plant 
 colonies on the shores. 
 The English, under the 
 command of the Cabots, were the first to discover the 
 continent of North America, and they were also the 
 first to reconnoitre the coast of Florida, without, how 
 ever, attempting a landing. In endeavours to gain 
 possession of the country, they were preceded both by 
 the Spaniards and the French. 
 
 The first expedition to the coasts of Florida was 
 made in 1512, by Juan Ponce de Leon, who had ac 
 companied Columbus in his second voyage. He had 
 first employed his arms against the Moors, when they 
 were expelled from the kingdom of Granada, and he 
 was afterwards much noticed in the West Indies, on 
 account of his courage and abilities. Ponce de Leon, 
 becoming conqueror and governor of Porto Rico, learnt 
 from some Indians, that there existed towards the north 
 a rich and fertile country, the waters of which had the 
 property of restoring youth ; and that a stream endowed 
 with a similar virtue, passed through the island of Bim- 
 ini, situated in the midst of the archipelago of Ba- 
 
 (50) 
 
DISCOVERY OF FLORIDA. 51 
 
 hama. The old warrior, desiring to signalize nimself 
 by new enterprises, and perhaps seduced by a vain illu 
 sion, set out from Porto Rico with three ships. He 
 directed his course towards this archipelago, and ex 
 plored several islands without finding this marvellous 
 stream, and finally reached the continent, a! about 30 
 degrees 8 minutes of north latitude. This discovery 
 took place on Palm-Sunday, and therefore he gave the 
 name of Florida to the country he had discovered. 
 Ponce de Leon explored from north to south all the 
 coast of this country ; he landed at different places, and 
 had several engagements with the natives. After having 
 sailed round the southern point of Florida, and disco 
 vered the archipelago of the Tortugas, he returned to 
 Porto Rico, still dazzled by his first expectations. The 
 treasures and youth that he sought, had escaped him ; 
 but he found fame, and his memory has been conse 
 crated by a great discovery. 
 
 Perez de Ortubia afterwards undertook a voyage for 
 the same purpose ; and several discoveries were made 
 on other portions of this coast, in 1520, by Lucas Vas- 
 quez de Ayllon. A tempest having surprised him in an 
 expedition against the Caribbees of the Lucayo islands, 
 he was driven to the eastern coast of the continent, and 
 pushed his discoveries towards the north, till he arrived 
 at Cape St. Helena : he formed no settlement here, and 
 the only result of his voyage was the kidnapping of 
 thirty Indians, whom he took to Hayti, where they were 
 compelled to labour in the mines, and they all soon died 
 of sorrow and fatigue. 
 
 To fill the place of the ancient inhabitants of this 
 island and those of Cuba, who had nearly all been de 
 stroyed by the conquerors, they often fitted out slave 
 expeditions for the Caribbean archipelago ; and when 
 the continent was discovered, this species of piracy 
 was practised on its shores, till they finally transported 
 its bloody theatre to the shores of Africa. 
 
 Ponce de Leon for some years had appeared to re 
 nounce his spirit of discovery, when the report of the ex 
 ploits of Ferdinand Cortez, the conqueror of Mexico, re- 
 6 
 
52 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 animated his ambition. Moreover, the recent discoveries 
 of Vasquez de Ayllon had acquainted him with the vast 
 extent of Florida ; for this name was applied, one after 
 another, to all the adjoining countries. Ponce de Leon 
 set out in 1521, with two ships equipped at his own ex 
 pense, to form a settlement in this country ; but the In 
 dians advanced against him: most of his men were 
 killed ; he himself having been wounded by an arrow, 
 was compelled to return to his ship, and he set sail for 
 Cuba, where he died some days after his arrival. 
 
 A new expedition was fitted out in 1524, by Vasquez 
 de Ayllon ; but he could not even reach the cape he had 
 discovered on his first voyage. The Indians on the 
 coast where he landed made a pretended feast, to draw 
 a party of his soldiers into the interior of the country ; 
 two hundred men were killed there ; the others were 
 assailed on the shore, and Vasquez de Ayllon himself 
 fell under the blows of the Indians. All the surround 
 ing tribes sought to repulse the Europeans : the report 
 of the piracies committed on the shore, was spread 
 throughout the country : the Indians were enraged, and 
 they seized this occasion to take revenge. 
 
 The eastern coast only of Florida had as yet been 
 explored ; Pamphilo de Narvaez took another direction. 
 This ancient rival of Ferdinand Cortez was already 
 celebrated by his unfortunate expedition to Mexico ; he 
 now wished to repair nobly his disgrace, and signalize 
 himself in his turn, by discoveries. The squadron which 
 he equipped at Cadiz, set sail in 1527, touched at the 
 island of Cuba, and sailing towards the north, disco 
 vered the bay of Pensacola, where it came to anchor 
 in the month of April, 1528. Narvaez had with him 
 three hundred men, forty of whom were cavalry : he 
 penetrated into the interior at the head of his troops, 
 and to gain the high region of the Apalachees, he had 
 to surmount every obstacle that a wild country can op 
 pose to communication. The immense plains that ex 
 tended to the foot of these mountains were covered 
 with thick forests, and they had great difficulty in 
 making a passage through the confused remains of trees 
 
EXPEDITION OF NARVAEZ. 53 
 
 overturned by hurricanes, broken in pieces by lightning, 
 or fallen from age : marshes, and small puddles gf stag 
 nant water in which these ruins ot vegetation were 
 heaped up, occupied all the lower ground. In one place 
 the waters found no emission ; in another, it was neces 
 sary to overcome deep and rapid rivers, either by 
 swimming, by rafts, or by canoes hastily constructed. 
 They met with several Indian wigwams surrounded by 
 their plantations of maize; but more frequently they 
 were in deserts that offered no means of subsistence; 
 and when they arrived at the Apalachees they found 
 neither the p'enty nor riches which they came to seek. 
 Narvae exposed to frequent attacks from the Indians, 
 who were armed with bows and arrows, which they 
 used with as much skill as strength, was not able to 
 remain in their country. He returned to the sea-shore, 
 and reached the mouth of the river Apalachicola. This 
 voyage had lasted three months : the boats they had 
 then to construct were not ready till the 20th of Sep 
 tember, and by going to sea immediately, they were ex 
 posed to the violent hurricanes which frequently ac 
 company the equinoxes. This adventurous flotilla kept 
 at first along the shore, sailing from the east to the 
 west: some maritime canals formed by the continent 
 and narrow sandy islands, sheltered them at inter 
 vals ; but when they had no longer the shelter of 
 these natural barriers, they became the sport of the 
 waves. The mouth of a great river was soon after 
 wards discovered : it was the Mississippi : the mass of 
 its waters was so great that it prolonged its course to 
 some distance in the sea, and they w^ere thereby ena 
 bled to obtain fresh water, of which they stood in much 
 need. But the same current compelled these feeble 
 skiffs to recede from the shore, and they were soon en 
 tirely dispersed by rough weather. Narvaez, who had 
 hoped to gain a shore better sheltered, was carried out 
 to* sea, and never again seen. The other boats labori 
 ously pursued their voyage towards the west, and were 
 cast on different parts of the continent or the islands 
 along the shore, where most of them perished of sick 
 
54 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 ness or hunger. Alvar Nunez, one of those who sur 
 vived this disastrous expedition, was reserved for other 
 dangers ; he succeeded in gaining the confidence of the 
 Indians, and acquired so much the more ascendency 
 over them as they believed him able to predict future 
 events and cure all diseases : three others of his ship 
 wrecked companions joined themselves to his destiny; 
 many cures, which these people regarded as the effect 
 of their attentions or charms, established their credit, 
 and to their skill were attributed many prodigies. They 
 shared for eight years a wandering life, the fatigues and 
 miseries of the savages ; and they after v,*a r Hs returned 
 to Mexico, accompanied by thirty Indians belonging to 
 the provinces through which they had passed. The 
 conqueror of New Spain was still there, and Antonio 
 de Mendoza exercised the authority of viceroy. 
 
 They wished to profit by the accounts which these 
 travellers gave, by attempting a new expedition into the 
 interior of Florida, by land. Vasquez Coronado was 
 appointed leader of it ; but he took another course ; he 
 proceeded in a north-west direction towards the regions 
 of Sinalsa and Sonora, and penetrated the territory of 
 Quivira, seeking, on the authority of some vague tra 
 ditions, the riches and wonders which vanished at his 
 approach. 
 
 Another expedition took place at the same time; 
 Ferdinand de Soto set out from Spain in 1538, with a 
 body of twelve hundred men destined to form a settle 
 ment in Florida. This warrior sailed first to the island 
 of Cuba, and then proceeded to the continent, landed in 
 the bay of Spiritu-Santo, and penetrated towards the 
 north, to the foot of the Apalachees. The Spaniards 
 then changed their course; they went towards the 
 west, through the countries watered by the Coosa, Ala 
 bama, and Tombigbee, and reached, successively, 
 the ^Mississippi, the Red River, and the Brazos-de-Dios, 
 which became the limit of their expedition. It h'ad 
 lasted three years ; war, fatigue, and famine, had car 
 ried away most of his soldiers ; the spirit of discord 
 broke out in the feeble remains of this army, and Fer- 
 

FERDLNAND DE SOTO, DISCOVERING THE MISSISSIPPI. Page 55. 
 
EXPEDITION OF DE LUNA. 55 
 
 dinand de Soto determined to return to the Mississippi. 
 They again reached this river near the mouth of the 
 Arkansas ; but the death of the commander put an end 
 to the enterprise : this troop, reduced to three hundred 
 men, renounced the design of forming an establish 
 ment ; they embarked on the Mississippi, made frequent 
 incursions, which enfeebled them still more, and de 
 scended to the mouth of the river, whence they reached 
 the coast of Mexico. 
 
 Don Louis de Velasco, becoming viceroy of New 
 Spain, was ordered to fit out another expedition for the 
 settlement of Florida. He assembled all the men who 
 had borne arms in that country, or who had been ship 
 wrecked there; and Tristan de Luna was appointed 
 captain-general of this corps of the army, which em 
 barked at Vera Cruz, and landed, August 14, 1559, in 
 the bay of Pensacola. Six days afterwards, the whole 
 fleet was destroyed by a hurricane : they lost all the 
 provisions they had on board, and they were now with 
 out food, on a sterile coast. A detachment of four hun 
 dred men was then sent on an expedition to procure 
 some : they were obliged to traverse an uncultivated 
 and desert country, and finally reached the Indian vil 
 lage of Nanipacua. This nation had formerly been 
 more numerous, and its ruin appeared to date from the 
 period of the invasion of Ferdinand de Soto. Luna 
 soon proceeded thither with all his troops ; some arrived 
 by land, others by ascending the river : this village re 
 ceived the name of Santa Cruz of Nanipacua. 
 
 The Spanish commandant was favourably received 
 there by the natives of the country. The produce of 
 the chase and the harvest of maize, were sufficient to 
 convince his troops that they would not be entirely 
 without provisions ; but these were soon exhausted, and 
 Luna, wishing to make new discoveries, placed himself 
 at the head of three hundred men. He had heard of 
 the province of Coosa, situated farther north : it was 
 in this direction that the Spaniards proceeded, and, after 
 travelling fifty days through a country intersected by 
 rivers, marshes, and forests, where they could not follow 
 
56 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 any fixed direction, they reached the borders of Alabama, 
 At a small distance from them, they saw several Indian 
 villages. They encamped in this neighbourhood, and 
 entered into a traffic with the people, that they might 
 procure provisions. 
 
 The presence of the strangers was not a new spec 
 tacle for the Indians : they recollected the expedition of 
 Ferdinand de Soto : two of his followers had even lived 
 twelve years among them, and had here peaceably ter 
 minated their lives. They would have received a few 
 travellers without fear ; but the number and strength of 
 an armed troop excited the dread of this savage tribe ; 
 and to get rid of the Spaniards, they engaged them in 
 a military expedition, not unworthy of their valour, 
 determining to assist the Indians of Coosa, who were 
 then but a few days* journey distant from them. These 
 Indians were then at war with the Natchez, a revolted 
 tribe who refused the payment of an ancient tribute. 
 The Natchez had obtained several great advantages 
 over them; the widows of the Coosa warriors, who 
 were killed in battle, had cut off their hair, scattered it 
 among the tombs of their ancestors, and, coming in a 
 body to address the cacique, they cast themselves on 
 their knees before him, and implored vengeance. 
 
 On the arrival of the Europeans, who presented them 
 selves as allies, they ran to arms with the greatest con 
 fidence: the cacique had given the signal; cries of 
 war were heard throughout the whole nation of Coosa. 
 Three hundred men assembled in a plain, and divided 
 into different parties, each of which had a guide ; fifty 
 Spaniards on foot and fifty on horseback joined in this 
 expedition. The next day eight Indian chiefs were seen 
 running across the quarters allotted to the Spaniards, 
 to their own, and stopping near the cacique, raising 
 great cries ; they took him on their shoulders, and car 
 ried him some distance, till they came to an alcove, the 
 steps of which he ascended alone. The cacique walk 
 ed about for some time with gravity ; a sort of sceptre 
 was handed to him, which was terminated by a number 
 of very beautiful feathers ; he raised it several times, 
 
INDIANS AND SPANIARDS IN ALLIANCE. 59 
 
 pointing it towards the country of the Natchez with a 
 menacing gesture. Having put some seeds in his 
 mouth, he bit them, and spit out the remains. He then 
 addressed his warriors as follows ; "Friends, our ene 
 mies will be vanquished, and their forces will be broken 
 like these seeds which I have destroyed with my teeth.'* 
 The cacique then took a shell filled with the water, and, 
 pouring it out, drop by drop, exclaimed " May all their 
 blood be thus poured out." All the Indians repeated 
 these imprecations with great shouts. The cacique 
 now descended from the alcove, and led his troops to 
 the war which he had just solemnly declared against 
 the Natchez. (See Engraving, on the opposite page.) 
 
 The following night, new cries were heard in the 
 camp of the Indians : their cacique again excited them 
 to vengeance, and they swore never to return without 
 having accomplished it. The spies sent by the Coosa 
 Indians thought that the Natchez were not upon their 
 guard, and the cacique desired rather to surprise, than 
 attack them openly. They approached their first vil 
 lage, and attempted to occupy the different avenues, so 
 that no person might escape ; but when the cacique en 
 tered with his troops, they found all the Natchez had 
 fled : a confused noise had made them acquainted with 
 the approach of their enemies. Their village was de 
 serted, and they found nothing but some provisions 
 which the enemy, in their precipitate retreat, had left 
 behind. 
 
 Vengeance was thus deferred ; and their regret was 
 more bitter when they saw in the place, round which 
 their habitations had been built, large posts, marking 
 the usual place of the execution of the prisoners they 
 had taken. These posts were hung round with 
 limbs and scalps ; and the appearance of these bloody 
 trophies raised the fury of the warriors still higher. 
 They gathered these miserable remains to bury them 
 with superstitious rites ; and they spread through the 
 village like madmen, some in the hope of finding ene 
 mies to sacrifice, others to plunder the cabins and set 
 lire to them. After sun-set, they celebrated their vie- 
 
60 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 tory by the light of the fire, with dances, songs, shouts 
 and the confused noise of their warlike instruments. 
 
 The cacique and the Spaniards determined to go in 
 pursuit of the enemy, and advanced towards the moun 
 tain where they supposed they had taken refuge ; they 
 could not discover any trace of them, but approached 
 a large river, towards which they appeared to have 
 retreated. The savages gave it the name of Ochechitou, 
 and this name calls to mind tfyat of Nachitoches, which 
 is familiarized by many more recent associations. 
 
 The Natchez had in effect crossed the river, and be 
 lieved themselves in safety ; but the Coosa Indians knew 
 the place where the river could be forded. They cross 
 ed it, the water being up to the breast. The discharge 
 of a musket, which killed a Natchez, put the others in 
 confusion ; they were not able to resist fire-arms, and, 
 finding that they were pursued across another river, 
 they solicited peace, promising to pay the cacique of 
 Coosa their ancient tributes. These consisted in pro 
 visions of grain and fruit which were sent three times 
 a year. Such are the treasures for which savages make 
 war; so trifling are the causes of the battles which 
 frequently happen between them. A greater ambition, 
 a more intense and insatiable thirst for gold and power, 
 is found only among civilized people. 
 
 In penetrating into the interior of the country, the 
 Spanish detachment, separated from the body of the 
 army by extensive deserts, had no method of sending 
 to Tristan de Luna any account of its situation and dis 
 coveries : it was believed that the whole detachment 
 had perished ; and Tristan, wishing to be ready to re 
 ceive the reinforcement he expected from Mexico 
 abandoned Santa Cruz de Nanipacua, in order to return 
 by descending the river, to Port St. Maria, which was 
 about 120 leagues distant. 
 
 A captain and twelve men, sent by the commander 
 of the body that fought against the Natchez, did not 
 arrive at Santa Cruz till after the departure of the cap 
 tain-general. A note, lying at the foot of a tree, ac 
 quainted them with the direction he had taken, and 
 
LUNA'S TROOPS REVOLT. 61 
 
 they encountered him at Port St. Maria. They then 
 deliberated whether to endeavour to keep possession of 
 the province of Coosa, or to abandon it. Tristan de 
 Luna regarded it as unworthy of the courage of Spa 
 niards to be overcome with difficulties ; and did not 
 believe this country as poor as it was represented to be 
 by the malcontents. " If we cannot live there," said 
 he, " we will retire among the Natchez ; if their re 
 sources are exhausted, we will seek better countries, 
 and, to reach them, we will brave every fatigue : it 
 would be humiliating to fear it, and, however great it 
 may be, we are determined to bear it." 
 
 Luna was ready to struggle against all obstacles ; 
 but his aid-de-camp, Juan Ceron, believing them insur 
 mountable, and seeing that his opinion was favoured by 
 a majority of the soldiers, resolved to oppose the pro 
 ject of the captain-general. He secretly sent into the 
 province of Coosa the twelve men who had returned, 
 and he considered himself as having power to recall, 
 by virtue of the authority with which he was entrusted, 
 the detachment which was on a voyage of discovery. 
 Ceron persisted in ordering it to return ; and its com 
 mander, receiving a positive order, abandoned the pro 
 vince in which he was established : he had employed 
 seven months in this expedition. 
 
 Most of the troops were in a state of discontent 
 when this detachment returned to St. Maria : the spirit 
 of sedition every day increased ; the extreme severity 
 of the captain-general only made its progress more 
 rapid, and as he could not put in execution the rigour 
 of his orders against a great number of undisciplined 
 men, they passed soon from discontent to disdain 
 of his authority. These troubles lasted five months; 
 they were finally terminated by the pious exhortations 
 of Father Domingo, of the order of Annunciation, who 
 made use of all the power of religion, to bring back the 
 parties to a love of peace and an oblivion of mutual 
 injuries. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the viceroy of Mexico, Don Louis 
 de Velasco, informed of these dissensions of the bodv 
 
62 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of the army, had appointed a successor to Tristan de 
 Luna ; he had appointed Angel de Villafana governor 
 of Florida, and this new commander soon arrived at 
 Port St. Maria, with a reinforcement of troops and 
 some munitions. Villafana wished to profit by the ex 
 perience of his predecessors, in order that he might de 
 cide with more judgment whether he should occupy 
 anew the province of Coosa, or abandon all thoughts 
 of forming an establishment in a region so often repre 
 sented as sterile. This last council prevailed, and Vil 
 lafana led his troops to Havana. His instructions or 
 dered him to return to the eastern coast of Florida, 
 and explore it as far as Cape St. Helena ; but this plan 
 was not put in execution. 
 
 Tristan de Luna and a few of his followers were 
 now the only persons who remained at Port St. Maria. 
 This old commander could not renounce an enterprise 
 the grandeur and advantages of which had so much 
 engaged his attention ; and he wrote to the viceroy of 
 Mexico, to submit to him a new plan of operations. 
 He did not doubt of success ; but the viceroy, not see 
 ing any possibility of it, ordered him to return to New 
 Spain, which order he obeyed. 
 
 These last events happened in 1561. Although Flo 
 rida had been explored at different points, since the first 
 discoveries of Ponce de Leon, no permanent settlement 
 had yet been established, when a new flag appeared on 
 the eastern coasts of the continent, now called Georgia 
 and Carolina. 
 
 Admiral Coligni, desiring to form a refuge for the 
 Calvinists persecuted in France, had formed, under the 
 reign of Henry II., the project of founding a Protestant 
 colony in America ; and Durand de Villegagnon, vice- 
 admiral of Brittany, had been charged with this expe 
 dition. But the fort which he built on the coast of Bra 
 zil was soon destroyed by the Portuguese, and Coligni 
 cast his eyes on the countries situated to the north of 
 Florida, which had formerly been discovered by Verra- 
 zini. He proposed to the king to make a voyage of 
 discovery, and Charles IX., who then reigned, placed 
 
EXPEDITION OF RIBAUT. 63 
 
 two ships at his disposal, the command of which he 
 gave to Jean Ribaut of Dieppe, a mariner of great ex 
 perience, who set sail from that port, February 15th, 
 1562. Ribaut and his crew were of the reformed reli 
 gion ; and the admiral, in protecting an expedition which 
 would be useful to the Protestants, had regard also 
 to the interests of France. He designed to form a 
 retreat for the proscribed, and put an end to the civil 
 and religious wars ; to separate the two parties, with 
 out, however, making them forget their common origin 
 and country. 
 
 Captain Ribaut reached the coasts of Florida in the 
 30th degree of north latitude ; he followed it, sailing 
 towards the north, and landed on the shores of a river, 
 which he called the river May, because he discovered 
 it in this month. This river is the same as that which 
 was afterwards called by the Spaniards, St. Matthew. 
 They raised there, as a sign of possession, a column 
 on which were inscribed the arms of France, and they 
 had friendly communications with the natives of the 
 country. Ribaut wished to prosecute his discoveries, 
 that he might choose the most favourable place for 
 forming a settlement ; he discovered the mouths of all 
 the rivers of this coast, from the Altamaha to the Sa 
 vannah, and he reached, by continuing his voyage, the 
 entrance of a deep bay, which he called Port Royal. 
 The Coosa-Walchee, whose source is in the Apalachees, 
 pours its waters into this vast basin, and divides itself 
 into two branches before emptying into the 'sea ; the 
 one bends its course towards Port Royal, the other to 
 wards the bay of St. Helena ; and this region has 
 always been distinguished by the natives as the first in 
 which the Europeans established colonies. 
 
 Ribaut considered as a southern prolongation of New 
 France, the countries which he discovered, and the 
 Spaniard regarded them as a northern prolongation of 
 Florida. This was giving on both sides a great exten 
 sion to the right of discovery ; that of occupation was 
 more positive, and Ribaut had not been preceded by 
 any colony on the coast where he intended to establish 
 7 
 
64 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 one. He gave French names to the rivers he dis 
 covered; they were the Seine, Garonne, Loire, Sou- 
 rene, Charente and Sordogne. The fortress which he 
 afterwards built on an island in the bay of Port Royal, 
 received the name of Charlesfort. The command of it 
 was given to Captain Albert ; and the chief of the ex 
 pedition before leaving him, addressed him in the fol 
 lowing words : " I pray you, in the presence of all, to 
 so worthily acquit yourself of your duty, and so mo 
 destly govern the little troop that I leave you, and who 
 consent to remain under your orders with so much 
 pleasure, that I shall never have cause to reprove you, 
 and shall be able, as I wish, to declare to the king, the 
 faithful service that, in presence of us all, you promised 
 towards him in his New Spain." " And you, compa 
 nions," said he to the soldiers, " pray you to obey Cap 
 tain Albert, as if he was myself; rendering him the 
 obedience that a true soldier should to his commander, 
 being in unity with one another ; and doing this, God 
 will assist you and bless your undertakings." We have 
 quoted the language of the authors of his time, that 
 we might give in its native simplicity this admirable 
 address. 
 
 After leaving in the fort some provisions and muni 
 tions of war, Ribaut saluted with his artillery the new 
 French establishment, and directed his course towards 
 the north, with the intent of gaining the banks of the 
 Jordan, now Santee, which a sailor, who had belonged 
 to the expedition of Vasques de Ayllon had discovered 
 forty years before ; but the water became shallow as 
 they approached the coast, and the mouths of the rivers 
 which they fell in with were so obstructed with sand, 
 that Ribaut, after having consulted his crew, deter 
 mined to prosecute his discoveries no farther, but to go 
 and render an account of what he had done. He re 
 turned to Dieppe, five months after his departure. 
 
 Captain Albert's first communications with the In 
 dians were friendly ; ascending the river, he visited the 
 cacique Andusta, and many other chiefs of different 
 tribes, who welcomed him with fetes, and presente 
 
THE FRENCH ABANDON THE SETTLEMENT. 65 
 
 him with some maize, game and fruits; he made them 
 presents in return, so that a perfect understanding ex 
 isted between them. But he knew not how to gain the 
 affection of his soldiers; he irritated them by many 
 acts of rigour and injustice. A soldier had been de 
 graded for some fault, and left on a neighbouring island 
 without provisions : others, menaced with a similar 
 treatment, excited a sedition against Albert : they put 
 him to death, brought back the banished soldier who 
 was almost starved, and appointed for commander one 
 of their number, named Nicholas Barre, who succeeded 
 in establishing order in the colony. It was however in 
 want of many things : the reinforcement they expected 
 from France had not arrived, and having no vessel in 
 which to leave the country, they began to construct a 
 brigantine. The Indians furnished them with large 
 ropes for the rigging : they caulked it with the moss 
 which they gathered from trees and the resin of pine 
 trees; they made sails of their clothing, and departed in 
 that feeble bark, after having distributed their last pre 
 sents among the Indians. The provisions which they 
 received from them were insufficient for a long voyage ; 
 the progress was impeded sometimes by storms, at 
 others by calms: their provisions were finally ex 
 hausted, and the crew in despair decided that one of 
 their number should be sacrificed to save the rest 
 Then the banished soldier, whom they had formerly 
 saved from death, offered himself as a voluntary vic 
 tim : his offer was accepted ; hunger made them an 
 thropophagi. Finally, land was discovered ; they 
 were transported with joy, and after having gone on 
 shore, let their deserted vessel, which leaked in many 
 places, float at the mercy of the waves. In this situa 
 tion they were discovered by the captain of an English 
 vessel who took them on board ; many were taken to 
 England, where they were interrogated respecting the 
 shores of America, and on the possibility of establishing 
 a colony there ; others were landed on the coast of 
 France, and arrived at Dieppe, in the month of July, 
 1564. This expedition had lasted twenty-nine months: 
 E 
 
66 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 it had been left to itself; civil war having prevented 
 the mother country from sending assistance to this dis 
 tant colony. It was only after the return of peace that 
 Admiral Coligni was authorized by the king to send 
 three vessels to this part of the American continent. 
 
 Rene de Laudonniere, who had accompanied Ribaut 
 in his first expedition, was appointed commander of this 
 one, and departed from Havre, April 22d, 1564. We 
 may mention, among the persons who accompanied 
 him, Ottigny, Lacaille, Laroche-Ferriere, d'Erlac, Le- 
 vasseur, who signalized themselves by their military 
 services. A painter, named Le Moine, accompanied 
 them, and his drawings, afterwards engraved by 
 Debry, made the Europeans acquainted with various 
 scenes in the life of the Indians. 
 
 The pictures by which a narrative is ornamented, 
 have often been considered as a great help to the study 
 of history. Nature has its spectacles, people have their 
 monuments, and faithful representations aid to fix them 
 in our memory. If they represent festivals or national 
 solemnities, they spread more light on the description ; 
 if they show the common occurrences of life, they 
 allow us to dispense with details which suspend the 
 interest in the event and the rapidity of recital. The 
 writings of the ancients, at least in the condition in 
 which we have received them, were not accompanied 
 by them : this privation often keeps us in uncertainty 
 respecting the progress of their industry and of their 
 skill in the arts ; and we have in vain endeavoured to 
 re-construct some of their inventions, by the aid of the 
 writings they have left us. 
 
 But in using this language of signs, we must not lose 
 Bight of its being only an accessary to our work, and 
 that it should be bent to the will of the historian with 
 out ever serving him as a guide. Each place, each 
 period does not offer the same number of figures ; his 
 tory has its deserts, as well as its fertile meadows ; in 
 one place we have nothing to represent, in another a 
 long series of images is presented. 
 
 The time at which Laudonniere set sail, was the 
 
LAUDONNIERE'S VOYAGE. 69 
 
 same as that in which the colonists of Charlesfort, who 
 had been so long left without assistance, left the shores 
 of America to return to France. The two expeditions 
 crossed each other in the midst of the ocean without 
 meeting, and the project of Coligni could not be accom 
 plished : other destinies awaited the navigators on the 
 shore where they were about to settle. 
 
 Laudonniere reached the Canaries, whence he 
 sailed towards the Antilles: he had on the island of 
 Dominica, where he landed to take in some provisions, 
 an engagement with the Caribbees; he rounded the 
 islands of St. Christopher and Montserrat, reached the 
 coasts of Florida, and on the 20th of June sailed up the 
 river May. The Indians gave them a friendly recep 
 tion : their cacique, Saturiova, came to see them ; and 
 Lacaille, who had imperfectly learned their language 
 in his voyage, made him understand that they were 
 sent hither by a prince who governed all the East. 
 They came to render homage to his goodness, to his 
 valour and liberality, and they had surmounted many 
 perils to form with him a treaty of confederation and 
 friendship. Saturiova was flattered by this honour ; he 
 believed himself still more powerful, since so distant a 
 sovereign sought his alliance, and conducted the French 
 to the column that Ribaut had erected, two years be 
 fore, on the banks of the river. The warriors found it 
 ornamented with flowers, branches of laurel and other 
 trees: and provisions had been brought here for the 
 new guests. (See Engraving, on the opposite page.) 
 
 The intention of Laudonniere was to gain promptly 
 the bay of Port Royal : he again set sail towards the 
 north, and landed at several parts of the coast which 
 had been discovered by the preceding expedition. Here 
 they learnt that the post of Charlesfort had been aban 
 doned for several months, and they were compelled to 
 choose a fljace on which to settle. This bay was the 
 most beautiful and the most secure which the French 
 had discovered, but the banks of the river May ap 
 peared more fertile and more favourable for the esta 
 blishment of a new colony. They hoped by ascending 
 
70 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the river, to reach the country that contained the 
 mines of gold of which they were in search, and this 
 opinion was founded on the ill-understood information 
 which they had received from the savages. They had 
 told them that by following this direction which led 
 towards the mountains, they could easily establish com 
 munications with another sea ; and we have since dis 
 covered, by visiting this part of the Apalachees, that 
 but a short distance separates the sources of the rivers 
 which flow either east or south, the former towards the 
 ocean, the latter towards the gulf of Mexico. These 
 considerations made them prefer the banks of the river 
 May to all other situations. A triangular fort was 
 constructed two leagues from its mouth; ai.d was 
 called Carolina in honour of their king ; and the In 
 dians themselves laboured at the entrenchments which 
 they surrounded with ditches and palisades. 
 
 The natives then united into several confederacies. 
 That along the sea shore was composed of thirty tribes, 
 the principal of which was under the dominion of Satu- 
 riova as cacique. A confederation more distant from the 
 ocean, and extending to the Apalachee, acknowledged 
 Outina for its head chief. Other similar leagues were 
 formed in the neighbouring territories ; and the popu 
 lation of the natives of the country was thus grouped 
 round their principal war-chiefs. Community of in 
 terests, similarity of language, family alliances, were 
 the foundation of these voluntary associations. If the 
 bonds between several tribes of the same nation were 
 broken, they could easily be re-established by the ad 
 vice and intervention of others ; but the rivalry which 
 existed among the greater confederations was more 
 inveterate, and their quarrels were transmitted from 
 generation to generation. 
 
 Laudonniere did not desire to enter into the quarrels 
 of the natives ; he had at first sought the fiflpndship of 
 Saturiova, whose good will was necessary for the safe 
 ty of the colony ; and when this chief asked his assist 
 ance against the n*ountain tribes, Laudonniere, instead 
 of uniting with one of the parties, made them become 
 
BATTLE WITH THE INDIANS. 71 
 
 reconciled. He did not, however, always preserve this 
 neutrality : he several times rendered assistance to 
 Outina, against the other tribes of the Apalachees ; the 
 Indians of the coast became jealous of this, and the 
 consequence of a change of policy finally rendered 
 the situation of the French very difficult. 
 
 In preferring the alliance of Outina to that of the 
 other chiefs, Laudonniere sought to open communica 
 tions more easily with the mountains in which they 
 hoped to find the mines of gold ; it was in this direction 
 that he extended his discoveries. He gave to Outina 
 the assistance of a body of twenty-five riflemen, com 
 manded by Ottigny, one of his bravest officers ; and the 
 troops of the cacique, accompanied by their auxiliaries, 
 marched with confidence against the enemy. The In 
 dian army stopped towards the evening, and separated 
 into various groups, to keep watch during the night. 
 A hundred warriors were ranged at some distance 
 round the cacique ; two hundred men, farther off, form 
 ed a second circle round him, and they were themselves 
 surrounded by another numerous circle. The Indians 
 began their march at break of day, and, when they had 
 arrived at the limits of the territory they intended to 
 invade, Outina resolved to consult the sorcerer whom 
 he had in his army, that he might know the force and 
 position of his enemies. The sorcerer was an old man 
 bowed down with years; he knelt on the ground, traced 
 around him some unknown characters, murmured some 
 unconnected words, fatigued himself by his violent con 
 vulsions, and, taking breath, he made known the number 
 of the enemies, and the place where they were to be 
 found. The cacique was discouraged ; but, on the en 
 treaties of Ottigny, he determined to march against 
 them. This officer and the riflemen began the action* 
 the enemy was conquered ; and those who were killed 
 or taken prisoners were cut in pieces by the Indians, 
 without Ottigny's being able to make them renounce so 
 barbarous a custom ; and the savages, loaded with their 
 bloody remains, marched back to their own territory. 
 
 After having assisted the cacique in his expedition 
 
72 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Ottigny quitted the neighbourhood of the mountains, 
 and returned to Fort Carolina. Their provisions were 
 now almost exhausted ; the bonds of discipline were 
 relaxed, and the spirit of dissension increased every 
 day. The malcontents accused Laudonniere of appro 
 priating to his own use the money which had been sent 
 for the purpose of buying provisions for the troops ; of 
 sending only his friends for the discovery of the mines, 
 and of depriving of these riches all the other soldiers ; 
 of condemning them to severe labours ; of depriving 
 them even of the consolations of religion; and of 
 leaving without ministers all the reformers who had 
 followed him. 
 
 Some movements of insubordination, at first timid 
 and undecided, gave place to a conspiracy against 
 Laudonniere. Desfourneaux was the leader of the sedi 
 tious: he proceeded, at midnight, at the head of twenty 
 riflemen, to the lodgings of this officer, took him pri 
 soner, and conducted him chained on board of a ship. 
 The mutineers afterwards obliged him, under pain of 
 death, to sign a paper which authorized them to go into 
 the Spanish possessions to seek for provisions ; and, 
 under this pretext, they armed two light vessels, sailed 
 through the Archipelago of the Lucayos, and gained 
 the shores of the island of Cuba, where they committed 
 numerous depredations. The governor of this island 
 and his sons were seized by them in a caravel: he 
 agreed with them on the price of his ransom, and one 
 of his sons was permitted to go on shore to procure this 
 sum ; but, according to the private instructions given 
 him by the governor, he secretly gathered all the sol 
 diers in the neighbourhood, and attacked the pirates. 
 The caravel which had been seized was retaken, with 
 the crew that had been placed in it : one of their ships 
 was destroyed, and there being only one brigantine con 
 taining twenty-six men left, they believed themselves 
 incapable of continuing their voyage, and determined 
 to return to the river May. They no longer had power 
 to excite a sedition : Laudonniere had beep set at liber 
 ty and his authority re-established, through the attention 
 
SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 73 
 
 of Ottigny, Caille, d'Erlac, and the other soldiers who 
 had remained faithful. The corsairs only wished to 
 touch at the port, to take in some provisions, and their 
 intention was to set sail afterwards for France ; but 
 their vessel was seized ; the four principal leaders were 
 condemned to death; the others were pardoned. 
 
 These acts of piracy excited profound hatred in the 
 Spanish colonies ; religious hatred was added to it, and 
 they determined to destroy a colony formed by Lu 
 therans. Although the punishment of the criminals was 
 a reparation for their offences, they were not contented 
 with it; and since they could no longer accuse the 
 French colony of favouring piracy, they accused 
 them of heresy. 
 
 During the absence of these adventurers, which 
 lasted nearly four months, Laudonniere had continued 
 the building of Fort Carolina. He was on friendly terms 
 with Saturiova, and the Indians of the shore often 
 brought him fish, game, and maize, in exchange for 
 arms and different products of European manufacture. 
 Captain Levasseur sailed along the coast to the bay of 
 Port Royal, to renew the communications established 
 three years before, with the people of this neighbour 
 hood, and he received from their cacique Andusta, a 
 present of some maize. Laudonniere maintained his 
 intimate union with Outina, and, to obtain provisions, 
 aided him in his military expeditions. 
 
 Their provisions, however, began to fail : fish abound 
 ed only in certain seasons ; the migrating birds disap 
 peared ; the hunters no longer met with those clouds of 
 wood-pigeons which had but lately covered some islands 
 on the shore, and they were obliged to eat acorns, the 
 bark of certain trees, roots, and fruits which grew 
 spontaneously. They could have obtained, by cultiva 
 tion, provisions more efficacious and more durable ; 
 but they paid no attention to this, although admiral 
 Coligni had expressly recommended it. This species 
 of labour was disgusting to men accustomed only to 
 the fatigues of war and to the absolute idleness in 
 which they lived during the intervals between them ; 
 
74 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 they believed themselves able to gain every thing at 
 the point of the sword, and they attached no value to 
 the peaceful conquests of labour and obscure and tran 
 quil occupations. The warriors who sailed to the New 
 World had often seen in Europe a class of men 
 attached to the soil ; they were there charged with the 
 defence of these cultivators who supported them, and 
 in changing their country they did not change their 
 habits. We should, however, say that since the period 
 of the discovery, their conduct towards the Indians had 
 no longer the same rigour. The French who sought to 
 establish a colony in America depended, it is true, on 
 the natives for their provisions, but they always gave 
 them something in exchange. The least products of 
 their industry had a value among the savages, all the 
 fruits of the land were held in estimation by the 
 Europeans, and they were led to commerce by their 
 mutual wants. These relations, however, diminished 
 from day to day, and provisions no longer arrived at 
 Fort Carolina after the French had exhausted their 
 presents and means of exchange. 
 
 Then, not being able to demand any thing of the 
 earth, since they had confided nothing to it, they had 
 to endure all the penalties of their neglect. It was ne 
 cessary to take from the Indians what they would no 
 longer voluntarily offer; but the savages retired into 
 the depths of the forests, and carried with them in 
 their flight the few provisions they had remaining. 
 The shore offered no resources : the inhabitants of the 
 mountains had also refused to furnish them any provi 
 sions, although they were able to do so. The difficulty 
 of living on an uncultivated and desert shore was gene 
 rally felt, and they hastened to build a ship which could 
 carry them back to France. This was not enough : it 
 was necessary to have provisions to last till they em 
 barked, and enough for their voyage. 
 
 They cast their eyes upon Outina ; and as they 
 hoped nothing more from his friendship, they formed 
 the project of taking him captive, that they might force 
 the Indians of whom he was the chief to furnish some 
 
HOSTILITIES BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND INDIANS. 75 
 
 provisions as his ransom. Laudonniere disapproved at 
 first of this design, and made to the men who proposed 
 it a wise representation of the necessity of managing 
 the savages, and of not increasing their hatred ; but he 
 was not listened to, and the resolution they had taken 
 of abandoning the country made them believe that they 
 could constrain him to side with them with impunity. 
 Finally, Laudonniere yielded to the entreaties of his 
 troops ; he embarked, for the purpose of ascending the 
 river, with fifty of his best soldiers, and after a voyage 
 of sixty leagues, he surprised Outina in the midst of his 
 tribe, and carried him away prisoner, declaring the 
 motives which had led them to this measure. 
 
 The Indians furnished them with some provisions, 
 and seeing with regret that they would not give their 
 cacique his liberty, they placed themselves under the 
 authority of his son, that they might still rally round a 
 chief, and a name which was dear to them. Outina, 
 having become a captive, made many promises for the 
 sake of procuring his liberty, and the season permitted 
 him to fulfil them. The summer commenced, the har 
 vests became ripe, and they began to gather them in ; 
 but Outina made them understand that these harvests 
 would never belong to those who kept him prisoner, 
 and that the Indians would rather destroy them than 
 leave them at their disposal. Laudonniere finally con 
 sented to give the cacique his liberty, in the hope that 
 he would inspire his tribe with more favourable dispo 
 sitions. 
 
 The whole nation was, however, irritated, and pre 
 parations were everywhere made for war. Long arrows 
 were stuck in the field with scalps hanging at the tops ; 
 large trees had been cut down to obstruct the naviga 
 tion of the river, so that the boats of the French could 
 not return to Fort Carolina. They had killed several 
 soldiers who had strayed from the party, and they 
 laid ambuscades for the troops. A detachment of 
 thirty men, commanded by Ottigny, was attacked, by 
 the Indians, who had divided into separate bodies that 
 they might attack them successively. Several men 
 
76 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 were killed, twenty-two wounded; and the boats to 
 which they fled had great difficulty in regaining the 
 fort. The commander having no longer any thing to 
 expect from this expedition, sought provisions else 
 where. He sent several vessels along the coast, and 
 Captain Levasseur obtained from the Indian chiefs two 
 cargoes of maize. They then hoped that they \vould 
 have provisions enough to return to France ; they 
 were about to quit this establishment, and had begun to 
 destroy the fortifications, that they might not leave to 
 other occupants the means of maintaining themselves 
 there. 
 
 On the 3d of August, 1565, they discovered four ves 
 sels at sea, and having sent to know whose they were, 
 they learnt that it was an English squadron, command 
 ed by Captain Hawkins, who had sailed fifteen days 
 along the coast. He had been conducted to it by Mar 
 tin Atinas, of Dieppe, who had formerly discovered it, 
 for he had accompanied Ribaut in his first expedition. 
 Haw 7 kins desired to get a supply of water ; his demand 
 was granted, and he came himself, in one of the boats 
 belonging to his ship, to pay Laudonniere a visit, and 
 spend some days with him. The French had kept till 
 then, in the midst of their greatest privations, a number 
 of domestic fowls, which they sought to naturalize in 
 this country, and which they determined to keep as a 
 last resource. They killed many of them that they 
 might better entertain the English captain ; and he, 
 having learnt the intention of the commander to return 
 to France, offered to receive him and all his followers 
 on board one of his vessels. Laudonniere would not 
 accept the offer ; he was unacquainted with the relations 
 between France and England ; the two powers appeared 
 to him to be but ill reconciled, war might suddenly 
 break out between them, and if it did occur during 
 the voyage, the French who were on board would, on 
 their arrival in England, be retained as prisoners. 
 
 However plausible were these reasons of Laudon 
 niere, his refusal excited so much discontent in Fort 
 Carolina, that all wished to profit by the occasion offered 
 
SPANISH FLEET ARRIVES. 77 
 
 them to embark. Hawkins proposed to take at with 
 him that desired it, and to give to Laudonniere ;-, vessel 
 to transport the others. This offer was accepted ; the 
 price of the ship was agreed on, and they gave, as a 
 security for payment, many pieces of artillery and some 
 munitions of war, which the approaching desertion of 
 the fort caused them to regard as useless. Hawkins 
 seeing that they had nothing but maize to 1 7 e on, offer 
 ed them twenty barrels of flour, beans, salt, other pro 
 visions, and some wine; he furnished stores to those 
 who had none, made presents to the officers, and con 
 ducted himself towards all with as much humanity as 
 courtesy. 
 
 After the departure of Hawkins, Laudonniere hastily 
 made his preparations for embarking, and on the 28th 
 of August they set sail, when they discovered several 
 vessels ; these were commanded by Captain John Ri- 
 baut, who had formerly led an expedition in 1562; and 
 was to succeed Laudonniere. A false imputation had 
 given place to this superseding : some malcontents, re 
 turned to France, had accused him of being too severe 
 towards the men who had followed him ; of holding 
 suspicious correspondences ; of being disposed even to 
 rebellion. Admiral Coligni, however, wrote to him, 
 that they had no cause of discontent or suspicion against 
 him, and that the king only desired his return that he 
 might better know the situation of an establishment upon 
 which reports differed, and determine whether it should 
 be renounced, or whether new sacrifices should be 
 made to maintain it. Ribaut was soon convinced of 
 the injustice of the accusations against Laudonniere; 
 and desired him to remain with him in the colony ; but 
 he could not submit to be reduced to a second place 
 in a country where he had commanded. 
 
 Captain Ribaut had only been seven days in the 
 ruined fort, which he had again built up, when six 
 large vessels, commanded by Don Pedro Melendez de 
 Avilez, came in sight. This officer, regarded by the 
 Spaniards as one of the greatest captains they had in 
 the New World, had been ordered by Philip II. to visit 
 
78 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 all the coasts of Florida, and draw an exact chart of 
 them, which might serve as a guide to the pilots in the 
 channel of Bahama, where frequent shipwrecks occur 
 red. Melendez found this mission too limited ; he pro 
 posed to the king to form an establishment in Florida, 
 and to propagate the true faith there. For me, sire," 
 added he, " the blindness of so many thousands of 
 idolaters has so greatly affected me, that, of all the ap 
 pointments with which your Majesty can honour me, 
 there is not one which I should prefer to that of con 
 quering Florida, and converting its inhabitants to the 
 true faith." 
 
 Philip II. accepted the offers of Melendez, who im 
 mediately began his preparations ; and his expedition 
 was on the point of sailing; when he learnt that the 
 Protestants established in America were about to re 
 ceive a reinforcement from France. Philip II. con 
 ceived the design of destroying it, and he increased the 
 force under the command of Melendez. This admiral 
 departed from Cadiz June 29th, 1565, with the galleon 
 Saint Pelage and ten other vessels. This expedition 
 was characterized as a holy war ; a great number of 
 volunteers joined him, and he had soon under his com 
 mand two thousand six hundred men. On the 9th of 
 August, he arrived before Porto Rico, with five ships ; 
 the others had been dispersed in a tempest, and he had 
 now only a third part of his troops. He then learnt 
 that Ribaut had got the advance of him, but that he 
 had remained a long time on the coast before landing. 
 
 Melendez, without waiting for a reinforcement, re 
 solved to prosecute his design : he gained the shores 
 of Florida, and soon reached the mouth of the river 
 May. Four French ships were anchored without the 
 entrance of the river, not being able to cross the bar: 
 Melendez approached, with the design of seizing them 
 he took some men prisoners who were on the shore, 
 addressed a summons of surrender to the commander 
 of the ships, and declared that he had come to engage 
 in a war with the Lutherans to whom no quarter would 
 be shown; that the Catholics would be humanely treated. 
 
THE FRENCH RESOLVE TO ATTACK THE SPANIARDS. 79 
 
 out that the heretics should be treated without mercy. 
 After having thus menaced them, Melendez sailed out 
 to sea, watching for the ships ; which had not enough 
 men to engage with him ; but they had time to fly, and 
 Melendez not being able to overtake them, proceeded 
 to the Dauphin river, and the French vessels returned 
 to their station at the mouth of the river. 
 
 Ribaut now resolved to re-embark with part of his 
 troops, and attack the Spaniards. Several of his cap 
 tains, and Laudonniere particularly, sought in vain to 
 dissuade him from it ; they represented to him that it 
 was better to remain on shore and hasten the building 
 of their fortifications, that it was dangerous to expose 
 themselves to sudden hurricanes on a coast where these 
 happened so very often, that it would be difficult to re 
 turn if they should be dispersed, and that they should 
 not abandon the fort to the danger of being taken dur 
 ing their absence. But Ribaut was resolved; he be 
 lieved himself obliged to seek the enemy according to 
 the last orders that he had received from Admiral Co- 
 ligni before his departure from France. His instruction 
 terminated in these words : " In concluding this letter, 
 I received certain information, that Don Pedro Melen 
 dez has departed from Spain to go to the coast of New 
 France. You must not allow him to encroach upon our 
 possessions, any more than he would desire you to en 
 croach upon theirs." That Melendez might not have 
 time to establish and fortify himself on the coast where 
 he had landed, Ribaut embarked all his own soldiers 
 and the greater part of Laudonniere's, and departed 
 September 10th, never again to return. 
 
 The Spanish commander was distinguished by great 
 activity. Hardly had he proceeded to the Dauphin 
 river, when he landed thirty men. to choose a suitable 
 place for the establishment he desired to form ; the fort 
 of which he laid the foundation received the name of 
 St. Augustine, and it was not till some time after that 
 this first station was abandoned, and removed farther 
 south to the place which it now occupies. Melendez 
 took from his vessels all the things necessary for his 
 8 
 
80 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 establishment, and then learning that Ribaut was dis 
 posed to attack him, he sent two ships for reinforce 
 ments to Hispaniola, and to carry to Spain certain 
 .prisoners whom he desired to deliver to the inquisition : 
 he afterwards stationed himself near the bar of the 
 river with his other ships and a part of his troops ; but 
 no engagement took place between the two squadrons. 
 The shallow water did not permit Ribaut to cross the 
 bar ; and a tempest soon after arose which carried the 
 French vessels out to sea, and prevented them from 
 again uniting, to prepare for a new attack. 
 
 This separation instantly allowed the forces of Me- 
 lendez to be disposed of. He made haste to profit by 
 the absence of Ribaut to attack Fort Carolina. Five 
 hundred soldiers, musketeers and those carrying rifles, 
 were chosen for this enterprise : he put himself at the 
 head of the vanguard, composed of twenty brave sol 
 diers carrying axes, to open a passage through the 
 forest ; and he had no guides but a compass and a pri 
 soner whose hands were bound behind his back. 
 
 At the end of the fourth day, the troops arrived 
 within a mile and a half of the place: they were 
 fatigued ; they had several marshes yet to cross ; but 
 so violent a storm arose in the night, that the officer 
 of the guard, charged to prevent the fort from being 
 surprised, believing there was no necessity for keeping 
 watch, permitted the soldiers of his post to go to sleep. 
 The Spaniards then approached by favour of the dark 
 ness without being heard : the place was surprised at 
 break of day, and they entered through three breaches 
 at the same time. 
 
 Laudonniere had not had time to build up the ruined 
 fortifications of Fort Carolina. Ribaut had left with 
 him the women, children, and sick ; and out of the t\vo 
 hundred and forty persons who were with him, only 
 forty were in a condition to bear arms. He wished to 
 withdraw to some secure place to make head against 
 the enemy, and to wait for the assistance which might 
 be furnished him by three ships which were still anchor 
 ed in the bay ; but, notwithstanding his valour, he could 
 
THE SPANIARDS DESTROY THE FRENCH COLONISTS. 81 
 
 not maintain his place, and he contented himself with 
 protecting the retreat of the men rallied round him. 
 Melendez ordered the women and children to be spared ; 
 no mercy was shown to any others, and those who had 
 escaped from the battle were reserved for the scaffold. 
 Laudonniere having only one soldier, named Bartho 
 lomew, with him, retreated through a breach and gained 
 the woods, where some others had taken refuge ; 
 thence they proceeded across the marsh to the mouth 
 of the river. The ships received them : twenty others 
 succeeded in escaping, and were taken up by the ships, 
 which sailed along the coast for that purpose ; and they 
 set sail September 25th, to return to France. 
 
 A Spanish garrison was left by Melendez in the fort 
 which he had seized, whilst he himself hastily returned 
 to St. Augustine, where he expected to be soon attacked. 
 He was there received as a conqueror of the heretics, 
 by the clergy bearing a cross, and singing a Te Deum. 
 
 This bloody expedition, in which all sentiments of 
 humanity were stifled by military fury and religious 
 fanaticism, took place September 20th. At this time the 
 squadron of Ribaut was tossed about by tempests, and 
 dispersed on the ocean. This violent storm lasted till 
 the 23d: it had dispersed the French ships, and after 
 wards brought them together, and broken them to pieces 
 on the rocks. The vessels perished, but the men were 
 saved, only to meet with still greater misfortunes. 
 
 Some Indians gave information to Melendez that a 
 large number of white persons had appeared towards 
 th'3 south, on the other side of a river which they de 
 sired to cross. Melendez took with him a detachment 
 to discover who they were ; and when he arrived at 
 the banks of the river he saw a Frenchman swimming 
 towards him, who told him that all i/iese men were 
 shipwrecked, and had formed part of Ribaut's squadron. 
 A boat was then sent to the other side, to receive on 
 board an officer and several men who were to repre 
 sent trie case of these unfortunate persons to Melendez ; 
 they told him that they had lost in the last tempest aU 
 their vessels, and they begged him to lend them on e 
 
 F 
 
82 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 that they might return to Fort Carolina, which wag 
 situated twenty leagues farther towards the north. 
 Melendez replied that he had seized the fort, and 
 destroyed the garrison, only sparing the Catholics, 
 the women and children. The officer then asked him 
 for a ship that they might return to France, on the 
 ground that the nations were then on good terms, and 
 the sovereigns friendly to one another. " It is true," 
 replied Melendez, " that the French Catholics are our 
 allies and our friends: but not so with the heretics, 
 against whom I will prosecute war to the utmost ; I 
 will show no mercy to any of this sect I meet with on 
 land or sea ; and in this I hope I serve both kings. I 
 came to Florida to establish the Roman Catholic reli 
 gion. If you will unconditionally surrender and deliver 
 up your arms and ensigns, I will act towards you as 
 God inspires me : if not, do what you please ; but hope 
 neither friendship nor mercy from me." 
 
 This reply was returned to the others, who offered a 
 ranson of twenty thousand dollars for their lives. Me 
 lendez refused, and said if he did do it, it would be from 
 generosity. As they again made him this offer, he said 
 he would rather see the heaven and earth joined to 
 gether than change his resolution. 
 
 The envoys then determined to throw themselves on 
 the mercy of Melendez. They suffered themselves to 
 be bound, and were marched between two files of mus 
 keteers to an eminence where their companions should 
 be successively led. Melendez sent his boat to the 
 other side, with twenty soldiers, charging them to re 
 ceive a detachment of only ten men at a time : they 
 were also bound, and placed in the power of those 
 whose assistance they had demanded ; they were led 
 to the place designed for their execution, and all these 
 victims were there put to death one after another. 
 Eight men declared that they were Catholics and they 
 were spared; all the others declared that they were 
 followers of the reformed religion, and were put to 
 death. Two hundred men were thus sacrificed. 
 
 On the following day, Melendez returned to St 
 
MASSACRE OF THE FRENCH. 83 
 
 Augustine. He soon learnt that a body of men more 
 numerous than the first had arrived near the same 
 place; and he proceeded towards the mouth of the 
 river with one hundred and fifty soldiers. He learnt, 
 by the message which was sent him, that this body 
 consisted of three hundred"" and fifty men, commanded 
 by Ribaut, viceroy and captain general of New France ; 
 that he desired to return to Fort Carolina, and begged 
 the loan of a boat to cross the rivei* that he had to 
 pass. Ribaut soon came himself, in a small canoe, 
 with eight gentlemen ; and when he learnt the fate of 
 the garrison, and that of the first persons who were 
 shipwrecked, he told the Spanish general "that the 
 occurrences of life were so various, that all which had 
 happened to the French might one day happen to him 
 self; that their kings were brothers and friends, and 
 that, in the name of this alliance, he prayed him to fur 
 nish him with a vessel to return to France." 
 
 Ribaut received the same refusal as the commander 
 of the first detachment ; and when he announced it to 
 his troops, two hundred men retired the following night, 
 that they might not be left at the discretion of Melen- 
 dez : the remaining hundred and fifty consented to sur 
 render to him ; and Ribaut, who had promised to see 
 him again, returned according to his word, and made 
 known their resolution. These unfortunate persons 
 were reserved for a similar fate : they were obliged to 
 cross the river by detachments, and Melendez inquired 
 whether they were Catholics or Lutherans. Ribaut 
 replied that they were of the reformed religion. He 
 repeated these words; " Domine, memento mei:" he 
 then said ; " From the dust we are made, and unto dust 
 we shall return; twenty years sooner or later, it is all 
 the same. Let them do with me what they please." 
 The signal for their execution was given; four men 
 declared that they were Catholics, and were the only 
 ones that were spared. 
 
 In order to relate these deplorable events, we have 
 consulted the relations of the Spaniards themselves, 
 particularly those of Solis de las Meras, brother-in-law 
 
84 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 of Melendez. We cannot suppose him capable of cast 
 ing calumny on the memory of a relative, and we 
 leave him, surrounded by his victims, to the judgment 
 of posterity. 
 
 They learnt, three weeks after this bloody event, that 
 the French were constructing a fort and a vessel on the 
 coast of Canaveral. Melendez believed them to be the 
 two hundred men who had escaped the {ate of Ribaut, 
 and proceeded with a greater number of troops, to this 
 coast, which he reached on the 1st of November. The 
 French, not having finished their fortifications, retired 
 to a height, and Melendez proposed to them to join him, 
 assuring them that he would treat them as his own sol 
 diers : the greater part consented ; but twenty of them 
 declared that they would rather be devoured by the 
 savages than put themselves in his power ; and they fled 
 into the forests. 
 
 We have seen that the prisoners taken by Melendez, 
 at the beginning of his expedition, had been sent on 
 board a ship, to be transported to Spain ; but they broke 
 their fetters, seized the vessel, and changing its direc 
 tion, they proceeded to Denmark, whence they reached 
 France. These men were the sad remains of expedi 
 tions made at three periods, to found a colony in the 
 north of Florida. 
 
 The news of the destruction of this colony excited 
 the public indignation of the French; but the war 
 against the Huguenots again broke out. The court 
 hated them ; it looked upon Admiral Coligni as their 
 principal chief. All that he had done in behalf of the 
 Protestants was considered as a consequence of crim 
 inal hostilities ; and the persons who had enjoyed his 
 favour were no longer protected by the power of the 
 king. His projects of founding a colony were aban 
 doned: they did not wish to be at war with Spain. 
 They concealed the resentment excited by this bloody 
 outrage ; and a single soldier resolved to avenge it. 
 
 Captain Dominic de Gourgues, born at Mont-de-Mar- 
 sau, had been employed in the service of the kings of 
 France, in all their wars for thirty years. He had sig 
 nalized himself by many heroic actions ; and his last 
 
EXPEDITION OF GOURGUES. 85 
 
 deed in arms, in Italy, had been to sustain a siege with 
 thirty men against a body of Spanish soldiers. The 
 place was taken by assault, and the garrison put to the 
 sword ; they only spared the life of Gourgues to make 
 him serve as a galley-slave. The ship in which he 
 laboured was captured by the Turks, near the coast of 
 Sicily, and conducted to Rhodes, and thence to Constan 
 tinople ; but having been again sent to sea, he was re 
 taken by Romegas, commander of the galleys of Malta. 
 De Gourgues recovered his liberty and returned to 
 France. He afterwards made a voyage to the coast 
 of Africa, to Brazil and the Indian seas; and on his 
 return to his country, he learnt the massacre of the 
 French, established in the north of Florida, and he re 
 solved to be revenged. 
 
 De Gourgues borrowed some money, and sold some 
 of his property, to equip three ships, manned with one 
 hundred and fifty soldiers and eighty sailors, with pro 
 visions for one year : his lieutenant was Captain Case- 
 nova. The expedition departed from Bourdeaux on the 
 second of August, 1567 ; contrary winds kept them 
 near Royau, and afterwards by the mouth of the Cha- 
 rente, whence they gained the sea. They reached the 
 shores of Cuba, after a long voyage, and gained Cape 
 St. Antonio, situated at the western extremity of this 
 island. De Gourgues then assembled his crew and 
 pictured to them the cruelties which the Spaniards had 
 exercised towards the French. " Behold," added he, 
 " the crime of our enemies ; and what would ours be 
 should we longer defer to revenge the affront whicl 
 has been cast on the French nation ! It is this that has 
 engaged me to sell all my property ; it is this which 
 has opened to me the purses of my friends. I have 
 reckoned upon you ; I believed you jealous enough of 
 the honour of your country, to sacrifice even your 
 lives on an occasion of this importance. Am I de 
 ceived ? I hope to give you an example to be always 
 at your head ; will you refuse to follow me ?" The 
 soldiers declared that they would never forsake him. 
 
 The flotilla scudded along to the north of the island 
 
86 JNDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 to gain the Bahama channel ; it reached the coasts of 
 Florida, passed the river May, where the Spaniards 
 saluted them with two cannons, and continued sailing 
 along the coast till they had lost sight of the river. In 
 the beginning of the night, De Gourgues landed, fifteen 
 leagues to the north of the fortress, on the shores of the 
 river which we have called Seine, and endeavoured to 
 form amicable relations with Saturiova and the Indians, 
 who were irritated at the ill treatment they had re 
 ceived since the departure of the French. A young 
 man, named Pierre de Bray, a native of Havre, was 
 found among this tribe ; he was one of those who had 
 escaped from Fort Carolina, when Melendez had seized 
 it, and had been humanely received by Saturiova. Dur 
 ing his stay among the savages he learnt their language ; 
 he was able to serve as interpreter, and his intervention 
 was so much the more useful, as the Indians joined De 
 Gourgues' expedition. They agreed to meet him by 
 the side of the river four leagues from the fort, and the 
 captain sent some men to find out the condition of the 
 enemy's entrenchments. Pedro Melendez had left 
 there four hundred Spaniards, under the command of 
 Villareal : they were distributed in three forts. The 
 largest was that which had belonged to the French, 
 and which had been put in a condition for defence. 
 The other two had been built by Villareal, at the dis 
 tance of two leagues from the first, towards the lower 
 part of the river, which separated them from one an 
 other. Each of these posts was guarded by sixty men. 
 The French and Indians crossed, without being per 
 ceived, a small river near one of the smaller forts. De 
 Gourgues attacked it on both sides at once, and the 
 enemy, not being able to withstand his impetuous 
 shock, took to flight. They were between two fires, 
 and not one of them escaped. The greater part were 
 killed in battle ; the others were reserved for a more 
 dreadful death. The second fort was attacked with 
 the same order: De Gourgues had crossed the river 
 with twenty musketeers, and the Indians joined him by 
 swimming. The enemy, forced from their entrench- 
 
REVENGE UPON THE SPANIARDS. 87 
 
 ments, endeavoured to retreat through the woods to 
 the principal fort ; but they met with the same fate as 
 the first. 
 
 Before marching towards the large fort which con 
 tained two hundred and sixty men, De Gourgues sent 
 the Indians to form ambuscades in the forest ; he left 
 an officer with fifteen musketeers in one of the small 
 forts, ascended the river with his troops, and sought, in 
 approaching the fortress, the means of attacking it at 
 the point which appeared most accessible. 
 
 On the first rumour of his approach, Villareal had 
 sent a detachment of eighty men to watch the motions 
 of the enemy. This corps was surrounded : De Gour 
 gues attacked it in person ; Casenova prevented their 
 retreat, and they were cut in pieces. This battle so 
 terrified the Spaniards in the fort, that they no longer 
 thought of defending it ; they precipitately escaped and 
 fled into the forests ; but they were there received by 
 the Indians, who shot them with their arrows. The 
 few who fell living into the hands of the conqueror, 
 were hung on the same trees where, three years be 
 fore, they had hung the French. It is said that Me- 
 lendez had attached to the place of execution the 
 following inscription: "I do not treat them thus as 
 Frenchmen, but as Protestants." De Gourgues placed 
 the following inscription over his victims : " I do not 
 this as unto Spaniards or mariners, but as unto traitors, 
 robbers, and murderers." 
 
 The commander had not men enough to keep pos 
 session of the forts, and to establish themselves in a 
 country where the Spaniards could easily collect a 
 more numerous body of troops : he made the Indians 
 destroy the fortifications, after having conveyed to his 
 ships the pieces of artillery he found there. Casenova 
 was charged to conduct this convoy to the river Seine, 
 where the large ships had been left, and De Gourgues 
 proceeded by land to the same point, with eighty mus 
 keteers, carrying with them lighted matches, and forty 
 sailors armed with pikes. The Indians came from aft 
 
88 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 parts to honour him as their deliverer: he received 
 them with many testimonials of friendship, and accord 
 ing to their wishes promised to return in twelve moons. 
 His vessels were in a good condition and ready to sail' 
 he embarked May 3d, 1558; his passage was pros 
 perous : he sailed eleven hundred leagues in seventeen 
 days, and continuing his voyage, arrived at Rochelle on 
 the 6th of June. After having received in this city the 
 most distinguished honours, he embarked for Bour- 
 deaux, and hastened to give an account of his expedi 
 tion to Montluc, who had favoured him, and who was 
 then in the central part of France. 
 
 The report of this courageous enterprise was soon 
 every where spread, and the Spanish vessels, which were 
 cruising along the shores, hastened towards the entrance 
 of the port of Rochelle to arrest De Gourgues on his 
 passage ; but they arrived too late. This officer had 
 departed. They followed him to the entrance of the 
 Goronde, and ascended this river to Blaye without be 
 ing able to come up with him. De Gourgues after 
 wards went to Paris. He offered his services to the 
 king, and proposed a plan for reducing to his authority 
 the country he had discovered ; but the Spanish go 
 vernment endeavoured to obtain justice from Charles 
 IX. for this bloody outrage : they represented it as a 
 crime against the alliance formed by the two courts, 
 and De Gourgues was forced to fly to Rouen, and keep 
 in concealment for some time. 
 
 This expedition will remain in history as a remark 
 able monument of patriotism and intrepidity; but in 
 honouring it under this title, we must lament an age in 
 which such terrible reprisals were considered as an act 
 of justice. The reprisal not only reached the guilty ; 
 it fell on the innocent, and mingled the grossest injus 
 tice with revenge. 
 
 De Gourgues, persecuted and afterwards neglected 
 by his sovereign, found strangers more benevolent to 
 wards him : Elizabeth, queen of England, gladly re 
 ceived him on account of his merit ; and Don Antonio, 
 
REFLECTIONS. 89 
 
 who pretended to the succession of Sebastian, king of 
 Portugal, chose him, twelve years after, to be admiral 
 of the fleet which he had armed .against Spain ; but De 
 Gourgues was now enfeebled by age, and died before 
 he had entered upon his duties. 
 
 The countries which this enterprising man had 
 wished to reconquer, were now forgotten. They had 
 cost useless sacrifices ; an improvident policy had 
 caused them to be abandoned; and if we inquire into 
 the causes which made these great enterprises mis 
 carry, we shall find them especially in the want of 
 union. The men belonging to the first expedition were 
 no longer in America when the government sent them 
 its tardy assistance. Those of the second were pre 
 paring to quit their fortress ; they had torn down the 
 fortifications, and made them unfit to sustain a siege, 
 when they were suddenly assaulted by an enemy supe 
 rior in numbers. These contrarieties would not have 
 taken place, had the project of founding a colony been 
 executed with a spirit of union, which alone is suffi 
 cient to assure success. 
 
 But the character of Protestants, impressed on this 
 new colony, exposed it, from its origin, to all the perse 
 cutions directed at that time in France against the Cal- 
 vinists. It could not expect any assistance from the 
 sovereign, when the reformers were at war with him. 
 It was protected only during the truces which were 
 sometimes made; but then the opportunity was lost, 
 the fruit of their former labours could not be gathered 
 in time, and the evil became irremediable when the 
 government itself considered as mortal enemies all per 
 sons who were not of the Catholic faith. 
 
 The other governments of Europe, if they did not 
 show themselves more tolerant towards those who had 
 a different faith, had at least a policy more enlightened 
 and more happy in its results. They exiled a part of 
 the dissenters, and encouraged the others to emigrate ; 
 but they sent them from home into their colonies ; they 
 followed them with their supervision, and protected 
 
C JO INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 them in their places of refuge : they only saw in these 
 new establishments an increase of the power of the 
 mother country. It was extending beyond the seas her 
 power, commerce, and industry; and it opened to men 
 discontented with their situation, another career and a 
 new field for hope. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 EARLY INDIAN WARS OP VIRGINIA. 
 
 IREVIOUS to the final set- 
 tlement of Virginia, many 
 attempts at colonization 
 were made on the soil of 
 the United States. Seve 
 ral expeditions were sent 
 to the coasts of Maine; 
 and all readers of Ameri 
 can history are familiar 
 with the repeated unsuc 
 cessful attempts of Sir 
 Walter Raleigh to establish a permanent colony in 
 Roanoke, in North Carolina. At length, James I., 
 having divided that portion of North America which 
 extends from the ' thirty-eighth to the forty-fifth de 
 gree of north latitude, into two portions, the one 
 called the first or south colony of Virginia, and the 
 other the second or north colony, authorized Sir 
 Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, and their asso 
 ciates in London, to settle any part of the former 
 which they might choose ; and several knights, gentle- 
 men, and merchants, of Bristol and Plymouth, com 
 
SETTLEMENT OF THE ENGLISH. 91 
 
 monly called the Plymouth company, to ooci/py the 
 latter. 
 
 After the lapse of a hundred and ten years from the 
 discovery of the continent by Cabot, and twenty-two 
 years after its first occupation by Raleigh, were the 
 number of the English colonists limited to a hundred 
 and five ; and this handful of men proceeded to execute 
 the arduous task of peopling a remote and uncultivated 
 land, covered with woods and marshes, and inhabited 
 only by tribes of savages and beasts of prey. 
 
 Newport and his squadron, pursuing for some un 
 known reason the ancient circuitous track to^America, 
 did not accomplish their voyage in a shorter period 
 than four months ; but its termination was rendered 
 peculiarly fortunate by the effect of a storm which 
 overruled their destination to Roanoke, and carried 
 them into the bay of Chesapeake. As they advanced 
 into the bay that seemed to invite their approach, they 
 beheld all the advantages of this spacious haven, re 
 plenished by the waters of so many great rivers that 
 fertilize the soil of that extensive district of America, 
 and affording commodious inlets into the interior parts, 
 facilitate their foreign commerce and mutual communi 
 cation. Newport first landed on a promontory forming 
 the southern boundary of the bay, which, in honour of 
 the Prince of Wales, he named Cape Henry. Thence 
 coasting the southern shore, he entered a river which 
 the natives called Powhatan, and explored its banks 
 for the space of forty miles from its mouth. Strongly 
 impressed with tlie superior advantages of the coast 
 and region to which they had been thus happily con 
 ducted, the adventurers unanimously determined to 
 make this the place of their abode. They gave to their 
 infant settlement, as well as to the neighbouring river, 
 the name of their king; and Jamestown retains the 
 distinction of being the oldest existing habitation of the 
 English in America. 
 
 But the dissensions that broke out among the colo 
 nists soon -threatened to deprive them of all the advan 
 tages of their well-selected station. Their animosities 
 
92 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 were powerfully inflamed by an arrangement which, if 
 it did not originate with the king, at least evinces a 
 strong affinity to that ostentatious mystery and driftless 
 artifice which he affected as the perfection of political 
 dexterity. TKe names of the colonial council were not 
 communicated to the adventurers when they departed 
 from England; but a commission which contained 
 them was Inclosed in a sealed packet, which was di 
 rected to be opened within twenty-four hours after their 
 arrival on the coast of Virginia, when the counsellors 
 were to be installed into their office, and to elect their 
 o\vn president. The dissensions incident to a long 
 voyage, and a body of adventurers rather conjoined 
 than united, had free scope among men unaware of 
 the relations they were to occupy towards each other, 
 and of the subordination which their relative stations 
 might imply ; and when the names of the council were 
 proclaimed, they were far from giving general satisfac 
 tion. Captain Smith, whose superior talents and cou 
 rage had excited the envy and jealousy of his col 
 leagues, was excluded from the seat in council which 
 the commission conferred on him, and even accused of 
 traitorous designs so unproved and improbable, that 
 none less believed the charge than the parties who pre 
 ferred it. The privation of his counsel and services in 
 the difficulties of their outset was a serious loss to the 
 colonists, and might have been attended with ruin to 
 the settlement, if his merit and generosity had not been 
 superior to their mean injustice. The jealous suspi 
 cions of the person who had been elected president 
 restrained the use of arms, and discouraged the con 
 struction of fortifications ; and a misunderstanding hav 
 ing arisen with the Indians, the colonists, unprepared 
 for hostilities, suffered severely from one of the sudden 
 - attacks characteristic of the warfare of these savages. 
 
 Newport had been ordered to return with the ships 
 to England; and as the time of his departure ap 
 proached, the accusers of Smith, affecting a humanity 
 they did not feel, proposed that he should return with 
 Newport, instead of being prosecuted in Virginia. But, 
 
THE INDIANS BRING PROVISIONS. 93 
 
 happily for the colony, he scorned so to compromise 
 his integrity ; and demanding a trial, was honourably 
 acquitted, and took his seat in the council. 
 
 The fleet had been better victualled than the stores 
 of the colony ; and while it remained with them, the 
 colonists were permitted to share the abundance enjoyed 
 by the sailors. But when Newport set sail for England, 
 they found themselves limited to scanty supplies of un 
 wholesome provisions ; and the sultry heat of the cli 
 mate, a-nd moisture of a country overgrown with wood, 
 concurring with the defects of their diet, brought on 
 diseases that raged with fatal violence. Before the 
 month of September, one half of their number had per 
 ished, and among them was Bartholomew Gosnold, who 
 had planned the expedition* and eminently contributed 
 to its accomplishment. This scene of distress was 
 heightened by internal dissensions. The president was 
 accused of embezzling the stores, and finally detected 
 in an attempt to seize a pinnace and escape from the 
 colony and its calamities. At length, in the extremity 
 of their distress, when ruin seemed alike to impend 
 from famine and the fury of the savages, the colony 
 was delivered from danger by a supply which the piety 
 of Smith is not ashamed to ascribe to the influence of 
 God in suspending the passions and controlling the sen 
 timents of men. The savages, actuated by a sudden 
 change of feeling, presented them with a supply of pro- f 
 visions so abundant as at once to dissipate their appre- ' 
 hensions of famine and hostility. 
 
 Resuming their spirit, the colonists now proved them 
 selves not entirely uninstructed by their misfortunes. In 
 seasons of exigency, merit is illustrated, and the envy 
 that pursues it, absorbed by interest and alarm. Their 
 sense of common and inevitable danger suggested and 
 enforced submission to the man whose talents were 
 most likely to extricate them from the difficulties with 
 which they were surrounded. Every eye was now 
 turned on Smith, and all willingly devolved on him the 
 authority which they had formerly evinced so much 
 iealousy of his acquiring. This eminent person, whose 
 9 
 
94 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 name will be for ever associated with the foundation oi 
 civilized society in America, was descended of a re 
 spectable family in Lincolnshire, and born to a compe 
 tent fortune. At a very early age his ardent mind had 
 been strongly smitten with the spirit of adventure that 
 prevailed so powerfully in England during the reign of 
 Elizabeth; and, yielding to his inclinations, he had 
 passed through a vast variety of military service, with 
 little gain, but great reputation, and with the acquisition 
 of an experience the more valuable that it was obtained 
 without exhausting his ardour or tainting his morals. 
 The vigour of his constitution had preserved his health 
 unimpaired amidst the general sickness ; his undaunted 
 temper retained his spirits unbroken, and his judgment 
 unclouded, amidst the general misery and dejection; 
 and the ardour of his disposition, which once subjected 
 him to the reproach of overweening ambition, was now 
 felt to diffuse an animating glow of hope and courage 
 among all around him. A strong sense of religion pre 
 dominated in the mind of this superior man, combined 
 and subordinated all his faculties, refreshed his con 
 fidence, extended and yet regulated his views, and gave 
 dignity to his character, and consistency to his conduct. 
 Assuming the direction of the affairs of the colonists, 
 he instantly adopted the only plan that could save them 
 from destruction. Under his directions James-Town 
 was fortified by such defences as were sufficient to 
 repel the attacks of the savages ; and, by dint of great 
 labour, which he was always the foremost to share, the 
 colonists were provided with dwellings that afforded 
 shelter from the weather, and contributed to restore and 
 preserve their health. Finding the supplies of the sa 
 vages discontinued, he put himself at the head of a 
 detachment of his people, and penetrated into the 
 country; and by courtesy and liberality to the tribes 
 whom he found well disposed, and vigorously repelling 
 the hostilities of such as were otherwise minded, he 
 obtained for the colony the most abundant supplies. 
 
 In the midst of his successes he was surprised on an 
 expedition, by a hostile body of savages, who, having 
 
CAFfAIN SMITH A PRISONER. 97 
 
 succeeded in making him prisoner, after a gallant and 
 nearly successful defence, prepared to inflict on him 
 the usual fate of their captives. His eminent faculties 
 did not desert him on this trying occasion. He desired 
 to speak with the sachem or chief, and, presenting him 
 with a mariner's compass, expatiated on the wonderful 
 discoveries to which it had led, described the shape of 
 the earth, the vastness of its lands and oceans, the 
 course of the sun, the varieties of nations, and the sin 
 gularity of their relative positions, which made some 
 of them antipodes to the others. With equal prudence 
 and magnanimity he refrained from all solicitations for 
 his life, which would only have weakened the impres 
 sion which he hoped to produce. The savages listened 
 with amazement and admiration. They had handled 
 the compass, and viewing with surprise the play of the 
 needle, which they plainly saw, but found it impossible 
 to touch, from the intervention of the glass, this mar 
 vellous object prepared their minds for the reception of 
 those vast impressions by which their captive endea 
 voured to gain ascendency over them. For an hour 
 after he had finished his harangue, they seem to have 
 remained undecided; till their habitual sentiments re 
 viving, they resumed their suspended purpose, and, 
 having bound him to a tree, prepared to dispatch him 
 with their arrows. But a stronger impression had been 
 made on their chief; and his soul, enlarged for a season 
 by the admission of knowledge, or subdued by the influ 
 ence of wonder, revolted from the dominion of habitual fe 
 rocity. This chief was named Opechancanough, and des 
 tined at a future period to invest his barbarous name with 
 terror and celebrity. Holding up the compass in his hand, 
 he gave the signal of reprieve, and Smith, though still 
 guarded as a prisoner, was conducted to a dwelling where 
 he was kindly treated, and plentifully entertained. (See 
 Engraving, on the opposite page.) But the strongest im 
 pressions pass away, while the influence of habit remains. 
 After vainly endeavouring to prevail on their captive 
 to betray the English colony into their hands, they refer 
 red his fate to Powhatan, the king or principal sachem of 
 G 
 
98 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the country, to whose presence they conducted him in 
 triumphal procession. The king received him with 
 much ceremony, ordered a plentiful repast to be set 
 before him, and then adjudged him to suffer death by 
 having his head laid on a stone and beat to pieces with 
 clubs. At the place appointed for this barbarous execu 
 tion, he was again rescued from impending fate by the 
 interposition of Pocahontas, the favourite daughter of 
 the king, who, finding her first entreaties disregarded, 
 threw her arms around the prisoner, and declared her 
 determination to save him or die with him. Her gene 
 rous affection prevailed over the cruelty of her tribe, 
 and the king not only gave Smith his life, but soon after 
 sent him back to James-Town, where the beneficence of 
 Pocahontas continued to follow him with supplies of 
 provisions that delivered the colony from famine. 
 
 After an absence of seven weeks, Smith returned to 
 James-Town, barely in time to prevent the desertion of 
 the colony. His associates, reduced to the number of 
 thirty-eight, impatient of farther stay in a country 
 where they had met with so many discouragements, 
 and where they seemed fated to re-enact the disasters 
 of Roanoke, were preparing to abandon the settlement ; 
 and it was not without the utmost difficulty, and alter 
 nately employing persuasion, remonstrance, and even 
 violent interference, that Smith prevailed with them to 
 relinquish their design. The provisions that Poca 
 hontas had sent to him relieved their present wants ; 
 his account of the plenty he had witnessed among the 
 savages revived their hopes ; and he endeavoured, by 
 a diligent improvement of the favourable impressions 
 he had made upon the savages, and by a judicious 
 regulation of ^the* intercourse between them and the 
 colonists, to effect a union of interests and mutual par 
 ticipation of advantages between the two races of peo 
 ple. His generous efforts were successful ; he preserved 
 plenty among the English, and extended his influence 
 and repute among the Indians, who began to respect 
 and consult their former captive as a superior being. 
 If Smith had sought only to magnify his own repute 
 
POCAHONTAS RESCUING CAPTAIN 
 
SMITH'S ATTEMPTS TO CONVERT THE INDIANS. 99 
 
 and establishing his dominion, he might easily have 
 passed with the savages for a demigod ; for they were 
 not more averse to yield the allegiance which he 
 claimed for their Creator, than forward to render it to 
 himself, and to embrace every pretension he might ad 
 vice in his own behalf. But no alluring prospect of 
 dominion" over men could tempt him to forget that he 
 was the servant of God, or aspire to be regarded in 
 any other light by his fellow-creatures. He employed 
 his best endeavours to divert the savages from their 
 idolatrous superstition, and made them all aware that 
 the man whose superiority they acknowledged despised 
 their false deities, adored the true God, and obtained 
 from Him, by prayer, the wisdom they so highly com 
 mended. The effect of his pious endeavours was ob 
 structed by imperfect acquaintance with their language, 
 and very ill seconded by the conduct of his associates, 
 which contributed to persuade the Indians that his reli 
 gion was something peculiar to himself. The influence, 
 too, of human superiority, however calculated to im 
 press, is by no means formed to convert the mind. It 
 is so apt to give a wrong direction to the impressions 
 which it produces, and is so remote from the channel 
 in which Christianity from the beginning has been 
 appointed to flow, that the first and most successful 
 efforts to convert mankind were made by men who 
 possessed little of it, and who renounced the little they 
 possessed. Smith, partly from the difficulties of his 
 situation, partly from 'the defectiveness of his instruc 
 tion, and, doubtless, in no small degree, from the stub 
 born blindness and wilful ignorance of the persons he 
 attempted to instruct, succeeded no farther than Heriot 
 had formerly done. The savages extended their respect 
 for the man to a Being whom they termed " the God 
 of Captain Smith," and some of them acknowledged 
 that this Being excelled their own deities in the same 
 proportion that artillery excelled bows and arrows, and 
 sent to James-Town to entreat that Smith would pray 
 for rain when their idols seemed to refuse a supply. 
 While the affairs of the colony were thus prosperous 
 
100 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 under the direction of Captain Smith, a reinforcement 
 of a hundred and twenty men) with an abundant stock 
 of provisions, and a supply of seeds and instruments of 
 husbandry, arrived in two vessels from England. Uni 
 versal joy was excited among the colonists by this 
 accession to their comforts and their force. 
 
 Of the recruits which were thus furnished to the 
 colony, a large proportion were gentlemen jewellers 
 and refiners of gold. Some of the latter fancied they 
 had discovered gold dust in a small stream of water 
 near James-Town ; and instantly the whole attention of 
 the colonists was directed to the collection of this ma 
 terial, of which a large quantity was shipped to Eng 
 land, and found to be worthless dross. 
 
 While the colonists were thus occupied, Captain 
 Smith explored the whole coast of Chesapeake bay, 
 and furnished a valuable map of his discoveries, which 
 has formed the groundwork of all subsequent delinea 
 tions. On his return he was chosen president of the 
 council ; which office he discharged with consummate 
 ability. 
 
 What one governor afterwards effected in this re 
 spect by the weight of an imposing rank, and others by 
 the strong engine of martial law, Smith, without these 
 advantages, and with greater success, accomplished by 
 the continual application of his own vigour and activity. 
 Some plots were formed against him ; but these he de 
 tected and defeated without either straining or compro 
 mising his authority. The caprice and suspicion of the 
 Indians assailed him with numberless trials of his tem 
 per and capacity. Even Powhatan, notwithstanding 
 the friendly ties that united him to his ancient guest, 
 was induced, by the treacherous artifices of certain 
 Dutchmen, who deserted to him from James-Town, 
 first to form a secret conspiracy, and then to excite 
 and prepare open hostility against the colonists. Some 
 of the fraudful designs of the royal savage were re 
 vealed by the unabated kindness o'f Pocahontas, others 
 were detected by Captain Smith, and from them all he 
 contrived to extricate the colony with honour and sue- 
 
SMITH RETURNS TO ENGLAND. 101 
 
 cess, and yet with little, and only defensive, bloodshed , 
 displaying* to the Indians a vigour and dexterity they 
 could neither overcome nor overreach a courage that 
 commanded their respect, and a generosity that car 
 ried his victory into their minds, and reconciled sub 
 mission with their pride. In thus demonstrating (to use 
 his own words) " what small cause there is that men 
 should starve or be murdered by the savages, that have 
 discretion to manage them with courage and industry," 
 he bequeathed a valuable lesson to his successors in the 
 American colonies, and to all succeeding settlers in the 
 vicinity of savage tribes; and in exemplifying the 
 power of a superior people to anticipate the cruel and 
 vulgar issue of battle, and to prevail over an inferior 
 race without either extirpating or enslaving them, he 
 obtained a victory which Cassar, with all his boasted 
 superiority to the rest of mankind, was too ungenerous 
 to appreciate, or was incompetent to achieve. 
 
 But Smith was not permitted to complete the work 
 he had so honourably begun. A wound received from 
 an explosion of gunpowder compelled his return to 
 England. 
 
 We pass over the events immediately subsequent to 
 his departure, which took place in October, 1609. It. 
 was in the year 1613, and under the administration of 
 Sir Thomas Gates, that an event took place of unusual 
 interest to the readers of Indian history. 
 
 The colony of Virginia had once been saved, in the 
 person of its own deliverer Captain Smith, by Poea- 
 hontas, the daughter of the Indian king Powhatan. 
 She had ever since maintained a friendly intercourse 
 with the English, and she was destined now to render 
 them a service of the highest importance. A scarcity 
 prevailing at James-Town, and supplies being obtained 
 but scantily and irregularly from the neighbouring In 
 dians, with whom the colonists were often embroiled, 
 Captain Argal was dispatched to the Potomac for a 
 cargo of corn. Here he learned that Pocahontas was 
 living in retirement at no great distance from him: 
 and hoping, by possession of her person, to obtain such 
 
102 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 an ascendant over Powhatan as would enforce an am 
 pie contribution of provisions, he prevailed on her, by 
 some artifice, to come on board his vessel, and then set 
 sail with her to James-Town, where she was detained 
 in a state of honourable captivity. But Powhatan, 
 more indignant at such treachery than overcome by his 
 misfortune, rejected with scorn the demand of a ran 
 som ; he even refused to hold any communication with 
 the robbers who still kept his daughter a prisoner, but 
 declared that if she were restored to him he would for 
 get the injury, and, feeling himself at liberty to regard 
 them as friends, would gratify all their wishes. But 
 the colonists were too conscious of not deserving the 
 performance of such promises, to be able to give credit 
 to them; and the most injurious consequences seemed 
 likely to arise from the unjust detention, which they 
 could no longer continue with advantage nor relinquish 
 with safety, when all at once the aspect of affairs un 
 derwent a surprising and beneficial change. During 
 her residence in the colony, Pocahontas, who is repre 
 sented as a woman distinguished by her personal 
 attractions, made such impression on Mr. Rolfe, a 
 young man of rank and estimation among the settlers, 
 that he offered her his hand, and, with her approbation 
 and the warm encouragement of the governor, solicited 
 the consent of Powhatan to their marriage : this the 
 old prince readily granted, and sent some of his rela 
 tions to attend the ceremonial, which was performed 
 with extraordinary pomp, and laid the foundation of a 
 firm and sincere friendship between his tribe and the 
 English. This happy event also enabled the colonial 
 government to conclude a treaty with the Chiccahorni- 
 nies, a brave and martial tribe, who consented to 
 acknowledge themselves subjects to the British mon 
 arch, and style themselves henceforward Englishmen, 
 to assist the colonists with their arms in war, and to 
 pay an annual tribute of Indian corn. 
 
 From this period till the year 1622 no considerable 
 Indian war occurred in Virginia. During this interval, 
 Powhatan, who was, on the whole, rather friendly to 
 
STATE OF THE COLONY. 103 
 
 Che colonists, had died and been succeeded in his in 
 fluence over the Indian tribes of the vicinity by Ope- 
 chancanough, who was the implacable but secret 
 enemy of the English. The colony had been steadily 
 advancing in peace and prosperity, and the people had 
 hrown off the vigilance so necessary to their preserva 
 tion among powerful and hostile tribes of savages 
 They thought themselves secure. 
 
 But a cloud had been for some time gathering over 
 the colony, and even the circumstances that most forci 
 bly indicated the growing prosperity of the planters 
 were but inviting and enabling the storm to burst with 
 more destructive violence on their heads. Externally 
 at peace with the Indians, unapprehensive of danger, 
 and wholly engrossed with the profitable cultivation of 
 their fertile territory, their increasing numbers had 
 spread so extensively over the province, that no less 
 than eighty settlements had already been formed ; and 
 every planter being guided only by his own conve 
 nience or caprice in the choice of his dwelling, and 
 more disposed to shun than to court the neighbourhood 
 of his countrymen, the settlements were universally 
 straggling and uncompact. The Scriptures, which the 
 colonists received as their rule of faith, bore ample tes 
 timony to the cruelty and treachery of mankind in their 
 natural state; and their past experience might have 
 convinced them that the savages by whom they were 
 surrounded could claim no exemption from this testi 
 mony of Divine wisdom and truth. Yet the pious 
 labours by which the evil dispositions of the Indians 
 might have been overcome, and the military exercises 
 and precautions by which their hostility might have 
 been overawed or repelled, were equally neglected by 
 the colonists, while, at the same time, they contributed 
 to fortify the martial habits of the Indians by employ 
 ing them as hunters, and enlarged their resources of 
 destruction by furnishing them with fire-arms, which 
 they quickly learned to use with dexterity. The mar 
 riage of Mr. Rolfe and Pocahontas had not produced 
 as lasting a good understanding between the English 
 
104 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 and the Indians as it had at first seemed to betoken 
 The Indians eagerly courted a -repetition of such inter 
 marriages, and were deeply offended with the pride 
 with which the English receded from their advances, 
 and declined to become the husbands of Indian women. 
 The colonists forgot that they had inflicted this mortifi 
 cation; but it was remembered by the Indians, who 
 never forgave an affront. Numberless earnest recom 
 mendations had been transmitted from England to 
 attempt the conversion of the savages ; but these 
 recommendations had not been enforced by a sufficient 
 attention to the means requisite for their execution. 
 Yet they were not wholly neglected by the colonists. 
 Some attempts at conversion were made by a few 
 pious individuals, and the success of one of them un 
 doubtedly mitigated the dreadful calamity that was 
 impending ; but these efforts were feeble and partial, 
 and the majority of the colonists had contented them 
 selves with cultivating a friendly intercourse and inti 
 mate acquaintance with the Indians, who were admitted 
 ' at all times into their habitations, and encouraged to 
 consider themselves as familiar guests. It was in the 
 midst of this free and unguarded intercourse that the 
 Indians formed, with cold and unrelenting deliberation, 
 the plan for a general massacre of the English, which 
 should involve every man, woman and child in the 
 colony in indiscriminate slaughter. The death of Pow- 
 hatan, in 1618, devolved the power of executing a 
 scheme so detestable in the hands of a man fully capa 
 ble of contriving and maturing it. Opechancanough, 
 who succeeded, not only to the supremacy over Pow- 
 hatan's tribe, but to his influence over all the neigh 
 bouring tribes of Indians, was distinguished by his 
 fearless courage, his profound dissimulation, and a ran 
 corous hatred and jealousy of the new inhabitants of 
 America. He renewed the pacific treaty which Pow- 
 hatan had made, and faithfully kept, with the English 
 after the marriage of Pocahontas to Mr. Rolfe ; and he 
 availed himself of the tranquillity it produced to pre 
 pare, during the four ensuing years, his friends and 
 
CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE ENGLISH. 105 
 
 followers for the several parts they were to act in the 
 tragedy he projected. The tribes in the neighbourhood 
 of the English, except those on the eastern shore, whom, 
 on account of their peculiar friendship for the colonists, 
 he did not venture to intrust with the plan, were suc 
 cessively gained over; and all co-operated with that 
 single-mindedness and intensity of purpose characteris 
 tic of a project of Indian revenge. Notwithstanding 
 the long interval that elapsed between the formation 
 and the execution of their present enterprise, and the 
 perpetual intercourse that subsisted between them and 
 the white people, the most impenetrable secresy was 
 preserved ; and so consummate and fearless was their 
 dissimulation, that they were accustomed to borrow 
 boats from the English to cross the river, in order to 
 concert and communicate the progress of their design. 
 An incident, which, though minute, is too curious to 
 be omitted, contributed to sharpen the ferocity of the 
 Indians by the sense of recent provocation. There 
 was a man, belonging to one of the neighbouring tribes, 
 named Nemattanow, who, by his courage, craft, and 
 good fortune, had attained the highest repute among his 
 countrymen. In the skirmishes and engagements which 
 their former wars with the English produced, he had 
 exposed his person with a bravery that commanded 
 then* esteem, and an impunity that excited their aston 
 ishment. They judged him invulnerable, whom so 
 many wounds seemed to have approached in vain; and 
 the object of their admiration partook, or at least en 
 couraged, the delusion which seemed to invest him 
 with a character of sanctity. Opechancanough, the 
 king, whether jealous of this man's reputation, or de 
 sirous of embroiling the English with the Indians, sent 
 a message to the governor of the colony, to acquaint 
 him that he was welcome to cut Nemattanow's throat. 
 Such a representation of Indian character as this mes 
 sage conveyed, one would think, ought to have excited 
 the strongest suspicion and distrust in the minds of the 
 English. Though the offer of the king was disregarded, 
 his wishes were not disappointed. Nemattanow, having 
 10 
 
106 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 murdered a planter, was shot by one of his servants in 
 an attempt to apprehend him. Finding the pangs of 
 death coming strong upon him, the pride, but not the 
 vanity, of the savage was subdued, and he entreated 
 his captors to grant his two last requests, one of which 
 was that they would never reveal that he had been 
 slain by a bullet, and the other, that they would bury 
 him among the English, that the secret of his mortality 
 might never be known to his countrymen. The request 
 seems to infer the possibility of its being complied with, 
 and the disclosure of the fatal event was no less impru 
 dent than disadvantageous. The Indians were filled with 
 grief and indignation; and Opechancanough inflamed 
 their anger by pretending to share it. Having coun 
 terfeited displeasure for the satisfaction of his subjects, 
 he proceeded with equal success to counterfeit placa 
 bility for the delusion of his enemies, and assured the 
 English that the sky should sooner fall than the peace 
 be broken by him. But the plot now advanced rapidly 
 to its maturity, and, at length, the day was fixed on 
 which all the English settlements were at the same 
 instant to be attacked. The respective stations of the 
 various troops of assassins were assigned to them ; and 
 that they might be enabled to occupy them without ex 
 citing suspicion, some carried presents of fish and game 
 into the interior of the colony, and others presented 
 themselves as guests soliciting the hospitality of their 
 English friends, on the evening before the massacre. 
 As the fatal hour drew nigh, the rest, under various 
 pretences, and with every demonstration of kindness, 
 assembled around the detached and unguarded settle 
 ments of the colonists ; and not a sentiment of com 
 punction, not a rash expression of hate, nor an un 
 guarded look of exultation, had occurred to disconcert 
 or disclose the designs of their well-disciplined ferocity. 
 The universal destruction of the colonists seemed 
 unavoidable, and was prevented only by the conse 
 quences of an event which perhaps appeared but of 
 little consequence in the colony at the time when it 
 took place the conversion of an Indian to the Chris- 
 

i 
 
 
 
MASSACRE OF THE ENGLISH. 107 
 
 tian faith. On the night before the massacre, this man 
 was made privy to it by his own brother, who commu 
 nicated to him the command of his king and his coun 
 trymen to share in the exploit that would enrich their 
 race with spoil, revenge and glory. The exhortation 
 was powerfully calculated to impress a savage mind ; 
 but a new mind had been given to this convert, and as 
 soon as his brother left him he revealed the alarming 
 intelligence to an English gentleman in whose house 
 he was residing. This planter immediately carried the 
 tidings to James-Town, from whence the alarm was 
 communicated to the nearest settlers, barely in time to 
 prevent the last hour of the perfidious truce from being 
 the last hour of their lives. 
 
 But the intelligence came too late to be more gene 
 rally available. At midday, the moment they had 
 previously fixed for this execrable deed, the Indians, 
 raising a universal yell, rushed at once on the English 
 in all their scattered settlements, and butchered men, 
 women and children with undistinguishing fury, and 
 every aggravation of brutal outrage and enormous 
 cruelty. In one hour, three hundred and forty-seven 
 persons were cut off, almost without knowing by whose 
 vhands they fell. The slaughter would have been still 
 greater if the English, even in some of those districts 
 where the warning that saved others did not reach, 
 had not flown to their arms with the energy of despair, 
 and defended themselves so bravely as to repulse the 
 assailants, who almost universally displayed a cow 
 ardice proportioned to their cruelty, and fled at the 
 sight of arms in the hands even of the women and boys, 
 whom, unarmed, they were willing to attack and de 
 stroy. If in this foul and revolting exhibition of hu 
 manity some circumstances appear to be referable to 
 the peculiarities of savage life and education, we shall 
 greatly err if we overlook, in its more general and im 
 portant features, the testimony it has given to the deep 
 depravity of fallen nature. More than one example 
 may be found in the contemporary history of Europe, 
 which, impartially considered, present, not only a bar- 
 
108 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 barous people, but a civilized nation and am accom 
 plished court, as the rivals of these American savages 
 in perfidy, fury and cruelty. 
 
 The colony had received a wound no less deep and 
 dangerous, than painful and alarming. Six of the 
 members of council, and many of the most eminent 
 and respectable inhabitants, were among the slain ; at 
 some of the settlements the whole of their population 
 had been exterminated ; at others a remnant had 
 escaped the general destruction by the efforts of des 
 pair; and the survivors were impoverished, terrified, 
 and confounded by a stroke that at once bereaved 
 them of friends and 'fortune, and showed that they were 
 surrounded by legions of enemies, whose existence they 
 had never dreamed of, and whose brutality and fero 
 city seemed to proclaim them a race of fiends rather 
 than men. To the massacre succeeded a vindictive 
 and exterminating war between the English and the 
 Indians; and the colonists were at last provoked to 
 retaliate, in some degree, on their savage adversaries, 
 the evils of which they had set so bloody an example, 
 and which seemed to be the only weapons capable of 
 waging effectual war upon them. Yet though a dire 
 ful necessity might seem to justify or palliate the mea 
 sures which it taught the colonists to apprehend and 
 provide for, their warfare was never wholly divested 
 of honour and magnanimity. During this disastrous 
 period, the design for erecting a colonial college, and 
 many other public institutions, was abandoned; the 
 number of the settlements was reduced from eighty to 
 six; and the affliction of scarcity was added to the 
 horrors of war. 
 
 The hostility of Opechancanough did not terminate 
 with the massacre. His implacable disposition was 
 manifested late in 1622, by his instigating Japazaws, 
 king of the Patawomekes, to murder a party under 
 Captain Croshaw, while on a trading expedition in 
 his country. 
 
 The colonists, however, were by no means unsuc 
 cessful in revenging the great massacre on their ene- 
 
FUKTHKK INDIAN HOSTILITIES. 109 
 
 mies ; and it is affirmed that in the autumn and winter 
 ot 1622-3, more Indians were slain than had ever be 
 fore fallen by the hands of the English since the settle 
 ment of James-Town. 
 
 But Opechancanough was still able to make a 
 formidable opposition to his enemies, and at a battle 
 which took place at his own village of Pamunkey, in 
 1625, his bowmen numbered eight hundred, inde 
 pendently of detachments furnished from distant tribes. 
 The English on this occasion were led by Governor 
 Wyatt, and although they drove the enemy from the 
 field, they were unable to follow them up to their head 
 quarters at Matapony. An attempt to repeat the 
 treacherous scheme by which the Indians had been 
 defeated in 1622 was made in 1628; but was frustrated 
 by the sagacity of Opechancanough ; and the formal 
 treaty of 1632 was little better than a hollow and de 
 ceitful truce. 
 
 Opechancanough, however, was by no means back 
 ward in taking advantage of the repose afforded by 
 this treaty. For the long period which elapsed between 
 its conclusion and his final effort, in 1644, he was in 
 dustriously occupied in making preparations for a 
 renewal of hostilities. An opportunity at length pre 
 sented itself for executing his long-cherished pur 
 pose. The colony was involved in intestine dissen 
 sions. An insurrection had taken place in consequence 
 of the unpopularity of the governor, and at a moment 
 when the people were occupied with internal disorders 
 and heedless of danger from without, their great enemy 
 struck a powerful and almost fatal blow. 
 
 He was now advanced to extreme old age, being 
 supposed to have numbered nearly a hundred years, but 
 the powers of his mind were still so vigorous, that he 
 was the leading spirit of a confederacy embracing all 
 the Indian tribes distributed over a space of country 
 six hundred miles in extent. Unable to walk, he was 
 borne in a litter to the scene of action (April 18th, 
 1644,) and thus led his warriors to the attack. Such 
 was the skill with which his measures had been con- 
 
110 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 certed that the whole force of the Indians commenced 
 their operations upon the entire line of the frontier at 
 the same instant of time, with the intention of carrying 
 a war of extermination down to the sea, and thus anni 
 hilating the colony at a single blow. In two days, five 
 hundred persons had fallen in the massacre. Of course, 
 every operation of industry was instantly abandoned, 
 and all who were able to bear arms were embodied to 
 oppose so terrible an invasion. Governor Berkeley, at 
 the head of a chosen force, consisting of every twen 
 tieth man in the colony, marched into the enemy's 
 country, and thus gave him the first check. Of the 
 details of the campaign, in consequence of the confu 
 sion and distress prevailing at the time, no details are 
 furnished by the contemporary historians. Beverly's 
 account, the only one which survived the ravages of 
 the time, is meagre and unsatisfactory. One result of 
 the war, however, is sufficiently well attested, since it 
 terminated the horrors of the season. This was the 
 capture of the aged Opechancanough, who was sur 
 prised and taken prisoner by a squadron of horse under 
 the command of Governor Berkeley, who forthwith 
 conducted him in triumph to James-Town. 
 
 It was the governor's intention to have sent this 
 remarkable person to England ; but he was shot after 
 being taken prisoner, by a soldier, in resentment of the 
 calamities he had inflicted on the province. He lin 
 gered under the wound for several days, and died with 
 the pride and firmness of an old Roman. Indignant .'it 
 the crowds who came to gaze at him on his death-bed, 
 he exclaimed: "If I had taken Sir William Berkeley 
 prisoner, I would not have exposed him as a show to 
 the people." Perhaps he remembered that he had 
 saved the life of Captain Smith, and forgot the number 
 less instances in which he had exposed other prisoners 
 to public derision and lingering torture. 
 
 After the decease of their great enemy, the colonists 
 had no difficulty in concluding a treaty with the In 
 dians, which gave tranquillity to the province for a long 
 term of years 
 
OPECHANCANOUGH REPROVING COLONEL BERKELEY. Page 110. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 EARLY INDIAN RELATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND. 
 
 T was on the eighth of 
 December, 1620, that the 
 first act of hostility on 
 the part of the Indians 
 towards the Pilgrim Fa 
 thers of New England 
 took place. A party of 
 eighteen men from the 
 May-Flower, under the 
 command of Governor 
 Carver, were exploring 
 the coast, in order to find a suitable place for forming 
 a settlement, when a party who had landed were sud 
 denly surprised with the shrill war-cry of the natives, 
 and a flight of arrows. They immediately seized their 
 arms, and returned this rough salutation with a volley 
 of musketry, which instantly put their enemies to flight. 
 On the eleventh of the same month, the Pilgrims went 
 on shore upon the main land, at the place which they 
 called Plymouth. 
 
 As they advanced into the country, they found corn 
 fields, and brooks, and an excellent situation for build 
 ing. " On the morning of the 20th," says the venerable 
 Dr. Holmes, " after imploring divine guidance, they 
 went on shore again, to fix on some place for imme 
 diate settlement. After viewing the country, they con- 
 duded to settle on a high ground facing the bay, where 
 the land was cleared, and the water was excellent.' 
 
 This day, consecrated by the religious act abovemen- 
 
 (in) 
 
112 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 tioned, is the one which their descendants still celebrate 
 as the day of their landing. 
 
 Before the end of the month, they had erected a 
 store-house for their goods. Two rows of houses were 
 begun, and as fast as they- could be completed, the peo 
 ple, who were classed into nineteen families, came 
 ashore and lodged in them. The hardships to which 
 they were exposed, and the severity of the climate, 
 caused so great a mortality, that before the next April 
 nearly half of their number had died. None of the na 
 tives came among them until the sickness had abated. 
 
 On the 16th of March, 1621, a savage came boldly 
 into the town alone, and, to the astonishment of the 
 emigrants, addressed them in these words, " Welcome, 
 Englishmen ! Welcome, Englishmen !" His name was 
 Samoset, and he was a sagamore of a tribe of Indians 
 distant five days' journey to the eastward. He had 
 learned a few words of English from the fishermen 
 who had frequented the shores of his country. By him 
 the governor was informed that the place where they 
 now were, was called Patuxet, and, though it was for 
 merly populous, that every human being had died of 
 that pestilence which is known to have swept through 
 all the Indian tribes of New England, but a short time 
 previous to the settlement of the country by the Eng 
 lish. His account was confirmed by the extent of the 
 deserted fields, the number of graves, and the remnant 
 of skeletons scattered on the ground. Being dismissed 
 with a present, he returned the next day with five In 
 dians, who brought a few skins for trade. On a third 
 visit, Samoset was accompanied by Squanto, one of the 
 natives who had been kidnapped by Hunt in 1614 and 
 afterwards lived in England. They gave the informa 
 tion that the great sachem Massasoit was in the neigh 
 bourhood, with his brother and a number of his people. 
 This chief was a sort of emperor among the surround 
 ing tribes, and commanded the homage of all the sa 
 chems in his vicinity. Within an hour, he appeared on 
 the top of a hill, over against the English town, with 
 sixty men. 
 
11 
 
THE TEE ATT WITH MASSASOIT. 
 
TREATY WITH THE INDIANS. 113 
 
 "Mutual distrust," says Dr. Holmes, in his account 
 of this important and interesting meeting, " prevented 
 for some time any advances on either side. Squanto, 
 at length, being sent to Massassoit, brought back word, 
 that the English should send one of their number to 
 parley with him. Mr. Edward Winslow was accord 
 ingly sent. Two knives, and a copper chain, with a 
 jewel in it, were sent to Massasoit at the same time ; 
 and to his brother, a knife, and a jewel, " with a pot of 
 strong water," a quantity of biscuit, and some butter, 
 all which articles were gladly accepted. Mr. Winslow, 
 the messenger, in a speech to Massasoit, signified, that 
 King James saluted him with words of love and peace, 
 and that the English governor desired to see him, and 
 to truck with him, and to confirm a peace with him, as 
 his next neighbour. The Indian king heard his speech 
 with attention and approbation. After partaking of the 
 provision which made part of the English present, and 
 imparting the rest to his company, he looked on Mr 
 Winslow's sword and armour with an intimation of his 
 desire to buy it ; but found him unwilling to part with 
 it. At the close of the interview, Massasoit, leaving 
 Mr. Winslow in the custody of his brother, went over 
 the brook, which separated him from the English, with 
 a train of twenty men, whose bows and arrows were 
 left behind. He was met at the brook by Captain 
 Standish and Mr. Williamson, with six musketeers, who 
 conducted him to a house then in building, where were 
 placed a green rug and three or four cushions. The 
 governor now advanced, attended with a drum and 
 trumpet, and a few musketeers. After mutual saluta 
 tions, the governor called for refreshments, of which 
 the Indian king partook himself, and imparted to his 
 followers. A league of friendship was then agreed o;i; 
 and it was inviolably observed above fifty years." 
 
 One of the first acts of the administration of Governor 
 Bradford, who, soon after the conclusion of the treaty, 
 succeeded Carver, was to send an embassy to Massa 
 soit, for the purpose of confirming the league with the 
 Indian sachem ; of procuring seed-corn for the nex* 
 
 H 
 
114 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 planting season ; and of exploring the country. The 
 friendship of the powerful Massasoit, thus secured, was 
 the most fortunate circumstance in the early history of 
 New England. It was his influence alone which re 
 strained the hostility of all the surrounding tribes, who 
 are well known to have been fully aware of the danger 
 to which the invasion of the English exposed them; 
 and who were always ready to enter into any measures 
 which promised their complete extirpation. This fact 
 was sufficiently apparent, when his friendly disposition, 
 together with the intercession of Roger Williams, pre 
 vented a general union of the other tribes with the 
 Pequods in 1637 ; and still more when his death had 
 given the inheritance of his power and influence to his 
 son Philip, who was thus enabled to organize and con 
 duct the first general Indian war of New England in 
 1675-6. 
 
 After the league with Massasoit was concluded, 
 Corbitant, one of his subordinate sachems, displayed 
 signs of hostility, and attempted to organize a rebellion 
 against his sovereign. His machinations were, how 
 ever, promptly disconcerted by a hostile visit from the 
 renowned Captain Miles Standish, with a small party 
 of soldiers. The decision evinced on this occasion, 
 and the example of Massasoit, speedily brought in nine 
 more sachems, who came to Plymouth and signed an 
 instrument of submission to King James. Other sachems 
 afterwards made a similar submission ; among whom 
 were those of Paomet, Nauset, Cummaquid, and Nama- 
 shet, with several others about the bays of Patuxet and 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 In 1622, when the Plymouth settlers were distressed 
 by famine, in consequence of the arrival of new emi 
 grants, without a sufficient stock of provision, Canoni- 
 cus, the sachem of the Narragansetts, deeming it a 
 favourable opportunity to rid the country of these un 
 welcome intruders, declared his hostility. He sent 
 them a characteristic challenge, which was nothing 
 more nor less than a bundle of arrows tied together 
 with a snake-skin. The governor sent an answer that 
 
INDIANS. READY TO SURPRISE A TRAVELLER. Page 114 
 
(116) 
 
1JNDIAN PLOT. in 
 
 if they chose war rather than peace, they might begin 
 when they would, the English were ready. By a dif 
 ferent messenger, and as a more appropriate answer to 
 the challenge, the snake-skin was returned, well filled 
 with powder and bullets. (See Engraving, on the oppo 
 site page.) This portentous token the Indians refused 
 to receive; they were even afraid to let it remain in 
 their houses ; and, in their superstition, doubtless consi 
 dering it some 'great medicine,'' they caused it to be 
 brought back to Plymouth. It put an end, however, to 
 the blustering of Canonicus ; but his being thus intimi 
 dated did not prevent the English from erecting such 
 fortifications about their town as sufficiently secured 
 them from being surprised by their savage neighbours. 
 
 Intelligence being received at Plymouth, in 1623, that 
 Massasoit was sick and likely to die, the governor sent 
 Edward Winslow and John Hampden, with Hobo- 
 mack, a friendly Indian, to visit him. It was the good 
 fortune of Mr. Winslow, by means of certain cordials 
 which he carried with him, to restore this illustrious 
 friend of the English to health ; and through Hobomack, 
 he received from the sachem information of a plot 
 of the Massachusetts tribe against certain English 
 settled at Wessagusset, under Mr. Weston ; and more 
 over that the Indians of Paomet, Nauset, Mattachiest, 
 the Isle of Capawick, Manomet and Agawaywom were 
 joined in the conspiracy; and the great sachem advised 
 a decided hostile movement against the conspirators. 
 
 This intelligence being confirmed, Captain Standish 
 was ordered to take with him as many men as he 
 thought sufficient, and fall upon the conspirators. The 
 redoubted captain deemed eight chosen followers an 
 ample detachment; and, with this small number, he ac- 
 cordingly made a visit to the Massachusetts, where, 
 after being insulted and threatened by the Indians, he 
 succeeded in decoying four of them, Wittawamet, Peek- 
 suot, another Indian, and a youth of 18, into a room 
 with a part of his own men, where he and . his party 
 killed them all; and being subsequently seconded by 
 Weston's men, they killed several more Indians, and 
 
U8 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 after a skirmish, put their main body to flight. This 
 decided measure broke up the conspiracy ; and the 
 other Indians, who had intended to join it, fled to 
 swamps and desert places, where they contracted dis 
 eases which carried ofF many of them ; among whom 
 were Canacdm, sachem of Manomet ; Aspinet, sachem 
 of Nauset; and lanough, sachem of Matachiest. The 
 settlement at Wessagusset was, nevertheless, abandoned 
 by the English. 
 
 No incident of particular interest in relation to the 
 Indians of New England, took place subsequently to 
 this, until the Pequod war of 1637, of which we shall 
 give an account in the next chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 THE PEQUOD WAR, 
 
 HE Pequods were inha 
 bitants of that portion of 
 New England which is 
 now included within the 
 limits of the state of Con 
 necticut. This was not 
 their original abode, for 
 they came from the inte 
 rior of the country, con 
 quered the tribes who re 
 sided in this region, and 
 took possession of their lands. At the period in which 
 the English arrived, they were the most powerful tribe 
 in the neighbourhood, being able to muster four thou 
 sand warriors. The Narragansetts were the only tribe 
 who were able to oppose them, and between the two a 
 deadly feud existed. 
 
TREATY WITH THE PEQUODS. 119 
 
 Sassacus was the first great sachem of the Pequods 
 personally known to the English. His principal for 
 tress was on an eminence in the town of Groton. He, 
 as well as his tribe, were, from the first landing of the 
 English, of a hostile disposition towards them. He con 
 sidered them as intruders invading his country without 
 asking his permission ; building forts and villages in it 
 without consulting him ; and he therefore determined 
 to take every measure to get rid of them. 
 
 We do not know clearly which party it was that 
 gave the first provocation. It is related that Captain 
 Stone, while on a voyage to Virginia, in 1633, put into 
 the Connecticut river, where he as well as his crew 
 were massacred by the Indians. According to the Eng 
 lish accounts, a few of the men went on shore to shoot 
 some fowl, and were there murdered. A sachem, with 
 a part of his tribe, then came on board the vessel and 
 staid till the captain had retired to rest. The sachem 
 then dispatched Stone, while the Indians discharged 
 such guns as they found loaded, at the men who were 
 then in the cook's room. At this moment, the vessel 
 was blown up by the powder which was on board of it 
 taking fire. Most of the Indians escaped, and they be 
 gan to murder those of the crew who had not been 
 destroyed, so that not one of them was left. 
 
 This is the English account of the transaction ; but 
 the Indians tell quite a different story. They assert that 
 Captain Stone had taken two of their men by force, to 
 pilot the vessel up the river. The captain and some of 
 his men then went on shore, taking with them the two 
 Indians, and were there killed. The vessel was then 
 blown up, killing the remainder of the crew : but they 
 knew not how this took place. 
 
 A treaty was soon afterwards concluded between 
 the Pequods and English. The principal terms were as 
 follows : That the English should have as much land in 
 Connecticut as they wanted ; that the Pequods should 
 give the English four hundred fathoms of wampum; 
 that the English should send a vessel immediately to 
 trade with them as friends, though not to protect them. 
 
120 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The principal object of Sassacus in making this 
 treaty, was that he might have their commerce in 
 peace. He had quarrelled with the Dutch of New 
 York, and thereby lost their custom and incurred their 
 hostility. 
 
 The Pequods were as usual at war with the Narra- 
 gansetts. As the Indians who had just completed the 
 above treaty were on the eve of departure, news was 
 brought that a party of Narragansetts was about to 
 waylay and murder them. This party was, however, 
 by means of presents and promises, persuaded by the 
 English to depart quietly to their homes. 
 
 Matters continued in this condition till 1636. In this 
 year, John Oldham, an Englishman, who had been 
 trading in Connecticut, was murdered in his boat, near 
 Block Island, by a party of Indians belonging to that 
 place. Several of these Indians took refuge among the 
 Pequods, and as the latter refused to give them up, 
 they were considered as abettors of the crime. The 
 governor of Massachusetts therefore sent Captain John 
 Endicott against them, with a force of ninety men. He 
 was ordered to make a treaty of peace with them, pro 
 vided they would deliver up the murderers ; and if they 
 refused, he was to declare war. 
 
 On the arrival of Endicott and his party in the Pe- 
 quod country, the Indians retreated into a swamp, 
 where it was difficult to come at them. Only two of 
 them were killed ; but the English burnt their wigwams. 
 About the same time it was determined to conclude a 
 treaty with the Narragansetts, to prevent their joining 
 the Pequods. A treaty was accordingly concluded, 
 and the English thus succeeded in obtaining an ally 
 which could bring five thousand fighting men into the 
 field. 
 
 The Indians were emboldened by Endicotfs unsuc 
 cessful expedition. They killed several men and W T O- 
 men, and about twenty cows. The colony therefore 
 determined to take measures to put a stop to their pro 
 ceedings. Accordingly, at the general court held at 
 Hartford, it was decided that a force of ninety men 
 
DEFEAT OF THE PEQUODS 121 
 
 should be immediately raised in Hartford, Windsor, and 
 Wethersfield ; and the other New England colonies 
 agreed to send as many men as they could raise. 
 
 In the beginning of the month of May, a force from 
 Connecticut, at the head of whom was John Mason, con 
 sisting of ninety Englishmen, and about seventy Mohe- 
 gan Indians under the command of Uncas, their sa 
 chem, departed for the country of the Pequods. When 
 they arrived at Saybrook, Mason resolved to send back 
 a part of his men to reinforce the settlements on the 
 Connecticut. He was soon afterwards joined by a 
 great number of Indians, so that when he again set out 
 he had under his command seventy-seven Englishmen 
 and about five hundred Indians. 
 
 Mason and his party arrived in sight of the Pequod 
 fort about sunset. When the Narragansetts learned 
 that he meant to attack the enemy in their fortifications, 
 a great many of them retired, and the English com 
 mander could hardly persuade the remainder of them 
 to form themselves into a semicircle at some distance 
 from the fort, in order to waylay such of the Pequods 
 as might escape the hands of the English. 
 
 It was nearly daybreak when Mason commenced 
 his attack upon the fort. As he drew nigh to it, a dog 
 barked, and an Indian sprang up and exclaimed that 
 the Englishmen were coming. Had it not been for this 
 occurrence, the fort would have been taken by surprise. 
 As it was, they made a vigorous resistance, and Mason 
 was finally obliged to set fire to the fort. The Pequods 
 then attempted to escape, but were nearly all killed. It 
 is said that between five and six hundred of them per 
 ished in this engagement. The English loss was two 
 men killed and sixteen wounded. 
 
 Sassacus, who was in the other fort, on hearing of 
 this battle, sent a force of three hundred men against 
 Mason. He was soon met by them ; but the English 
 gave them such a check that they retired to the top of 
 the hill on which the fort had stood. On perceiving its 
 ruins they were so greatly enraged, that, regardless of 
 consequences, they rushed down the hill and pursued 
 12 
 
122 INDIAN WARS OF TtlE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the English for about six miles. They, however, 
 reached their vessels in safety and returned to Hart 
 ford 
 
 The three hundred Pequods who had pursued the 
 English returned to Sassacus. On deliberation, it was 
 thought that they could no longer remain in safety in 
 the country. They accordingly dispersed, and Sassa 
 cus, with a party of his warriors, after having de 
 stroyed the village, proceeded towards the Hudson 
 river. 
 
 The governor of Massachusetts, on hearing of the 
 success of Mason, resolved to send an expedition to 
 destroy all the straggling parties which might remain 
 in the neighbourhood. A great battle was fought at a 
 swamp in Fairfield, between this party arid a nume 
 rous body of Indians whom they met there, in which 
 a great number of the savages were killed and wounded 
 and two hundred taken prisoners. 
 
 Sassacus was not, however, destined to be destroyed 
 by the English. A Pequod, whose liberty had been 
 granted him on condition of finding and betraying him, 
 finally succeeded in his search. He met him, but his 
 courage failed and Sassacus escaped. 
 
 He now took refuge among the Mohawks. But these 
 Indians, instead of protecting him, put him to death. 
 His head was cut off' and sent to Connecticut, and the 
 country now became a province of the English. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 KING PHILIP'S WAR. 
 
 JJRING the reign of Mas- 
 sasoit, the friendly rela 
 tions between the people 
 of New England and the 
 tribes under his influence, 
 remained for the most 
 part undisturbed. The 
 precise time of his de 
 cease is not known; but 
 it is supposed by Hubbard 
 that his death took place 
 in 1656.* He was succeeded in the sovereignty of the 
 Wampanoags by his eldest son, Moanam, or Wamsutta, 
 called by the English, Alexander, a name which he re 
 ceived in open court at Plymouth, at the same time that 
 the name of Philip was conferred on his younger bro 
 ther. This ceremony was performed at the request of 
 the young men, during the life-time of their father, in 
 token of their desire to preserve a good understanding 
 with the English. 
 
 The reign of Alexander was marked by no act of 
 hostility towards his white neighbours, nor any misun 
 derstanding, until the circumstances took place which 
 terminated the young sachem's life. The flagrant vio 
 lation of justice and international law, by the English, 
 involved in this transaction, has doubtless been the oc 
 casion of the hasty and unsatisfactory manner in which 
 
 * Drake dates it 1660. 
 
 (123) 
 
124 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 it has been passed over by the historians of the time. 
 Enough is known, however, to assign its true character 
 to the act of the Plymouth government. 
 
 It appears that the governor and council were in 
 formed that Alexander had solicited the Narragansetts 
 to join him in a war against the whites ; and upon good 
 proof thereof, as they said, ordered him to appear be 
 fore them. Upon his not instantly complying with their 
 summons, Mr. Winslow was dispatched with an armed 
 force of eight or ten stout men to bring him (July 1662). 
 Meeting him at a wigwam, a few miles from his resi 
 dence, Sowams,* with a body of his followers, Winslow 
 surprised the party, seized their arms, and summoned 
 the sachem to attend him to Plymouth; at the same 
 time threatening him with a pistol at his throat " that if 
 he stirred or refused to go, he was a dead man." The 
 feelings of grief, indignation and insulted dignity, occa 
 sioned by this requital of his white allies for the fifty 
 years of friendship and protection accorded to them by 
 his father, threw the high-spirited chief into a raging 
 fever. In consideration of his sudden illness, he sought 
 permission to return home, and was allowed to go on 
 certain conditions ; but he died upon the way. 
 
 Thus an independent sovereign of a nation which had 
 preserved the strictest amity for more than fifty years 
 with the government of Plymouth, was, upon mere sus 
 picion of hostility, basely surprised and captured within 
 his own territory, and literally insulted to death. No 
 Indian torture ever inflicted in their most cruel triumphs 
 could have equalled the mental sufferings inflicted on 
 the unoffending prince by this act of ingratitude and 
 injustice. Surely, if there were no other, this single 
 outrage were cause enough for the famous war of 
 King Philip. But there were other causes. 
 
 Philip, whose Indian name was Metacomet, suc- 
 
 * Sowams, Pokanoket or Mount Hope, the principal residence of 
 Massasoit and his successors, situated near the town of Bristol, 
 Rhode Island. From it Philip receives some of his titles, as Philip 
 of Pokanoket, Philip of Mount Hope. 
 
PHILIP PREPARES FOR WAR. 125 
 
 ceeded his unfortunate brother in the sovereignty of his 
 tribe, the Wampanoags. After assuming the govern 
 ment with every demonstration of attachment on the 
 part of his people and the subject sachems, he imme 
 diately made his appearance before the court of Ply 
 mouth, after the example of his father and brother, in 
 order to renew and confirm the long-existing league 
 with the colonists. An apparent good understanding 
 subsisted between them for several years after this 
 transaction. During this period he appears to have 
 been involved in a dispute with the Mohawks, and to 
 have lost fifty of his warriors in a battle with them, 
 fought in 1669, in which, however, the Wampanoags 
 gained the victory, and thus terminated the war. 
 
 The first intimation of misunderstanding between 
 Philip and the colonists, was in April, 1671, when the 
 sachem complaining of certain encroachments upon his 
 planting grounds, on the one hand, and the Plymouth 
 government charging him with meditating hostilities, 
 and actually arming and training his warriors on the 
 other; a formal conference took place between the 
 parties at Taunton, at which Philip admitted all that 
 was alleged against him, promised amendment, and 
 with his council signed new terms of submission. It is 
 evident, from the whole history of this transaction, that 
 Philip had already determined to engage in a war with 
 the colqnies ; and that his present acknowledgment was 
 a mere artifice to gain time. He doubtless had the 
 same object in view, when, in August 1671, he paid a 
 visit to Boston, and succeeded in completely lulling the 
 suspicions of the Massachusetts government, whom he 
 knew to be more friendly to him than that of Plymouth. 
 This proceeding occasioned a new conference with 
 Philip at Plymouth, at which the authorities of Massa 
 chusetts as well as those of the old colony were present ; 
 and a new instrument of submission was signed by 
 Philip, containing abundance of promises, which the 
 sachem took care never to fulfil. His purpose of gain 
 ing time, however, was fully answered, and nothing 
 
126 vNDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STA1ES. 
 
 further occurred for three years to rouse the suspicions 
 of the colonists. 
 
 During all this time Philip was engaged in maturing 
 the design of that grand enterprise which has given 
 him the character of the most able and politic, as well 
 as the most patriotic of Indian chiefs. This was no 
 thing less than the union of all the New England tribes 
 in a war of extermination against the English colonists. 
 The mutual hostilities of the various tribes rendered 
 this an undertaking of exceeding difficulty ; but he so 
 far succeeded in it as to extend his operations from the 
 St. Croix to the Housatonic ; and to involve the colo 
 nies in the most formidable war with the natives which 
 they have ever had to sustain. As the Indians had no 
 historians of their own, the details of his negotiations 
 with the surrounding aboriginal nations are, of course, 
 unknown. The nature and extent of his operations can 
 only be judged of by their success ; and when referred 
 to this standard they certainly give us a high opinion of 
 his talents as a diplomatist and an orator. By his elo 
 quence, courage and address he united all the northern 
 tribes as one man ; and if one untoward circumstance 
 and the ungovernable fury of some of the young war 
 riors had not precipitated him into the war twelve 
 months before he had intended to commence, and thus 
 prevented the perfect maturing of his schemes, it is 
 probable that he would nearly have annihilated the 
 New England colonies. As there are so many popular 
 histories of this war, we shall condense its leading inci 
 dents in a summary manner. 
 
 In 1674, information of Philip's designs was given to 
 the magistrates at Plymouth by John Sassamon, an In 
 dian, who had been educated at Cambridge, and had 
 been a schoolmaster among the Christianized Indians 
 in one of Mr. Eliot's settlements. He had subsequently 
 lived with Philip in the character of confidential secre 
 tary, had deserted him and turned informer, and still 
 occasionally visited his tribe in the character of a spy. 
 In January, 1675, Sassamon was found to have been 
 murdered and thrust under the ice in Assawomset pond 
 
WAR OF KING PHILIP. 127 
 
 in Middleborongh. Three Indians, one of whom was 
 a counsellor and particular friend of Philip, were con 
 victed of the murder at Plymouth court, in June of the 
 same year, and executed. Whether the testimony was 
 sufficient to have convicted any one but an Indian, is 
 doubtful. Philip, who had undoubtedly directed the 
 spy to be privately assassinated, was probably appre 
 hensive that he might himself be surprised, taken to 
 Plymouth, tried as an accessary before the fact, and 
 executed in the same summary manner as his counsel 
 lor had been. Determined to be beforehand with his 
 enemies, he commenced hostilities at once. His tribe, 
 the Wampanoags, sent their wives and children to the 
 Narragansetts for security, and began to alarm the 
 English at Swanzey. From threatening and insulting 
 the inhabitants, they proceeded to killing their cattle 
 and rifling their houses. Exasperated by these out 
 rages, an Englishman shot one of the Indians; and 
 eight or nine of the English were killed in retaliation. 
 This took place on the 24th of June, 1675, thus com 
 mencing the memorable war of King Philip. On the 
 same day the alarm of war was spread through Ply 
 mouth colony. 
 
 On the 28th, a company of foot, under Captain 
 Henchman, and a company of horse under Captain 
 Prince, with a hundred and ten volunteers, marching 
 from Boston, joined the Plymouth forces at Swanzey, 
 and marched into Philip's country. Some skirmishing 
 took place with the Indians on that and the following 
 day, and they retreated, with a trifling loss, into a neigh 
 bouring swamp. 
 
 About the same time the Indians attacked the towns 
 of Taunton, Namasket and Dartmouth, burning a con 
 siderable part of the houses and killing many of the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 On the 15th of July, Captain Hutchinson marched 
 a large force into the country of the Narragansetts, and 
 concluded a treaty with that tribe. Meantime a de 
 tachment under Captain Fuller and Lieutenant Church 
 was dispatched to Pocasset, where Philip commanded 
 
128 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 in person. Here a skirmish took place, and the Indians, 
 after a loss of fifteen men, were driven into a swamp, 
 where, as they could not be successfully attacked, it 
 was decided to surround and starve them out. But 
 Philip contrived to escape with the greater part of his 
 men, and retreated to the country of the Nipmucks in the 
 interior part of Massachusetts. Captain Hutchinsori, 
 with twenty horse, was dispatched to the Nipmucks in 
 hopes of reclaiming them ; but they had already com 
 menced hostilities by killing five persons at Mendon. 
 Hutchinson fell into ah ambuscade at Brookfield on the 
 2d of August, and lost sixteen men; the rest fled to 
 Quaboag. The Indians, three hundred in number, pur 
 sued the fugitives to the town, to which they set fire, 
 and drove the inhabitants into a fortified house, which 
 they were on the point of taking by storm, when Major 
 Willard arriving with forty-eight dragoons, succeeded 
 in dispersing them and relieving the garrison. Philip 
 joined the Nipmucks on the next day with forty men, 
 and a larger number of women and children. 
 
 About this time the Indians on Connecticut river, near 
 Hadley, Hatfield, Deerfield, and also at several places 
 on the Merrimack river, commenced their hostilities. 
 Captains Lothrop and Beers with a small force drove 
 the Hadley Indians from their dwellings, and pursued 
 them to Sugarloaf Hill, where a battle took place, in 
 which ten of the English and twenty-six Indians were 
 slain. Those who escaped joined Philip, and a few 
 days afterward made an attack upon Deerfield, killing 
 one man, and burning several houses. Hadley was also 
 attacked on the same day, while the inhabitants were 
 attending public worship ; but the Indians were repulsed 
 by the English, who were led by GofFe, one of the 
 judges of Charles I., and who was at that time concealed 
 in the town. 
 
 Shortly after these events the Indians made an attack 
 on Northfield, and killed several of the inhabitants. On 
 the next day, Captain Beers, with thirty-six men, was 
 waylaid and slain, together with twenty of his party. 
 The soldiers and inhabitants of Northfield were brought 
 
HITTCHINSON FALLING INTO AN AMBUSCADE. Page 128. 
 
 13 
 
PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 129 
 
 off a short time after by Major Treat ; and the town 
 was soon after destroyed by the Indians. Captain 
 Lothrop was dispatched from Hadley, by the command 
 ing officer of that place, to Deerfield, in order to bring 
 back provisions and forage. He arrived at Deerfield 
 in safety, with several teams, accompanied by a party 
 of eighty men. Having purchased his provisions, he 
 set out to return to Hadley. About three miles from 
 Deerfield, near Sugarloaf Hill, he was waylaid by a 
 body of about seven hundred Indians, and nearly all his 
 party were destroyed. He was himself killed in the 
 early part of the battle : out of the whole number only 
 seven or eight escaped. The report of the guns was 
 heard at Deerfield, and Captain Moseley hastened for 
 ward to the relief of Lothrop. He arrived at the close 
 of the battle, and pursued the Indians from one place 
 to another, till they were finally compelled to seek safe 
 ty in a distant forest. Soon after the town of Deerfield 
 was abandoned by its inhabitants, and destroyed by the 
 Indians. 
 
 In October, the Springfield Indians, who had hitherto 
 been friendly to the English, laid a plot to burn the 
 town of Springfield. They received into their fort 
 about three hundred of Philip's Indians. This plot was, 
 however, disclosed by a friendly Indian, and Major 
 Treat was dispatched with a body of troops to defeat 
 their intentions. He arrived in time to save a quarter 
 part of the town. Thirty-two houses were, however, 
 destroyed. A party, consisting of seven or eight hun 
 dred Indians, attacked the town of Hadley on the 19th 
 of October ; but they were repulsed by the troops sta 
 tioned at that place. 
 
 At a meeting of the commissioners of three United 
 Colonies, held on the 9th of September, those of the 
 Plymouth colony presented a narrative, relating to the 
 war with the Indians of Mount Hope and Pocasset; 
 and it was then concluded that the war was just, and 
 that a force of one thousand men should be immediately 
 raised; and it was further considered, that as the Nai- 
 ragansetts were accessary to most of the outrages 
 
 I 
 
130 INDIAN WARS OF TJIE UNITED STATES. 
 
 committed, another party of one thousand men should 
 be raised to proceed against them. The troops were 
 accordingly raised, and Winslow, the governor of 
 Plymouth, was appointed comrnander-in-chief. 
 
 On the 18th of December the forces of the three 
 colonies were united at Petaquamscot, and they march 
 ed through a deep snow toward the enemy, who was 
 encamped, at about fifteen miles distance, in a large 
 swamp. The English arrived there at about one o'clock 
 in the afternoon, and immediately marched forward in 
 quest of the enemy's camp. The whole army entered 
 the swamp, and followed the Indians, who had retreat 
 ed into their fortress. This they attacked, but wo^ t 
 first driven back. They, however, made a second at 
 tack, which was successful. The wigwams were set 
 on fire, and a great many women and children perished 
 in the conflagration. The Indians who escaped fled to 
 a cedar swamp, at a small distance. The Indians are 
 supposed to have lost one thousand men in this engage 
 ment, while the English lost, in killed and wounded, 
 only two hundred and thirty. The great body of the 
 Narragansett warriors soon after proceeded to the 
 Nipmuck country. 
 
 On the 10th of February, 1676, the town of Lancaster 
 was plundered by a party of one thousand five hundred 
 Indians, and about forty persons killed. Medfield and 
 Weymouth were also attacked ^n this month, by two par 
 ties of Indians. Although various companies of Indians 
 were scattered over the country, yet the main body of 
 them lurked in the woods between Brookfield,Marlbo- 
 rough, and Connecticut river. On the 18th of April they 
 attacked the town of Sudbury, and killed twelve persons. 
 Captain Wadsvvorth, with a party of fifty men, who 
 was dispatched from Boston to relieve the town of 
 Marlborough, fell into an ambuscade of Indians. They 
 fought with desperate valour, but were finally overpow 
 ered ; and the few who were taken prisoners were des 
 tined to torments, in comparison to which death would 
 have been far preferable. 
 
 About this time a party of Indians attacked Scituate, 
 
ATTACK ON LANCASTER. 
 
 Page 130. 
 
. NANXUTENOO. 
 
 Page 13L 
 
DEFEAT OF THE NARRAGANSETTS. 131 
 
 but they were repulsed by the inhabitants ; and in the 
 month of May various parties of them attacked the 
 towns of Bridgewater, Plymouth, and Namasket, at 
 each of which places they burned several houses, be 
 sides committing other ravages. * 
 
 On the 18th of May, a party of one hundred soldiers 
 marched silently in the dead of night to Deerfield, to 
 attack a party of Indians stationed there. They sur 
 prised them about break of day, and succeeded in kill 
 ing about three hundred men, women, and children, 
 The Indians soon after rallied and attacked the party, 
 killing Captain Turner, the commander of the expedi 
 tion, and thirty-eight of his men. 
 
 A party of six or seven hundred Indians appeared 
 before Hatfield on the 30th of May. After burning 
 several houses and barns, they proceeded to attack 
 the houses within the palisades ; but on the approach 
 of a party of twenty-five young men, belonging to Had- 
 ley, they instantly fled, with the loss of twenty-five men. 
 
 In the month of March, Captain Denison of Stoning- 
 ton, succeeded in capturing Nannuttenoo, the chief 
 sachem of the Narragansetts. In the summer months, 
 several volunteer companies made ten or twelve expe 
 ditions, and succeeded in killing and capturing two 
 hundred and thirty of the enemy. They drove all the 
 Narragansett Indians, except those of Ninigret, out 
 of their country. This sachem had formerjy been an 
 enemy of the colonies, but in this war he refused to join 
 the other sachems, and some of his men bore arms 
 with the Connecticut volunteers. 
 
 A standing army of three hundred and fifty men was 
 ordered to be raised by the Assembly of Connecticut. 
 Its commander was Major John Talcot. Early in 
 June, Talcot with two hundred arid fifty soldiers, and 
 two 'hundred Moheagan and Pequod Indians, marched 
 from Norwich into the Wabaquasset country ; but he 
 found it to be entirely deserted, as well -as the fort and 
 wigwams at Wabaquasset. On the 12th of June, the 
 town of Hadley was attacked by about seven hundred 
 Indians, but Talcot and his soldiers soon appeared, and 
 
132 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 drove off the enemy. On the 3d of July, the same 
 troops came up with the main body of the Indians, near 
 a large cedar swamp, and attacked them so suddenly, 
 that a great number were killed on the spot. The 
 others fled into the swdmp, which was then surrounded 
 by the English, who succeeded in killing and capturing 
 one hundred and seventy-one more. About the 5th of 
 July, the army retired* to Connecticut ; and on their 
 return took sixty more of the enemy prisoners. 
 
 The Indians, being thus hunted from one place to 
 another , and disheartened by so many disastrous defeats, 
 began to come in by small parties, and surrender to the 
 English. Philip, who had fled to the Mohawks, had so 
 provoked them, that he was compelled to fly ; and he 
 was now with a large party of Indians lurking near 
 Mount Hope. On the 2d of August, Captain Church 
 surprised him in his camp, killed one hundred and thirty 
 of his men, and took his wife and son prisoners. Philip 
 himself barely escaped with his life. 
 
 The personal adventures of Quanonchet and of 
 Philip in the closing scenes of the war are thus given 
 by a writer of our own times. Some events already 
 noticed are mentioned in the extract. 
 
 But the war began to draw to a close; Quanonchet, 
 venturing out with a few followers near the enemy, 
 was pursued and taken. His behaviour under his mis 
 fortunes was very noble and affecting; for when re 
 peated offers were made him of life, if he would deliver 
 up Philip, and submit his own people to the English, he 
 proudly rejected them. They condemned him to die, 
 and, by a refinement of cruelty, by the hands of three 
 young Indian chiefs. The heroic man said, " that he 
 liked it well, for he should die before his heart was soft, 
 or he had spoken anything unworthy of himself." 
 Philip was deeply moved by the death of the chieftain, 
 for their friendship was like that of David and Jona 
 than, strongest in misery and exile. He was not ye* 
 left desolate: his beloved wife and only child were 
 with him. They had shared all his sufferings ; in his 
 flights, his inroads, his dwellings in the swamps, they 
 
SURKENDER OF QUANCNCHET. Page 13. 
 
MISFORTUNES OF PHILIP. 133 
 
 seem never to have left his side. The unfortunate 
 prince now returned to Mount Hope, the scene of his 
 former power and happiness ; it was for no purpose of 
 defence that he came, for it was too near the English 
 settlements, but merely to visit it once more. " He 
 finds it," says Mather, " to be Mount Misery, Mount 
 Confusion 1" No doubt it was so to his bleeding spirit ; 
 for, with all his savage propensities, this prince was 
 susceptible of some of the finest feelings of our nature. 
 He sat down mournfully on the beautiful Mount, on 
 which were now the ruins of his fortress and camp ; 
 but he could not remain long here, for the feet of his 
 pursuers were nigh, and he was compelled to seek his 
 distant retreats again: there was a greater agony in 
 store for him than the sight of his ruined home. Early 
 one morning, hjs quarters were surprised by the Eng 
 lish, most of his followers slain, and his wife and son 
 made captive. The chief fled, broken-hearted, but un 
 subdued, leaving all he loved on earth in the hands of 
 those who had no mercy. " This was no small torment 
 to him," quaintly says the historian. " Woe to him that 
 spoileth ! His peag, or silver belt, the ensign of his 
 princedom, also remained in our hands, so hardly 
 did he escape." The measure of his woes was not 
 yet full. The Indian princess of Pocasset was warmly 
 attached to. his cause, and had more than once aided 
 him in his extremity; she had received him beneath her 
 roof, soothed his sorrows, and, what was more, sum 
 moned her people to fight for him ; and saved him and 
 his people in her canoes the year before. Now, she 
 followed him in his flight, and, as the more devout said, 
 as if by a judgment, could not find a canoe to transport 
 her, and, venturing over the river upon a raft, it broke 
 under her, and she was drowned. Her body was soon 
 after washed on shore, and the English, forgetful of all 
 decency and delicacy to a woman of her rank,. though 
 a savage, cut off her head, and placed it on high, which, 
 when the Indians who were her people saw, they 
 gathered round, and gave way to the most sad and 
 touching lamentations. Philip now began, like Saul of 
 
134 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATE& 
 
 old, when earth was leaving him, to look to the powers 
 beyond it, and to apply to his magicians and sorcerers, 
 who, on consulting their oracles, assured him that no 
 Englishman should ever kill him. This was a vague 
 consolation, yet it seems to have given him, for a 
 while, a confidence in his destiny, and he took his last 
 stand in the middle of a distant and almost inaccessible 
 swamp. It was a fit retreat for a despairing man, be 
 ing one of those waste and dismal places to which few 
 ever wandered, covered with rank and dense vegeta 
 tion. The moist soil was almost hidden by the cypress 
 and other trees, that spread their gloomy shades over 
 the treacherous shallows and pools beneath. In the 
 few drier parts, oaks and pines grew, and, between 
 them, brushwood so thick, that the savage could hardly 
 penetrate : on the long rich grass of these parts, wild 
 cattle fed, unassailed by the hand of man, save when 
 they ventured beyond the confines of the swamp. 
 There were wolves, deer, and other animals; and 
 wilder men, it was said, were seen here ; it was sup 
 posed that the children of some of the Indians had 
 either been lost or left here, and had thus grown up 
 like denizens of this wild. Here the baffled chieftain 
 gathered his little band around him, like a lion baited 
 by the hunters, sullenly seeking his gloomy thickets, 
 only to spring forth more fatally ; despair was his only 
 friend; for what other was now left? his love was 
 turned to agony ; his wife was in the hand of his ene 
 mies; and would they spare her beauty? His only 
 son, the heir of his long line, must bow his head to 
 their yoke ; his chief warriors had all fallen, and he 
 could not trust the few who were still with him. Qua- 
 nonchet, whose fidelity and attachment were stronger 
 than death, was in the land of spirits, chasing the sha 
 dowy deer, and solaced with many wives ; for Philip, 
 io tne last, believed in the religion of his country. In 
 this extremity, an Indian proposed to seek peace with 
 the English ; the prince instantly laid him dead at his 
 feet. This man had a friend, who, disgusted with the 
 deed, soon after fled from the place to Rhode Island, 
 
V 136) 
 
PHILIP'S DEATH. 137 
 
 where the English were recruiting their weary forces, 
 and betrayed the place of his retreat. On this intelli- 
 gencej a body of forces instantly set out. The night 
 before his death, Philip, "like him in the army of 
 Midian," says the historian, "had been dreaming that 
 he was fallen into the hands of the English ; he awoke 
 in great alarm, and told it to his friends, and advised 
 them to fly for their lives, fpr that he believed it would 
 come to pass." The place was well suited to awake 
 all the terrors of the imagination ; to any eye but that 
 of the savage, it was like the " valley of the shadow of 
 death ; the cypress and oak trees hung heavy and still, 
 over the accursed soil ; the faint gleam of the pools and 
 sluggish lakes on every side, in the starlight, and the 
 howl of the wolf, fitfully, as if it warned that the hour 
 was nigh." "Now, just as he was. telling his dream, 
 Captain Church, with his company, fell in upon them." 
 They had been guided by the deserter to the swamp, 
 and, with great difficulty, across some felled trees, into 
 its labyrinths. The battle was fierce and short; Philip 
 fought till he saw almost every follower fall in his de 
 fence, then turned and fled; he was pursued by an 
 Englishman and an Indian ; and, as if the oracle was 
 doomed to be fulfilled, the musket of the former would 
 not go off; and the latter fired, and shot him through 
 the heart. (See Engraving on the opposite page.) 
 
 With his death all resistance ceased ; his dominions 
 fell into the hands of the colonists, and peace was re 
 stored to the settlements. 
 
 " The fall of Philip," says an historian,* " was then 
 considered as the extinction of a virulent and implacable 
 enemy. It is now viewed as the fall of a great war 
 rior, a penetrating statesman, and a mighty prince. It 
 then excited universal joy and congratulation as a pre 
 lude to the close of a merciless war. It now awakens 
 sober reflections on the instability of empire, the pecu 
 liar destiny of the aboriginal race, and the inscrutable 
 decrees of Heaven. The patriotism of the man was 
 
 * Ramsay. 
 14 
 
138 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATE& 
 
 then overlooked in the cruelty of the savage ; and little 
 allowance was made for the natural jealousy of the 
 sovereign on account of the barbarities of the warrior. 
 Philip, in the progress of the English settlements, fore 
 saw the loss of his territory and the extinction of his 
 tribe ; and made one mighty effort to prevent these 
 cajamities. He fell ; and his fall contributed to the rise 
 of the United States. Joy for this event should be 
 blended with regret for his misfortunes, and respect for 
 his patriotism and talents." 
 
 In this war, which lasted only about fourteen months, 
 the colonists of New England lost six hundred, killed ; 
 and had thirteen towns totally, and eleven partially, 
 burnt. They also incurred a heavy debt for the ex 
 penses occasioned by the contest. Not the least among 
 the disastrous consequences of this war, was the inter 
 ruption of the pious exertions of that venerable mis 
 sionary, John Eliot, in converting the Indians to Chris 
 tianity. In 1674, the number of towns and settlements 
 inhabited by praying Indians, as they were then called, 
 who received his ministry, towns in which industry, 
 good order, and the best instruction, were established, 
 amounted to more than twelve, when the war came on 
 and threw a cloud over all their prospects. In vain 
 Eliot endeavoured to avert hostilities by visiting and 
 exhorting the chief. When he saw there was no longer 
 any chance of peace, he besought his people not to be 
 moved by the example or seductions of either party. 
 
 The contagion, however, was too strong ; and he at 
 last saw many of them take up arms against their in 
 fidel countrymen. The order and harmony of their 
 dwelling-places were for a time utterly blasted ; on the 
 hills around Naticke and Pakeunit the watch-fires were 
 blazing ; the war-whoops were often heard in the night ; 
 at intervals, a solitary musket, and then a signal-cry, 
 came from the neighbouring woods ; and yet nearer, 
 the poor Indians at last saw their plantations without 
 the town, burning ; for Philip began hostilities by a sud 
 den attack on them, so that their taking up arms was 
 partly in self-defence. This, however, did not prevent 
 
TERMINATION OF THE WAR. A 39 
 
 their being suspected by the colonists; and a great 
 number of them were confined on Long Island, cruelly 
 treated, and threatened with death. Many of them fell 
 in the contest ; their settlements were all desolated ; and 
 when peace was restored, the indefatigable Eliot spent 
 the small remnant of his days in gathering the scat 
 tered remains of his people together, and restoring their 
 former habits of industry and tranquillity.* 
 
 * Although Philip's war is generally considered to have been 
 virtually terminated by his death, the Indians of Maine, New 
 Hampshire, and the British provinces east of these colonies, col 
 lectively called the " eastern Indians," remained hostile for some 
 time longer. On the 6th of September, 400 Indians, who had 
 already entered into a treaty, were treacherously seized at Co- 
 checo (Dover, N. H.), where they had come to trade. Some of 
 them were hanged at Boston, for having been concerned in Philip's 
 war, and 200 were sold into slavery. For his participation in this 
 transaction, Major Waldron paid the forfeit of his life, thirteen 
 years after. 
 
 Mogg, a famous eastern chief, signed a treaty with the English, 
 November 6, 1676. An armament, under Major Waldron, met 
 the Indians at Pemaquid, in February, 1677, for the purpose of 
 treating with them ; but the negotiation terminated in a skirmish, 
 in which ten of the Indians were killed and several captured. On 
 the 19th of June of the same year, Captain Swett, with 60 Eng 
 lish and 200 friendly Indians, fell into an ambush at Black Point, 
 and was killed, with 60 of his party. In April, 1678, Governor 
 Andros concluded a treaty with the eastern Indians, at Casco, 
 which may be regarded as the termination of King Philip's famous 
 war. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 KING WILLIAM'S WAR. 
 
 ROM the time of King 
 Philip's war (1688 to 
 1697), it is to be observed 
 that scarcely any of the 
 numerous contests be 
 tween the English colo 
 nists and the natives were 
 of purely Indian origin ; 
 and^t is highly probable 
 that by far the greater 
 portion of the bloodshed 
 on our borders, from that period to the present moment, 
 might have been spared, if the Indians had not been 
 stimulated to aggression by our foreign enemies. 
 
 It has already been remarked that Spain considered 
 the boundaries of Florida to be extended indefinitely 
 to the north of its present limits, while the French 
 claimed the territory on the Atlantic border, as far 
 south as the fortieth degree of north latitude, and 
 the whole valley of the Mississippi, under the name of 
 New France. As England claimed the Atlantic coast, 
 from Florida (as it is) to Nova Scotia, and always 
 granted patents for the belts of territory between these 
 limits extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, 
 she was engaged in perpetual disputes with these two 
 nations, respecting the boundaries of her American 
 colonies. The French and the Spaniards were both far 
 more successful than the English, in engaging the sym 
 pathies and enlisting the services of the Indians, in the 
 
 (140) 
 
KING WILLIAM'S WAR. 141 
 
 Dorder wars growing out of these disputes ; and hence 
 it happened that the colonies, for a long period, were 
 frequently assailed, on every side, by their combined 
 savage and civilized enemies. All these wars were 
 marked with the characteristic cruelties of Indian war- 
 fare ; and the history of almost every attack might be 
 summed up in the words surprise, massacre, conflagra 
 tion, and retreat. 
 
 In the notices which we shall hereafter give of the 
 wars of Carolina and Georgia, it will be perceived that 
 the Spaniards were-generally the instigators of the ag 
 gressions on that border ; on the northern and western 
 frontiers, the colonists had generally to contend with 
 the allied forces of the Indians and French ; and even 
 when the French did not appear in arms with their re 
 spectable allies,- they, and especially their Jesuit priests, 
 were usually the instigators of the attack. This was 
 particularly the case in the war which we are now to 
 notice, commencing in 1688, and terminating with the 
 treaty of Ryswick^in 1697, commonly called by the 
 colonists, King William's War. In this contest, the 
 French, who had the good fortune to be commanded 
 by the able and indefatigable Count de Frontignac, the 
 governor of Canada, aimed at nothing less than the 
 expulsion of the English from the northern and middle 
 provinces, if not from the continent ; and during its pro 
 gress, they fitted out powerful armaments more than 
 once for this express purpose. The English, on the 
 other hand, made repeated attempts to dislodge their 
 enemy from Canada, which purpose they finally effected 
 at a later period. As the French invariably availed 
 themselves of the services of their Indian allies, they 
 kept the frontiers in a state of continual alarm, and 
 often penetrated into the heart of the colonies, spread 
 ing terror and desolation in every quarter. 
 
 The first hostilities of this war occurred on the east 
 ern border of Maine, which was peculiarly exposed to 
 the incursions of the Indians and French ; and the 
 cause of quarrel, as usual, was the vexed question of 
 boundaries, 
 
1 42 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 That portion of Maine which lies between Penobscot 
 and Nova Scotia had been given in exchange to the 
 French for the island of St. Christopher. These lands 
 were occupied by the baron de St. Castine, who carried 
 on a considerable trade with the neighbouring Indians ; 
 but they were also included in a grant of land made by 
 the King of England to the Duke of York, who, there 
 upon, in order to strengthen his claim by actual posses 
 sion, ordered a fort to be built at Pemaquid, and a 
 garrison to be stationed there. Some time after a ship 
 landed some wines at Penobscot, supposing this place to 
 be within the French territory. The duke's agents 
 seized the wine, but it was soon after restored, through 
 the influence of the French ambassador in England ; 
 but the boundary question was still undecided. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1688, Sir Edmund An- 
 dros, at that time governor general of New England, 
 by appointment of James II., sailed to the disputed ter 
 ritory, in the Rose frigate, and plundered Castine's 
 house of every thing valuable that it contained, leaving 
 only the ornaments of his chapel to console him for the 
 loss of his arms and goods. This base action provoked 
 Castine to excite the Indians to war, pretences for 
 which were not wanting on their part. They com 
 plained of a variety of frauds and aggressions ; and 
 forthwith commenced hostilities. They began to make 
 reprisals at North Yarmouth, by killing cattle. Justice 
 Blackman ordered sixteen of 'them to be seized, and 
 confined at Falmouth ; but others continued to rob and 
 capture the inhabitants. Andros, who pretended to 
 treat the Indians with mildness, ordered those seized by 
 Blackman to be liberated. But this mildness was disre 
 garded by the Indians, who kept their prisoners, and mur 
 dered some of them in their barbarous sports. Andros 
 then changed his measures, and thought to frighten them 
 with an army of seven hundred men, which he led into 
 their country in the month of November. The rigour 
 of the season proved fatal to some of his men ; but he 
 never saw an Indian during his whole march. The 
 enemy were quiet during the winter. 
 
SURPRISE OF DOVER, 143 
 
 (1689) After the revolution which deprived Andros 
 of his office, the gentlemen who assumed the govern 
 ment of Massachusetts endeavoured to conciliate the 
 Indians by embassies and presents ; but this policy was 
 counteracted by a more successful system of diplomacy 
 on the part of the French. 
 
 Several tribes now entered into a league of mutual 
 protection and defence ; these tribes, in revenge for 
 Major Waldron's having seized four hundred Indians 
 at Dover, thirteen years before, as already related, re 
 solved to attack that place, in which were five garrison 
 ed houses under his command. The inhabitants of this 
 town had, for some time, neglected to keep a watch, 
 imagining themselves to be in perfect security. The 
 Indians, who often passed through the town, took notice 
 of this, and determined to profit by it. The plan which 
 they laid was as follows : two squaws were to go in the 
 evening to each of the garrisoned houses, and demand 
 a night's lodging there. As soon as the garrison should 
 be asleep, they were to unbar the door, and by means 
 of a whistle to apprise the Indians of this, who were 
 then to rush in, and massacre the garrison. The 
 squaws accordingly went to each of the above-mention 
 ed houses, and were received in them. When every 
 thing appeared to be quiet, the squaws got up and silent 
 ly opened the door, and gave the appointed signal. On 
 hearing this, the Indians rushed in, destroying all they 
 met with, and committing the greatest cruelties. Twen 
 ty-three persons, among whom was Major Waldron, 
 were killed in this affair, and twenty-nine taken prison 
 ers. These were, for the most part, taken into Canada, 
 and sold to the French. Some of them were afterwards 
 released, but the greater part remained in captivity till 
 death. 
 
 Among the persons taken prisoners were Mrs. Otis 
 and her daughter, who was only about three months 
 old. The French priests took this child under their 
 care, and had her educated in a nunnery. She, how 
 ever, declined taking the veil, and was married to a 
 Frenchman, by whom she had two children. In 1714, 
 
144 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 being then a widow, she left her two children, and re 
 turned to New England, where she abjured the Catholic 
 faith. Various methods were afterwards used in order 
 to induce her to return to the Romish church ; but they 
 were all without effect. She was afterwards married 
 to Captain Thomas Baker. 
 
 In 1690, Count de Frontignac, governor general of 
 Canada, sent out three expeditions against the American 
 colonies. The first of these proceeded against Sche- 
 nectady, then a small village, situated on the Mohawk 
 river. This party, after wandering for twenty-two days 
 through deserts rendered trackless by snow, approached 
 the village of Schenectady in so exhausted a condition, 
 that they had determined to surrender themselves to the 
 inhabitants as prisoners of war. But, arriving at a late 
 hour on an inclement night, and hearing from the mes 
 sengers they had sent forward that the inhabitants were 
 all in bed, without even the precaution of a public watch, 
 they exchanged their intention of imploring mercy to 
 themselves, for a plan of nocturnal attack and massacre 
 of the defenceless people, to whose charity their own 
 countrymen had once been so highly indebted.* This 
 detestable requital of good with evil was executed with 
 a barbarity which, of itself, must be acknowledged to 
 form one of the most revolting and terrific pictures that 
 has ever been exhibited of human cruelty and ferocity. 
 Dividing themselves into a number of parties, they set 
 fire to the village in various places, and attacked the 
 inhabitants with fatal advantage when, alarmed by the 
 conflagration, they endeavoured to escape from their 
 burning houses. The exhausted strength of the French 
 men appeared to revive with the work of destruction, 
 and to gather energy from the animated horror of the 
 scene. Not only were all the male inhabitants they 
 could reach put to death, but women were murdered, 
 and their infants dashed on the walls of the houses. 
 But either the delay caused by this elaborate cruelty, 
 or the more merciful haste of the flames to announce 
 
 * For the account of Corlear's kindness to the French, see Chap 
 ter VIII. 
 
(146) 
 
PROGRESS OF INDIAN HOSTILITIES. 147 
 
 the calamity to those who might still fly from the assas 
 sins, enabled many of the inhabitants to escape. The 
 efforts of the assailants were also somewhat impeded 
 by a sagacious discrimination which they thought it ex 
 pedient to exercise. Though unmindful of benefits, 
 they were not regardless of policy; and of a number 
 of Mohawk Indians who were in the village, not one 
 sustained an injury. Sixty persons perished in the 
 massacre, and twenty-seven were taken prisoners. Of 
 the fugitives who escaped half naked, and made their 
 way through a storm of snow to Albany, twenty-five 
 lost their limbs from the intensity of the frost. The 
 French, having totally destroyed Schenectady, retired 
 loaded with plunder from a place where, we think, it 
 must be acknowledged that even the accustomed atro 
 cities of Indian warfare had been outdone. (See En 
 graving on the opposite page.) 
 
 Count Frontignac's second expedition marched against 
 the settlement of Salmon Falls. This party, consisting of 
 Indians and French to the number of fifty-two, fell on 
 the village at day-break in three different places. The 
 inhabitants made a bold resistance, but were finally 
 overpowered. On the retreat of this party from the 
 village, they were attacked by a force of about one 
 hundred and fifty men ; but escaped without much loss. 
 The third of the three parties attacked and destroyed 
 the settlement at Casco. 
 
 In the month of May, an assault was made on Fox 
 Point in Newington, in which several persons were 
 killed, and a few taken prisoners. On the 6th of July, 
 two companies under the command of Captains Floyd 
 and Wiswal, came up with a party of Indians near 
 Wheelright's Pond, and a bloody engagement took place, 
 in which Wiswal and fourteen others were killed, and 
 several wounded. The battle continued for several 
 hours, and finally both parties retreated at the same 
 time. The Indians proceeded westward and committed 
 many and serious depredations. 
 
 The inhabitants of New England having suffered so 
 much from the French in Canada, resolved to form an 
 
148 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 expedition to reduce it to the crown of England 
 Accordingly an armament was equipped and placed 
 under the command of. Sir William Phipps. This expe- 
 pcdition was, however, retarded by some unforeseen 
 events, so that it did not reach Quebec, the place of its 
 destination, till the 5th of October, 1690, when it was 
 time to return. They accordingly abandoned the en 
 terprise and returned home. 
 
 After the destruction of Casco, in 1690, all the 
 eastern settlements were abandoned, and the people 
 retired to the fort at Wells, in the southern part of 
 Maine. On the 25th of January, 1692, the town of 
 York, adjoining Wells, was surprised by the French 
 and Indians, who killed seventy-five of the inhabitants, 
 captured as many more, and burnt the town. On the 
 10th of June, an army of French and Indians made a 
 furious attack on the garrison at Wells, commanded by 
 Convers, who made a gallant defence, and drove the 
 enemy off. 
 
 Sir William Phipps having received instructions from 
 the sovereigns, William and Mary, to build a fort at 
 Pemaquid, was incited to the prompt execution of his 
 order by the recent aggressions of the Indians in that 
 part of the province. He embarked at Boston with 
 four hundred and fifty men, in August, 1690, and on 
 arriving at Pemaquid proceeded to the erection of a 
 fortress of greater strength and dimensions than any 
 hitherto erected in British America. It was built of stone 
 and furnished with eighteen guns, six of which were 
 eighteen pounders. It was garrisoned with sixty men, and 
 served the purpose of keeping possession of Pemaquid, 
 and was probably intended by the British to prevent 
 the French from claiming Acadie as a derelict coun 
 try. As a means of annoyance to the Indians it was 
 not worth the cost, which was very considerable. The 
 characteristic remark of the famous Colonel Church, 
 who accompanied Phipps on his expedition, probablv 
 expresses the estimation in which it was held by most 
 of the Massachusetts people. When the governor 
 invited Church to go on shore and give his judgment 
 
ATTACK AT OYSTER RIVER. 149 
 
 about erecting a fort, he replied, " that his genius did 
 not incline that way, for he never had any value for 
 them, being only nests for destructions." 
 
 In 1693, Ma'jor Convers, with five hundred men, 
 marched into the eastern part of Maine, without en 
 countering any Indians. On his return he built a fort 
 on Saco river. The Indians soon after sued for peace, 
 and a treaty was signed at Pemaquid, by which they 
 renounced the French interest, promised to maintain 
 perpetual peace, restore all captives, and allow a free 
 trade. As a security for their fidelity they delivered 
 hostages. 
 
 This treaty was soon violated. The Indians would 
 probably have observed its conditions, if they had not 
 been influenced by the French, and particularly by the 
 priests. The Sieur de Villiere, who had distinguished 
 himself in the defence of Quebec, when Sir William 
 Phipps was before it, and had contracted a strong an 
 tipathy to the New Englanders, being now in command 
 at Penobscot, he, with M. Thury the missionary, di 
 verted Madokawando and the other sachems from 
 complying with their engagements ; so that pretences 
 were found for detaining the English captives who 
 were more in number, and of more consequence than 
 the Indian hostages. Influenced by the same perni 
 cious counsels, they sought for a defenceless point of 
 attack, and pitched upon the settlement of Oyster river, 
 within the town of Dover, N. H. ; and the design of 
 surprising this place was publicly talked of in Quebec, 
 two months before it was attacked. There were 
 twelve garrisoned houses in the place ; but the people 
 were off their guard, and wholly unprepared for an 
 assault, when M. de Villiere with a body of two hun 
 dred and fifty Indians, collected from the tribes of St. 
 John, Penobscot and Norridgwog, attended by a 
 French priest, marched upon the devoted town. The 
 enemy approached undiscovered, and halted near the 
 falls on the 17th of June, 1694. Here they formed 
 two divisions, one of which was to go on each side of 
 ihe river, and plant themselves in ambush in small par- 
 15 
 
150 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ties near every house, so as to be ready for the attack 
 at sunrise, the first gun to be the signal. John Dean, 
 whose house stood by the saw-mill near the falls, leav 
 ing his house at daybreak, was shot as he came out of 
 the door. This disconcerted their plan ; several par 
 ties who had some distance to go, had not then arrived 
 at their stations; the people were alarmed, some 
 escaped, and others prepared for defence. The signal, 
 however, being given, the attack instantly commenced 
 in all parts where the enemy was ready. 
 
 Of the twelve garrisoned nouses, five were destroyed ; 
 most of their inhabitants were murdered in cold blood 
 without resistance ; others surrendered on promise of 
 safety, and were then treacherously butchered; the 
 rest escaped in boats on the river, or by secreting them 
 selves in the bushes. 
 
 The other seven garrisons were bravely and success 
 fully defended. One of these near the river, surrounded 
 by a palisade, was preserved in a singular manner. 
 Thomas Bickford, the owner, being alarmed before the 
 enemy reached his house, sent off his family in a boat, 
 and then shutting his gate, betook himself alone to the 
 defence of his fortress. Despising alike the threats and 
 promises by which the Indians would have persuaded 
 him to surrender, he kept up a constant fire at them, 
 changing his dress as often as he could, showing him 
 self with a different hat, cap or coat, and sometimes 
 without either, and giving directions aloud as if he had 
 a number of men with him. Finding their attempt 
 vain, the enemy withdrew, leaving him sole master of 
 the house which he had defended with such admirable 
 address. 
 
 When the enemy began to apprehend the approach 
 of reinforcements from the surrounding settlements, 
 they hastily retreated through the woods after their 
 usual manner, having killed and captured between 
 ninety' and a hundred persons, and burned twenty 
 houses, five of which were garrisons. 
 
 About forty of the enemy under Foxus, a Norridg- 
 wog chief, resolving on farther mischief, went west- 
 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES. 151 
 
 ward, and did execution as far as Groton. A smaller 
 party crossed the Piscataqua and killed several persons 
 on Mrs. Cutts's farm, herself among the number. The 
 scalps taken in this expedition were carried to Canada 
 by Madokawando, and presented to Count Frontigriac, 
 from whom he received the reward of his treacherous 
 adventure. 
 
 After this affair, no considerable attack was made 
 on the north-western border, until June 26th, 1696, 
 when a surprise took place on Portsmouth plain, about 
 two miles from the town. Five houses were attacked 
 at once; fourteen persons were killed and four cap 
 tured. The enemy was pursued, and the captives and 
 plunder recovered ; but the Indians themselves escaped. 
 
 On the 26th of July, the people of Dover were way 
 laid as they were returning from public worship : three 
 were killed, three wounded, and three carried to Pe- 
 nobscot prisoners. 
 
 The plan of the French ministers for this year, 1696, 
 had been to expel the English from their posts at Hud 
 son's Bay, Newfoundland, and Pemaquid. The expe 
 dition against Pemaquid was committed by the king to 
 Iberville and Bonaventure, who anchored on the 7th of 
 August, at Pentagroet, where their force was aug 
 mented by the junction of the Baron de Castine, with 
 two hundred Indians, who accompanied the French 
 fleet in their canoes. On the 14th, the fort was in 
 vested. To the summons to surrender, Chubb, the 
 commander of the fort, replied, " that if the sea were 
 covered with French vessels, and the land with Indians, 
 yet he would not give up the fort." After a few shots 
 from the Indl e returned without effect 
 
 from the for - raised, and a bombard 
 
 ment commenced. iflta how found means to con 
 
 vey a letter in: mating that if the besieged 
 
 waited till an as-- : place, they would then 
 
 be at the mercy of the Indians, and must expect no 
 quarter. Upon- this', the garrison, consisting of but 
 eighty men, required : valorous commander to 
 capitulate, which ho did oa highly honourable and 
 
152 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 advantageous terms. The famous fort of Pemaquid, 
 which had cost the Massachusetts colony an immense 
 sum of money, was now demolished by the captors. 
 The French 'then devastated a great part of Nova 
 Scotia, but deferred their operations against the forts 
 at Hudson's Bay and Newfoundland until the next 
 year. 
 
 In June, 1697, an ineffectual attempt was made by 
 the Indians to surprise Exeter, N. H., and on the 4th 
 of July, Major Frost of Kittery, who had signalized 
 himself on many occasions against the Indians, was 
 waylaid and killed by them. 
 
 Very extensive preparatioris were made by the 
 French for the campaign of 1697; a large armament 
 and fleet from France were to co-operate with the com 
 bined land forces of Indians and French from Canada, 
 and the whole country from Newfoundland to New 
 York was to be conquered and devastated. But the 
 fleet sailed too late in the season, and did not arrive at 
 Placentia, the rendezvous, until the 24th of July, when 
 a council of war, called to decide on the question, 
 unanimously decided not to make the proposed descent 
 on Boston. * 
 
 The peace of Ryswick, which had been signed on 
 the 20th of September, was proclaimed at Boston on 
 the 10th of December, and the English colonies once 
 more enjoyed repose, after a louo- and bloody war. By 
 the seventh article of this treaty, it was agreed to make 
 mutual restitution of all the countries, forts, and colo 
 nies, taken by each party during the war.. 
 
 After the treaty of Ryswick. Count Frontignac in 
 formed the Indians that he could no longer support 
 them in their wars against the English,' and advised 
 them to make a treaty with theii late opponents. In 
 conformity with this advic hided a treaty 
 
 on the 7th of January, 1699, h they ratified 
 
 their former engagements ;. a ged subjection to 
 
 the crown of England ; and promised future peace and 
 good behaviour. It was [pxus, and many 
 
 other sagamores, captain?, ;u men of the 
 
COUNT FRONTIGNAC. Page 152. 
 
WARS OF THE FIVE NATIONS. 153 
 
 Indians belonging to the rivers of the Kennebeck, Am- 
 meriscoggin, and Saco, and the parts adjacent. 
 
 Our notices of this war, it will be observed, are con 
 fined chiefly to the operations in New England, which, 
 from its contiguity to Canada and Nova Scotia, was 
 necessarily its principal theatre. The contests between 
 the French and the Five Nations who were justly con 
 sidered the barrier between New York and the French 
 colony, will be noticed in another chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 WARS OF THE FIVE NATIONS. 
 
 (TO THE CLOSE OP THE LAST FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.) 
 
 "ONE among all the Indian 
 nations has acquired so 
 much celebrity as that 
 confederacy which, from 
 its geographical position, 
 formed the barrier be 
 tween the middle colonies 
 of Great Britain and the 
 French possessions on 
 their north-western fron 
 tier, generally known by 
 the denomination of the Five Nations of Canada. 
 
 This federal association is said to ha e derived its 
 origin from the most remote antiquity; and, as the 
 name imports, it comprehended five Indian nations, of 
 which the Mohawks have obtained the most lasting 
 name, and which were united, on terms of the strictest 
 equality, in a perpetual alliance, for conquest and 
 mutual defence. The members of this confederation 
 
54 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 reckoned themselves superior to all the rest of mankind, 
 and the distinctive appellation which they adopted was 
 expressive of this opinion. But the principles of their 
 confederacy display far more policy and refinement 
 lhan we might expect from the arrogance of their bar 
 barous name. They had embraced the Roman maxim, 
 of increasing their strength by incorporating the people 
 of other nations with themselves. After every conquest 
 of an enemy, when they had indulged their revenge by 
 some cruel executions, they exercised their usual policy 
 in the adoption of the remaining captives ; and frequent 
 ly with so much advantage, that some of their most 
 distinguished sachems and captains were derived from 
 defeated and adopted foes. Each nation had its own 
 separate republican constitution, in which rank and 
 office were claimed only by age, procured only by 
 merit, and enjoyed by the tenure of public esteem ; and 
 each was divided into three tribes, bearing respectively 
 for their ensigns, and distinguished by the names of, the 
 Tortoise, the Bear, and the Wolf. In no community 
 was age graced with more respect, or youth endowed 
 with greater beauty. Such was the efficacy of their 
 mode of life in developing the fine proportions of which 
 the human frame is susceptible, that, when the statue 
 of the Apollo Belvidere was beheld, for the first time, 
 by the^American Apelles, Benjamin West, he started at 
 the unexpected recognition, and exclaimed, " How like 
 it is to a young Mohawk warrior !" The people of the 
 several nations, and especially the Mohawks, were dis 
 tinguished by the usual Indian qualities of attachment 
 to liberty, fortitude in the endurance of pain ; pre 
 ference of craft and stratagem to undisguised operation 
 in war ; and by a more than usual degree of perse 
 verance, resolution, and active intrepidity. Almost all 
 the tribes around this people, and even many at a great 
 distance, who were not included in their confederacy, 
 acknowledged a subjection to it, paid a tribute, which 
 two aged sachems were annually deputed to collect; 
 and were restrained from making war or peace with 
 out the consent of the Five Nations. It was the policy 
 
POLITY OF THE FIVE NATIONS 153 
 
 of all the chiefs to affect superior poverty, and to dis 
 tribute among the people the whole of their own share 
 of tribute and plunder. All matters of common con 
 cernment were transacted in general meetings of the 
 sachems of each nation : and the influence of time, 
 aided by a long course of judicious policy and victori 
 ous enterprise, had completely succeeded in causing 
 the federal character and sentiments to prevail over 
 the peculiarities of their subordinate national associa 
 tions. In the year 1677, the confederacy possessed 
 two thousand one hundred and fifty fighting men. When 
 the Tuscarora tribe was vanquished in Carolina, at a 
 subsequent period, and expelled from its territory by the 
 colonists of that province, the fugitives proposed, and 
 were permitted, to revive their broken estate by engraft 
 ing it on this powerful confederacy ; and as, (in conse 
 quence of a supposition, derived from similarity of lan 
 guage, of their original derivation from the same stock 
 to which they now returned,) they were associated as a 
 new member of the general union, instead of being 
 intermingled with any particular portion of it ; the con 
 federacy soon after obtained the name of the Six Na 
 tions. Both the French and the English writers, who 
 have treated of the character or affairs of this people, 
 have concurred in describing them as at once ther most 
 judicious and politic of the native powers, and the most 
 fierce and formidable of the native inhabitants of Amer 
 ica. There was only wanting to their fame, that lite 
 rary celebration which they obtained too soon from the 
 neighbourhood of a race of civilized men, who were 
 destined to eclipse, and finally extinguish, their great 
 ness : and particularly from the pen of a highly accom 
 plished writer, Cadwallader Golden, one of the governors 
 of New York, they have received the same historic 
 service which his own barbarian ancestors derived from 
 the writings of Caesar and Tacitus. 
 
 When the French settled in Canada, in the beginning 
 of this century, they found the Five Nations engaged 
 in a bloody war with the powerful tribe of Jldirondacks ; 
 in which, after having been themselves so severely press- 
 
156 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ed, that they were driven from their possessions round 
 Montreal, and forced to seek an asylum on the south 
 east coast of Lake Ontario, the Five Nations had lat 
 terly succeeded in gaining a decided advantage, and 
 had in turn constrained their enemies to abandon their 
 lands situated above the Three Rivers, and fly for safety 
 behind the strait where Quebec was built. The tide of 
 success, however, was suddenly turned by the arrival 
 of Champlain, who conducted the French colony, and 
 who naturally joined the Adirondacks, because he had 
 settled on their lands. The conduct, the bravery, and 
 especially the fire-arms, of these new allies of the ene 
 my, proved an overmatch for the skill and intrepidity 
 of the Five Nations, who were defeated in several bat 
 tles, and reduced to the greatest distress. It was at this 
 critical juncture that the first Dutch ship arrived in Hud 
 son's river, with the colonists who established them 
 selves at Albany. The Five Nations, easily procuring 
 from these neighbours a supply of that species of arms 
 to which alone their enemies had been indebted for their 
 superiority, revived the war with such impetuosity and 
 success, that the nation of the Adirondacks was com 
 pletely annihilated ; and the French too late discovered, 
 that they had espoused the fortunes of the weaker peo 
 ple. Hence originated the mutual dread and enmity 
 that so long subsisted between the French and the con 
 federated Indians, and entailed so many calamities upon 
 both. The French, less accustomed to the climate, and 
 less acquainted with the country, than their savage ene 
 mies, attempted vainly to imitate their rapid and secret 
 expeditions. A party dispatched in the winter of 1665, 
 by Courcelles, the governor of Canada, to attack the 
 Five Nations, lost their way among wastes of snow, 
 and after enduring the greatest misery, arrived, without 
 knowing where they were, at the village of Schenecta- 
 dy, near Albany, which a Dutchman of consideration, 
 named Corlear, had recently founded. The French, 
 exhausted and stupified with cold and hunger, resem 
 bled rather an army of beggars than of hostile invaders, 
 and would have fallen an easy prey to a body of Indians 
 
158 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the Five Nations ; which, however, till the arrival of 
 Dongan, seems to have been productive of no farther 
 connexion than an extensive commercial intercourse, 
 in which the Indians supplied the English with peltry 
 in return for arms and ammunition, of the use of which, 
 as long as they were not employed against themselves, 
 the venders were entirely, and, as it proved, unfor 
 tunately, regardless. The Indians adhered to the 
 treaty with strict fidelity ; but always showed a scru 
 pulous niceness in exacting the demonstrations of re 
 spect due to an independent people ; and in particular 
 when any of their forces had occasion to pass near the 
 English forts, they expected to be saluted with military 
 honours. In the meantime the French Canadians were 
 not remiss in availing themselves of their deliverance 
 from the hostilities of these formidable Indians. They 
 advanced their settlements along the river St. Law 
 rence, and in the year 1672 built Fort Frontignac on 
 its north-west bank, where it rushes from the vast 
 parent waters of Ontario. With a policy proportioned 
 to the vigour of their advances, they filled the Indian 
 settlements with their missionaries, who labouring with 
 great activity and success, multiplied converts to their 
 doctrines, and allies to their countrymen. The praying 
 Indians, as the French termed their converts, were 
 either "neutral, or, more frequently, their auxiliaries in 
 war. The Jesuits preached not to their Indian auditors 
 the doctrines that most deeply wound the pride of hu 
 man nature, nor a lofty morality which the conduct of 
 the bulk of its nominal professors practically denies and 
 disgraces. They required of their converts but a su 
 perficial change ; an embracement of the external 
 forms of Christianity ; and they entertained their senses, 
 and impressed their imaginations, by a ceremonial at 
 once picturesque and mysterious. Yet as, from the 
 weakness of man, an admixture of error is inseparable 
 from the best system of doctrine, so, from the goodness 
 of God, a ray of truth is found to pervade even the 
 slightest. The instructions of the Jesuits, from which the 
 lineaments of Christianity were not wholly obliterated, 
 
FRENCH POLICY TOWARDS THE INDIANS. 159 
 
 may have contributed, in some instances, to form the 
 divine image in the minds of the Indians; and the good 
 seed, unchoked by the tares, may, in some places, have 
 sprung up to everlasting life. The moral and domestic 
 precepts contained in the Scriptures were communi 
 cated, in some instances, with a happy effect: and 
 various congregations of Indian converts were per 
 suaded by the Jesuits to build villages in Canada in 
 the same style as the French colonists, to adopt Euro 
 pean husbandry, and to renounce spirituous liquors. 
 The visible separation of the Catholic priests from 
 the family of mankind, by a renunciation of conju 
 gal and parental ties, gave no small sacredness to 
 their character, and a strong prevailing power to 
 their addresses. In the discharge of what they con 
 ceived their duty, their courage and perseverance were 
 equalled only by their address and activity. They had 
 already compassed sea and land to make proselytes, 
 and the threats of death and torture could not deter 
 them from executing their commission. Many of 
 them, though commanded to depart, continue'd to 
 remain among tribes that were at war with their coun 
 trymen ; and some of them, on the principle of becom 
 ing all things to all men, embraced Indian habits of 
 living. One of these last, established himself so firmly 
 in the affections of a certain tribe of the Five Na 
 tions, that although they continued faithful to the na 
 tional enmity against the French, they adopted him as 
 a brother, and elected him a sachem. With such 
 industry, resolution, and insinuation, did the French 
 Jesuits exert themselves to recommend their faith and 
 their country to the affections of the Indians. The 
 French laity, too, and especially their civil and military 
 officers and soldiery, succeeded better than the gene 
 rality of the English, in recommending themselves to 
 the good graces of the savages. French vanity was 
 productive of more politeness and accommodation than 
 English pride; and even the displeasure that the 
 French sometimes excited by commission of injuries, 
 was less intolerable than the provocation that the Eng- 
 
160 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 lish too frequently inspired by a display of insolence 
 The stubborn disposition of the English was bes f fitted 
 to contend with the obstructions of nature ; the pliancy 
 and vivacity of the French, to prevail over the jealousy 
 of the natives. There were as yet no Protestant mis 
 sions in this quarter of America, which, in the follow 
 ing century, some New Englapd clergymen, aided by 
 a religious society in Scotland, were destined to illus 
 trate by noble and successful exertions of missionary 
 labour. 
 
 Colonel Dongan, who was not, like his predecessors, 
 encumbered with a monopoly of all the functions of 
 government, nor absorbed in struggles with popular dis 
 content, had leisure for a wider survey of the state of 
 his countrymen's relations with the Indians, and very 
 soon discovered that the peace which was so advantage 
 ous to the French Canadian colonists, by enabling them 
 to extend their fortifications and their commerce over 
 a vast extent of country, was productive of severe in 
 convenience to some of the colonies of Britain, and 
 threated serious danger to them all. The Five Nations, 
 inflamed by their passion for war, and finding a pretext 
 for its gratification in the recollection of numerous in 
 sults that had been offered to them in the season of their 
 adversity, had turned their arms southward, and con 
 quered the country from the Mississippi to the borders 
 of, Carolina ; exterminating numerous tribes and nations 
 in their destructive progress. Many of the Indian al 
 lies of Virginia and Maryland sustained their attacks ; 
 and these colonies themselves were frequently involved 
 in hostilities, in defence both of their allies, and in pro 
 tecting themselves against allies incensed by discover 
 ing that their invaders derived their means of annoying 
 them from the English at New York. But, in 1684, 
 Colonel Dongan, in conjunction with Lord Effingham, 
 the governor of Virginia, concluded with the Five Na 
 tions a definitive treaty of peace, embracing all the 
 English settlements, and all tribes in alliance with them. 
 Hatchets, proportioned to the numbers of the English 
 colonies, were solemnly buried in the ground : and the 
 
THE ENGLISH IN NORTH AMERICA. 16] 
 
 arms of the Duke of York, as the acknowledged su 
 preme head of the English and Indian confederacy, 
 were suspended along the frontiers of the territories of 
 the Five Nations. This treaty was long inviolably ad 
 hered to ; and the fidelity of its observance was power 
 fully aided by a renewal of hostilities between the Five 
 Nations and their ancient enemies, the French. It was 
 at this time that the merchants of New York first ad 
 ventured on the great lakes to the westward, hoping to 
 participate in the trade which the French were carry 
 ing on with much profit in that quarter, and which they 
 endeavoured to guard from invasion by prejudicing the 
 Indians against the English, and by every art that seem 
 ed likely to obstruct the advances of their rivals. Don- 
 gan perceiving the disadvantages to which his country 
 men were exposed, solicited the English ministry to take 
 measures for preventing the French from navigating 
 the lakes which belonged to the Five Nations, and, con 
 sequently, as he apprehended, to England. But he was 
 informed that it was preposterous to ask, or expect, that 
 France would command her subjects to desist from an 
 advantageous commerce for the benefit of their rivals : 
 and he was directed, rather by acts of kindness and 
 courtesy, to encourage the Indians to retain their ad 
 herence to England, and to make it the interest of all 
 the tribes to trade with the English in preference to the 
 French ; observing withal such prudence as might pre 
 vent offence to European neighbours. So far were these 
 views from being realized, that from this time there com 
 menced a series of disputes between the two nations, 
 which for the greater part of a century engaged them 
 in continual wars and hostile intrigues that threatened 
 the destruction of their colonial settlements, cost the lives 
 of many of the European colonists, and wasted the 
 blood, and prolonged the barbarism of those unfortu 
 nate Indians who were involved in the vortex of their 
 hostility. 
 
 On the death of Charles the Second, the Duke of 
 York ascended his brother's throne, and the province 
 of which he had been proprietary devolved, with all its 
 16 L 
 
162 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 dependencies, on the crown. The people of New York 
 received, with improvident exultation, the accounts of 
 their proprietary's advancement to royalty, and pro 
 claimed him as their sovereign with the liveliest demon 
 strations of attachment and respect. They had been 
 for some time past soliciting with much eagerness a for 
 mal grant of the constitution that was now established 
 among them ; and the duke had not only promised to 
 gratify them in this particular, but had actually proceed 
 ed so far as to sign a patent in conformity with their 
 wishes, which, at his accession to the throne, required 
 only some trivial solemnity to render it complete and 
 irrevocable. But James, though he could not pretend 
 to forget, was not ashamed to violate, as King of Eng 
 land, the promise which he had made when Duke of 
 York ; and a calm and unblushing refusal was now re 
 turned to the renewed solicitations of all the incorpora 
 ted bodies, and the great bulk of the inhabitants of the 
 province. Determined to establish the same arbitrary 
 system in New York which he designed for New Eng 
 land, so far from conferring new immunities, he with 
 drew what had been formerly conceded. In the second 
 year of his reign he invested Dongan with a new com 
 mission, empowering him, with consent of a council, to 
 enact the laws, and impose the taxes ; and commanding 
 him to suffer no printing-press to exist. Though he now 
 sent Andros to New England, he paused a while before 
 he ventured to restore the authority of that obnoxious 
 governor in New York. But the people beheld in his 
 appointment to govern the colonies in their neighbour 
 hood, an additional indication of their prince's charac 
 ter and their own danger, and with impatient discontent 
 endured a yoke which they were unable to break, and 
 which they were prevented from exhibiting to public 
 odium, and English sympathy, through the medium of 
 the press. 
 
 Dongan, having been a soldier all his life, seems to 
 have been fitted rather by habit to regard with indiffer 
 ence, than by disposition to enforce with rigour, a sys 
 tem of arbitrary power; and, accordingly, the remainder 
 
TEADING WITH THE INDIANS. . Page 163. 
 
INDIANS AND FRENCH. 163 
 
 of his administration, though less favourable to his popu 
 larity, was not discreditable to his character, which 
 continued to evince the same moderation, and the same 
 regard to the public weal, as before. Though a Roman 
 Catholic, he had beheld with alarm, and resisted with 
 energy, the intrusion of the French priests into the set 
 tlements of the Five Nations ; and even when his bigoted 
 master was persuaded by the court of France to com 
 mand him to desist from thus obstructing the progress 
 of popish conversion, he continued nevertheless to warn 
 his Indian allies, that the admission of the Jesuits among 
 them would prove fatal to their own interests, and to 
 their friendship with the English. He still insisted that 
 the French should not treat with the Indians in alliance 
 with his colony, without his privity and intervention : 
 but the French court again employed their interest with 
 his master; and he accordingly received orders to de 
 part from this pretension. The Five Nations, however, 
 seemed more likely to need the assistance of his forces 
 than the suggestions of his policy. Their untutored 
 sagacity had long perceived what the ministers of the 
 court of England were not skilful enough to discern, 
 that the extensive projects of France both threatened 
 themselves with subjugation, and involved, to the mani 
 fest disadvantage of the English colonies, a diminution 
 of their trade, and a removal of the powerful barrier 
 that still separated them from the rival settlement of 
 Canada. The treaty that excluded the Five Nations 
 from hostile expeditions against the more distant tribes 
 allied to the other English colonies, gave them leisure 
 to attend with less distraction to their nearer interests: 
 and finding themselves inconvenienced by the supplies 
 which their numerous enemies derived from the French, 
 they had of late chosen to consider this as a hostile act 
 which they were entitled to resent and obstruct, and 
 had constantly attacked the Canadian traders who car 
 ried military stores to any tribe with whom thev were 
 at war. The French, under the conduct of two suc 
 cessive governors, De la Barre and Nouville, had vainly 
 endeavoured, partly by treaty, and partly by force, to 
 
164 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 repress proceedings so injurious to their commerce, their 
 reputation, and their political views; when Dongan, 
 perceiving that a war would probably ensue between 
 the rivals and the allies of his countrymen, prevailed, 
 by the most urgent entreaties, on the English court to 
 invest him with authority to assist the Five Nations in 
 the contest that menaced them. But the French minis 
 ters gaining information of these instructions, hastened 
 to counteract them by a repetition of artifices which 
 again proved successful. They had already more than 
 once, by their hypocrisy and cunning, succeeded in out 
 witting the sincere' bigotry of the English King ; and 
 they had now the address to conclude with him a treaty 
 of neutrality for America, by which it was stipulated 
 that neither party should give assistance to Indian tribes 
 in their wars with the other. Armed with so many ad 
 vantages, the French authorities in Canada resumed, 
 with increased vigour, their endeavours to chastise by 
 force, or debauch by intrigue, the Indian tribes who had 
 preferred the English alliance to theirs ; while Dongan 
 was compelled to sacrifice the honour of his country 
 .to the mistaken politics of his master, and to abandon 
 her allies to the hostility, and her barrier to the violation, 
 of an insidious and enterprising rival. He could not, 
 however, divest himself of the interest he felt in the 
 fortunes of the Five- Nations, and seized every oppor 
 tunity of imparting to them advice no less prudent than 
 humane, for the conduct of their enterprises, and the 
 treatment of their prisoners. But his inability to fulfil 
 former engagements, and afford them further aid, greatly 
 weakened the efficacy of his councils. Though the 
 remonstrances of Dongan enabled the ministers of 
 James to discover, in the following year, that the treaty 
 of neutrality for America was prejudicial to the in 
 terests of England, it was impossible to prevent the 
 king from renewing, in the close of the same year, this 
 impolitic arrangement with France. 
 
 But the king had no intention of relinquishing his 
 empire in America: and his mind, though strongly 
 tinctured with bigotry, was not unsusceptible of politic 
 
NEW YORK ANNEXED TO NEW ENGLAND. 165 
 
 views; though he seems rarely to have minglea these 
 considerations together. As his bigotry had prompted 
 him to give up the Indians to the French, his policy 
 now suggested the measure of uniting all his northern 
 colonies in one government for their more effectual de 
 fence. It must be confessed, indeed, that he seems to 
 have been at least as strongly prompted to this design 
 by the desire of facilitating his own arbitrary govern 
 ment in the colonies, as by concern for their safety, or 
 for the integrity of his dominions. As this scheme in- 
 .cluded New York, and as he thought the people of this 
 province now sufficiently prepared to abide the extrem 
 ity of his will, he indulged the more readily the dis 
 pleasure that Dongan had given him by obstructing the 
 French Jesuits, which had been a subject of continual 
 complaint from the court of France. The commission 
 of this meritorious officer was accordingly superseded 
 by a royal command to deliver up his charge to Sir 
 Edmund Andros: and New York not only reverted to 
 the dominion of its ancient tyrant, but beheld its exist 
 ence as a separate province completely merged in its 
 annexation to the. government of New England. An 
 dros remained at Boston as the metropolis of his juris 
 diction ; committing the administration of New York 
 to Nicholson, his lieutenant-governor: and thoqgh by 
 the vigour of his remonstrances, and his reputation for 
 ability, he compelled the French to suspend some en 
 croachments which they were making or threatening to 
 make on the English territories, he could lend no assist 
 ance to the Five Nations in the hostilities that were 
 now carried on between them and the French with a 
 mutual fury and ferocity that seemed to obliterate the 
 distinction between civilized and savage men. The 
 people of New York, deprived of their liberties, and 
 mortified by their annexation to New England, felt 
 themselves additionally ill used by the policy which 
 compelled them to stand aloof and behold the fate of 
 the allies to whom they had promised protection, to 
 gether with their own most important interests, suspend 
 ed on the issue cf a contest in which they were not 
 
166 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STAPES. 
 
 suffered to take a share ; while all the while their coun 
 trymen in the eastern part of New England were 
 harassed by a dangerous Indian war which was be 
 lieved on strong reasons to have been excited by the 
 intrigues of the French. But though deserted by the 
 English, the Five Nations maintained the struggle with 
 an energy that promised the preservation of their inde 
 pendence, and finally with a success that excited hopes 
 even of the subjugation of their civilized adversaries. 
 Undertaking an expedition with twelve hundred of 
 their warriors against Montreal, they conducted their 
 march with such rapidity and secresy as to surprise 
 the French in almost unguarded security. The sud 
 denness and fury of their attack proved irresistible. 
 They burned the town, sacked the plantations, put a 
 thousand of the French to the sword, and carried away 
 a number of prisoners whom they burned alive ; re 
 turning to their friends with the loss of only three of 
 their own number. It was now that the disadvantage 
 arising from the neutrality of the English was most 
 sensibly felt, both in the cruelties with which the In 
 dians stained the triumphs they obtained, and which 
 the influence of a humane ally might have contributed 
 to moderate ; and also in the inability of the savages to 
 improve their victories into lasting conquest. They 
 strained every nerve indeed to follow up their advan 
 tage, and shortly after their attack on Montreal possess 
 ed themselves of the fort at Lake Ontario, which the 
 garrison in a panic abandoned to them ; and being now 
 reinforced by the desertion of numerous Indian allies 
 of the French, they reduced every station that this 
 people possessed in Canada to a state of the utmost 
 terror and distress. Nothing could have saved 4he 
 French from utter destruction but the ignorance which 
 disabled the Indians from attacking fortified places: 
 and it was evident to all that a single vigorous act of 
 interposition by the English colonists would have suf 
 ficed, to terminate for ever the rivalry of France and 
 England in this quarter of the world. 
 
 In the early part of the contest which we have 
 
INDIAN WARFARE AGAINST THE FRENCH. 107 
 
 already noticed under the name of King William's 
 War, the Five Nations, somewhat offended by the re 
 cent impolitic neutrality of the English, took no part on 
 sither side. In 1691, however, when Colonel Sloughter 
 was governor of New York, they were induced to a 
 change of policy. 
 
 The most respectable act of Sloughter's short ad 
 ministration was a conference which he held with the 
 chiefs of the Five Nations, who admitted that they had 
 so far relaxed their hostile purposes against the French, 
 as to entertain propositions for a lasting peace with 
 them ; but now willingly consented to brighten, as they 
 termed it, their ancient belt of friendship, and to renew 
 a league, offensive and defensive, with the English. 
 " We remember," they declared, " the deceit and trea 
 chery of the French : the belt they have sent us is poi 
 son ; we spew it out of our mouths ; and are resolved 
 to make war with them as long as we live." On his 
 return from this conference, a sudden death put a pe 
 riod to Sloughter's administration. 
 
 To animate the Indians in the purposes they had now 
 professed, and to sharpen, by exercise, their hostility 
 against the French, Major Schuyler, who had acquired 
 extraordinary influence with the Five Nations by his 
 courage, good sense, and friendly attention to their in 
 terests, undertook, in the close of this year, an expedi 
 tion against Montreal, at the head of a considerable 
 body of colonial and Indian forces. Though the in 
 vaders were finally compelled to retreat, the French 
 sustained great loss in several encounters, and the spirit 
 and animosity of the Five Nations were whetted to 
 such a pitch, that even when their allies retired, they 
 continued during the winter to wage incessant, and 
 harassing hostilities with the French. Count Fron- 
 tignac, whose sprightly manners and energetic char 
 acter supported the spirits of his countrymen amidst 
 every reverse, was at length so provoked with what he 
 deemed the ingratitude of the Five Nations for his 
 kindness to them at Schenectady, that, besides encou 
 ."aging his own Indian allies to burn their prisoners 
 
168 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 alive, he at length condemned to a death still more 
 dreadful, two Mohawk warriors who had fallen into his 
 hands. In vain the French priests remonstrated against 
 this sentence, and urged him not to bring so foul a stain 
 on the Christian name : the count declared that every 
 consideration must yield to the safety and defence of 
 his people, and that the Indians must not be encouraged 
 to believe that they might practise the extreme of 
 cruelty on the French without the hazard of having it 
 retorted on themselves. If he had been merely actu 
 ated by politic considerations, without being stimulated 
 by revenge, he might have plainly perceived, from the 
 conduct of all the Indian tribes in their wars with each 
 other, that the fear of retort had no efficacy whatever 
 to restrain them from their barbarous practices, which 
 he now undertook to sanction as far as his example 
 was capable of doing. The priests, finding that their 
 humane intercession was ineffectual, repaired to the 
 prisoners, and laboured to persuade them to embrace 
 the Christian name, as a preparation for the dreadful 
 fate which they were about to receive from Christian 
 hands ; but their instructions were rejected with scorn 
 and derision, and they found the prisoners determined 
 to dignify, by Indian sentiments and demeanour, the 
 Indian death which they had been condemned to un 
 dergo. Shortly before the execution, some Frenchman, 
 less inhuman than his governor, threw a knife into the 
 prison, and one of the Mohawks immediately dispatched 
 himself with it : the other, expressing contempt at his 
 companion's mean evasion from glory, walked to the 
 stake, singing in his death-chant, that he was a Mo 
 hawk warrior, that all the power of man could not ex 
 tort the least expression of suffering from his lips, 
 and that it was ample consolation to him to reflect that 
 he had made many Frenchmen suffer the same pangs 
 that he must now himself undergo. When attached to 
 the stake, he looked round on his executioners, their in 
 struments of torture, and the assembled multitude of 
 spectators, with all the complacency of heroic fortitude 
 and, after enduring for some hours, with composed mien 
 
THE FIVE NATIONS AIDED BY THE ENGLISH. 169 
 
 and triumphant language, a series of barbarities too 
 atrocious and disgusting to be recited, his sufferings 
 were terminated by the interposition of a French lady, 
 who prevailed with the governor to order that mortai 
 blow, to which human cruelty has given the name of 
 coup de grace, or stroke of favour. 
 
 During Colonel Fletcher's administration (1693), he 
 paid but little personal attention to Indian affairs. 
 
 It was fortunate for New York that the incapacity 
 of her governor was prevented from being so detri 
 mental as it might otherwise have proved to her Indian 
 interests, by the confidence he reposed in Major Schuy- 
 ler, whose weighty influence was employed to preserve 
 the affections and sustain the spirit of the Five Nations. 
 Yet so imperfectly were they assisted by the colony, 
 that Frontignac, even while occupied with other hos 
 tilities in New England, was able by his vigour and 
 activity to give them a severe defeat. Roused by this 
 intelligence, Fletcher assembled the militia of New 
 York, and abruptly demanding who was willing to 
 march to the aid of their allies against the French, the 
 men threw up their hats in the air and answered unani 
 mously, " One and all." The march was effected with 
 a rapidity that highly gratified the Indians ; and though 
 it produced no substantial advantage to them, it was so 
 favourably regarded as a demonstration of promptitude 
 to aid them, that they were prevented from embracing 
 Frontignac's offers of peace. They could not help ob 
 serving, however, that it was too frequent with the 
 English to defer their succours till they had become 
 unavailing ; and that while the whole power of 
 France in America was concentrated in simultaneous 
 efforts to maintain the French dominion, the English 
 colonies acted with partial and divided operation, and 
 Maryland and Delaware in particular (though the quar 
 rel was said to be a national one) took no share in the 
 hostilities at all. 
 
 The remainder of Fletcher's administration was not 
 distinguished by any occurrence that deserves to be 
 particularly commemorated. (1695.) The war between 
 
170 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 the French and the Five Nations sometimes languished 
 by the address of Frontignac's negotiations, and was 
 oftener kindled into additional rage and destruction by 
 his enterprise and activity. Neither age nor decrepi 
 tude could chill the ardour of this man's spirit, or im 
 pair the resources of his capacity. On the threshold 
 of his own fate, and supported in a litter, he flew to 
 every point of attack or defence, to animate the havoc 
 of war, and contemplate the execution of his plans. 
 His own bodily situation had as little effect in mitigating 
 his rigour, as in diminishing his activity : and as their 
 hostilities were prolonged, the French and the Indians 
 seemed to be inspired with a mutual emulation of cru 
 elty in victory, no less than of prowess in battle. The 
 prisoners on both sides were made to expire in tor 
 tures ; and the French, less prepared by education and 
 physical habits for such extremities of suffering, en 
 dured a great deal more evil than they were able to 
 inflict. (1696.) On one occasion, when Frontignac 
 succeeded in capturing a Mohawk fort, it was found 
 deserted of all its inhabitants except a sachem in ex 
 treme old age, who sat with the composure of an 
 ancient Roman in his capitol, and saluted his civilized 
 compeer in age and infirmity, with dignified courtesy 
 and venerable address. Every hand was instantly raised 
 to wound and deface his time-stricken frame; and 
 while French and Indian knives were plunged into his 
 body, he recommended to his Indian enemies rather to 
 burn him with fire, that he might teach their French 
 allies how to suffer like men. " Never, perhaps," says 
 Charlevoix, " was a man treated with more cruelty ; 
 nor ever did any endure it with superior magnanimity 
 and resolution." The governor of New York, mean 
 while, encouraged the Five Nations, from time to time, 
 to persevere in the contest, by endeavouring to nego 
 tiate alliances between them and other tribes, and by 
 sending them valuable presents of ammunition and of 
 the European commodities which they principally es 
 teemed : and their intercourse with him fluctuated be 
 tween grateful acknowledgments of these occasional 
 
PEACE OF RYSWICK. 171 
 
 supplies, and angry complaints that he fought all his 
 battles by the instrumentality of the Indians. Indeed, 
 except repelling some insignificant attacks of the French 
 on the frontiers of the province, the English governor 
 took no actual share in the war, and left the most im 
 portant interests of his countrymen to be upheld against 
 the efforts of a skilful and inveterate foe, by the un 
 aided valour of their Indian allies. 
 
 (September, 1697.) The peace of Ryswick, which 
 interrupted the hostilities of the French and English, 
 threatened at first to be attended with fatal conse 
 quences to the allies, to whose exertions the English 
 had been so highly indebted ; and if Fletcher had been 
 permitted to continue longer in the government of New 
 York, this result, no less dangerous than dishonourable 
 to his countrymen, would most probably have ensued. 
 A considerable part of the forces of Count Frontignac 
 had been employed hitherto in warlike operations 
 against Massachusetts and New Hampshire, in conjunc 
 tion with the numerous Indian allies whom he possessed 
 in that quarter. (1698. Peace of Ryswick.) But the 
 peace of Ryswick, of which he now received intelli 
 gence, enabled him to concentrate his whole disposable 
 force against the only foe that remained to him : and 
 refusing to consider the Five Nations as identified with 
 the English, he prepared to invade them with such an 
 army as they never before had to cope with, and over 
 whelm them with a vengeance which they seemed in 
 capable of resisting. (April.) But Fletcher had now 
 been very seasonably succeeded by the Earl of Bella- 
 mont, who was appointed governor both of New York 
 and Massachusetts ; and this nobleman being endowed 
 with a considerable share both of resolution and capa 
 city, clearly perceived the danger and injustice of suf 
 fering the French project to be carried into effect, and 
 promptly interposed to counteract it. He not only 
 furnished the Five Nations w r ith an ample supply of 
 ammunition and military stores, but notified to Count 
 Frontignac, that if the French should presume to attack 
 them, he would march with the whole forces of his 
 
172 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 province to their aid. The count thereupon abandoned 
 his enterprise, and complained to his sovereign (Louis 
 the Fourteenth) of the interruption it had received ; 
 while Lord Bellamont, in like manner, apprised King 
 William of the step he had taken. The two kings 
 commanded their respective governors to lend assist 
 ance to each other and evince a spirit of accommoda 
 tion in making the peace effectual to both nations, and 
 to leave all disputes concerning the dependency of the 
 Indian tribes to the determination of the commissioners 
 who were to be named in pursuance of the treaty of 
 Ryswick. Shortly after the reception of these man 
 dates, a peace was concluded between the French and 
 the Five Nations: but not till English insolence and 
 French cunning had nearly detached these tribes en 
 tirely from the alliance they had so steadily maintained, 
 by leading them to believe that the English interposed 
 in their concerns for no other reason than that they ac 
 counted them their slaves. The French endeavoured 
 to take advantage of their ill humour by prevailing 
 with them to receive an establishment of Jesuits into 
 their settlements. But although the Indians at first en 
 tertained the offer, and listened with their usual gra 
 vity and politeness to the speech of a Jesuit who 
 had been sent to enforce it, their habitual sentiments 
 soon prevailed over a transient discontent, and they 
 declared their determination to adhere to the English, 
 and to receive, instead of the French priests, a ministry 
 of Protestant pastors which Lord Bellamont had pro 
 posed to establish among them. 
 
 The war waged by the Corees and Tuscaroras 
 against the Carolinians, noticed in another chapter of 
 this history, was the occasion of adding another tribe 
 to the confederacy of the Five Nations. After the ter 
 rible defeat suffered by the Indians on that occasion, 
 the Tuscaroras abandoned their ancient residence in 
 Carolina, and, travelling to the north, united themselves 
 to the Five Nations, whose allies they had been in some 
 of the southern expeditions of the confederated tribes. 
 From a similarity in their language, they were believed 
 
THE TUSCARORAS. 173 
 
 to have had a common origin, and perhaps for this rea 
 son they were the more readily received by the haughty 
 magnates of the confederacy. They were readily ac 
 commodated with a section of territory to dwell in ; 
 and after this, the allied powers were styled the Six 
 Nations. The Tuscaroras, however, were not Mo 
 hawks; they were less remarkable for strength and 
 courage than the northern tribes, and consequently 
 were always regarded as inferiors. 
 
 From the commencement of the eighteenth century 
 to 1750, the Jesuit missionaries and trading agents of 
 the French succeeded in exerting considerable influ 
 ence over the Six Nations. By accommodating them 
 selves to the martial tastes of the savages, and dazzling 
 them with the splendid and imposing ceremonies of the 
 Catholic church, they so far ingratiated themselves 
 with the Indians as to obtain their permission to build 
 forts in their territory ; and when the last French and 
 Indian war broke out (1754), they even induced four 
 of the tribes to go over to the French and take an 
 active part against the British colonists. Before, how 
 ever, this war had terminated in the total defeat of the 
 French, the Indians had returned and renewed their 
 alliance with the English. 
 
 17 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 QUEEN ANNE'S WAR, 
 
 ECURITY seemed at the 
 close of King William's 
 War to be assured to the 
 people long unaccustomed 
 to it. But peace, now ap 
 parently restored to the 
 colonies by the treaty of 
 Ryswick, conferred her 
 blessings but for a short 
 season. The recognition 
 of the Pretender's claims 
 to the British crown by the French court, forthwith 
 led to a declaration of war by Queen Anne, in May, 
 1702. Villebon, the governor of Canada, began to 
 make encroachments on the English territory; their 
 fishery was interrupted by French ships of war ; and 
 a French mission was established at Norridgwog, on 
 the upper part of the Kennebeck. The influence oi 
 the French was by this means extended over the In 
 dians ; and the governor of Canada instigated them to 
 prevent the English from settling east of the Kennebeck 
 Dudley, who was now governor of Massachusetts, 
 had received orders to rebuild the fort at Pemaquid; but 
 could not prevail on the assembly to bear the expense 
 of it. He, however, determined to visit Maine ; and 
 taking several gentlemen with him, held a conference 
 at Casco, with delegates from nearly all the surround 
 ing tribes, June 20th, 1703. They there concluded a 
 treaty of peace with the customary formalities ; and 
 the Indians assured them that their union should be as 
 
 (174) 
 
BORDER WAR IN MAINE. 175 
 
 firm as a mountain, and should continue as long as the 
 sun and moon. Notwithstanding these protestations, 
 they made an attack a few weeks after upon all the 
 settlements from Casco to Wells, and killed and took 
 one hundred and thirty persons, burning and destroy 
 ing all before them. 
 
 A week after, August 17th, 1703, a party of Indians 
 killed five people at Hampton village ; they also plun 
 dered two houses ; but the country being now alarmed, 
 they fled without doing any further injury. In the fall 
 of the same year, Colonel March, of Casco, killed six 
 of the enemy, and took six more prisoners ; this en 
 couraged the government to offer a bounty of forty 
 pounds for scalps. 
 
 During winter, hostilities were suspended, but they 
 commenced with the return of spring. In May, Colo 
 nel Church, having planned an expedition to the eastern 
 shore, sailed from Boston with several small boats, for 
 the purpose of ascending rivers. In this expedition he 
 destroyed the towns of Minas and Chignecto ; and did 
 considerable damage to the French and Indians at Pen- 
 obscot and Passamaquoddy. 
 
 In the winter, Colonel Hilton, with two hundred and 
 seventy men, proceeded to Norridgwog; but, on ar 
 riving there, they found no enemy to contend with ; 
 and therefore burnt the deserted wigwams and the 
 chapel. 
 
 The governor of Canada encouraged the Indians 
 who inhabited the borders of New England to remove 
 to Canada, which they did, and have ever since re 
 mained there. By this policy they became more firmly 
 attached to the French interests. Dudley, who kept a 
 vigilant eye upon them, apprehended a rupture in the 
 winter, and, therefore, made preparations to receive 
 them. But they did not appear till April, 1706 ; when 
 a small party attacked a house on Oyster river, where 
 they killed eight and wounded two. 
 
 In July, Colonel Schuyler, from Albany, informed 
 Dudley that two hundred and seventy of the enemy 
 were on their march toward Piscataqua. He imme 
 
176 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 V 
 
 diately informed the people of it, ordered them to close 
 garrison, and one half of the militia to be ready at a 
 moment's warning. The first appearance of the enemy 
 was at Dunstable. Major Hilton, with sixty-four men, 
 marched forward to meet them, but was obliged to re 
 turn without accomplishing his object. The enemy 
 had determined to destroy Hilton on account of his 
 bravery and activity ; for this purpose a small party 
 continually hovered around his house ; and seeing seve 
 ral men advance out of the house with scythes on theii 
 shoulders for the purpose of mowing, they attacked 
 them, killed four, wounded one, and took three prison 
 ers. The major, however, escaped. 
 
 In the winter of 1707, Hilton ma.de another excur 
 sion eastward. In this expedition they killed twenty- 
 one men, and took two prisoners. This was considered 
 a great triumph, since it was so difficult to come to the 
 haunts of the Indians. 
 
 It was now the intention of Governor Dudley to 
 make an attack on Port Royal. Early in the spring he 
 applied to the colonies of Rhode Island and Connecticut 
 for one thousand men for his expedition. The number 
 was soon raised, and divided into two regiments, one 
 of which was commanded by Colonel Wainwright, and 
 the, other by Colonel Hilton. The chief commander 
 was Colonel March. They embarked, and in a few 
 days arrived before Port Royal. They burned several 
 houses, killed some cattle, and made an attempt to bom 
 bard the fort ; but a disagreement arising between the 
 officers, the army broke up, and re-embarked in a dis 
 orderly manner. Some of the officers went to Boston 
 for orders, and some of the vessels put in at Casco. A 
 sloop containing Captain Chesley's company arrived at 
 Portsmouth ; he allowed his men to go on shore, order 
 ing them to return at the beat of the drum. Being 
 called to account for this conduct, he alleged that orders 
 had been given at Port Royal for every man to make 
 the best of his way home. The governor was in a 
 great rage on hearing this, and ordered that if any more 
 vessels should come on the coast the men should not be 
 
HAVERUILL SURPRISED. Page 177 
 
ATTACK ON HAVERHILL. 177 
 
 permitted to land under pain of death. In a short time 
 he ordered Chesley's company to be re-embarked, offer 
 ing a pardon to those who returned, and threatening 
 those who would not return with a severe punishment. 
 By the latter end of July they got on board, and with 
 the rest of the army proceeded to the place of action. 
 On landing, they were greatly annoyed by an ambus 
 cade of Indians. Major Walton, with the New Hamp 
 shire companies, attacked and soon put them to flight. 
 The command of the army was now given to Wain- 
 wright. By the last of August the whole affair was 
 terminated ; and the army returned sickly, disheartened, 
 and ashamed, having lost sixteen killed and as many 
 wounded. 
 
 In September, a party of French Mohawks, painted 
 red, attacked a company of English who were in the 
 woods hewing timber, near Oyster river. At the first 
 fire they killed seven and mortally wounded another. 
 Chesley, the commander of the English, with a few 
 others, kept the enemy in check for some time ; but 
 being overpowered by numbers, he at length fell. He 
 was much lamented by his companions, being at that 
 time one of their bravest officers. 
 
 In 1708 a large army was prepared in Canada to 
 make an attack on the frontiers of New England. 
 Dudley, receiving information of this, immediately 
 made great preparations for defence. Spy boats were 
 kept out at sea between Piscataqua and Winter har 
 bours. Four hundred Massachusetts soldiers were also 
 posted in this province. At length the storm fell on 
 Haverhill ; but the enemy's force being diminished by 
 various accidents, they proceeded no further; and every 
 part, of New Hampshire was in a short time again 
 quiet. 
 
 The principal object of the colonies was now to 
 wipe away the disgrace they had brought on themselves 
 the last year by their fruitless attempt on Port Royal, 
 by an attempt to conquer Canada itself. For this pur 
 pose solicitations had been made in England. These 
 were successful ; an expedition was determined on, and 
 
 M 
 
178 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 orders were sent to the governors of the several pro 
 vinces to raise men for the service. After mucn trouble 
 the troops were raised and all ready to proceed, when 
 news arrived that the fleet promised by the queen was 
 destined to another quarter. But in July, 1710, the 
 British ministry sent out five frigates for the purpose of 
 reducing Port Royal. Troops were raised in the colo 
 nies to assist in the expedition, and the whole arma 
 ment sallied from Boston on the 18th of September, 
 1710. On the 24th they arrived before the place, and 
 after a few shots were fired it was surrendered. Its 
 name was changed, in honour of the queen, from Port 
 Royal to Annapolis. 
 
 After the reduction of Port Royal, Nicholson, the 
 commander of the expedition, went to England to so 
 licit an expedition against Canada. He was successful; 
 and on the 8th of June, 1711, Nicholson came to Bos 
 ton with orders for the northern colonies to get ready 
 their quotas of men and provisions by the arrival of the 
 fleet and army from Europe, which happened within 
 sixteen days. This army consisted of seven veteran 
 regiments of the Duke of Marlborough's army, and a 
 battalion of marines under the command of Brigadier 
 General Hill, which, joined with the New England 
 troops, made a body of about six thousand five hundred 
 men, provided with a fine train of artillery. The fleet 
 consisted of fifteen ships of war, of from eighty to thirty- 
 six guns, with forty transports, and six store-ships, under 
 the command of Admiral Walker. . 
 
 The fleet sailed from Boston on the 30th of July ; 
 but the sanguine hopes of success entertained by the 
 colonies were blasted in one night ; for the fleet having 
 arrived near the river St. Lawrence in the night of the 
 23d of August, eight of the vessels were wrecked on 
 Egg Island, and one thousand men perished. After 
 holding a consultation, the expedition was broken up, 
 the fleet returned to England, and the New England 
 troops to their homes. 
 
 1712. The Indians now began to commit more ra 
 vages than ever ; but happily news of the treaty of 
 
LOSSES BY THE WAR. 179 
 
 Utrecht arrived at this time, and the Indians, restrained 
 by the French, committed no further ravages. They 
 shortly after made a treaty of peace with governor 
 Dudley, at Portsmouth, N. H. 
 
 This war had burdened New England and New York 
 with debt. None of the provinces, however, suffered 
 from it so severely as Massachusetts and New Hamp 
 shire. Twenty-five years was the term usually required 
 for doubling the population of the North American colo 
 nies by the mere progress of native increase. But 
 during the latter part of the seventeenth and the earlier 
 part of the eighteenth century, the principle of increase 
 was less efficient in Massachusetts and New Hampshire 
 than in any of the other colonies ; and in the year 1713, 
 Massachusetts did not contain double the number of 
 inhabitants that it contained fifty years before. The 
 heavy taxes that prevailed during that period, doubtless 
 induced some of the inhabitants to emigrate to other 
 provinces ; but the actual carnage of the war appears 
 chiefly to have contributed to repress the increase of 
 population. From the year 1675, when Philip's war 
 began, till the close of Queen Anne's war in 1713, 
 about six thousand of the youth of the country had 
 perished by the stroke of the enemy or by diseases 
 contracted in military service. From the frequency 
 and fertility of marriage in New England, nine tenths 
 of these men, if they had been spared to their country, 
 would have become fathers of families, and in the 
 course of forty years have multiplied to an hundred 
 thousand souls. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 LOVEWELL'S WAR. 
 
 INDURING causes of hos- 
 
 tility between the New 
 England colonies and 
 their savage enemies still 
 remained. The situation 
 of the eastern Indians 
 prevented them from re 
 maining quiet any length 
 of time. The French on 
 the one side treated them 
 as an independent nation ; 
 the English on the other called them subjects of their 
 king, on account of the patents giving the lands to his 
 people. The English had purchased the land of the 
 Indians, sometimes giving not one-fourth of their worth ; 
 at others, paying amply for them. But notwithstanding 
 their just claims to them, the Indians, instigated by the 
 French, found various pretences for evading them. The 
 New England colonies being desirous to avoid a war, 
 held several conferences with them in 1717, but with 
 no satisfactory result. Governor Shute met a large 
 number of chiefs at Orrorosic, and offered them an 
 Indian bible and a missionary. This was rejected; 
 nothing would satisfy them but a settlement of the 
 boundaries, which the governor refused ; and this re 
 fusal may be considered as the principal cause of the 
 war in which the two parties were shortly after in 
 volved. At the head of the Jesuits who were among 
 these tribes, was one Sebastian Ralle, a Frenchman. 
 He made use of every opportunity to excite the sa- 
 
 (180) 
 
RENEWAL OF THE WAR. 18l 
 
 chems against the English, and at length succeeded, as 
 we shall see. The government of Massachusetts saw 
 his influence, and dispatched Colonel Westbrooke to 
 Norridgwog to take him ; but he escaped, leaving his 
 papers, which were taken to the governor. 
 
 (1722.) The Indians, upon this new aggression, com 
 menced hostilities. They first made an attack upon 
 Fort George, but were foiled by the spirited defence. 
 Furious at this disappointment, they attacked and took 
 the town of Brunswick, which was soon after de 
 stroyed. 
 
 Massachusetts now found it necessary to make a de 
 claration of war. This was published simultaneously 
 at Boston and Portsmouth. The vigilance of the border 
 garrisons was only exceeded by that of Lieutenant- 
 governor Wentworth, who spent the most of his time 
 in visiting the garrisons and cheering the soldiers. The 
 assembly offered a reward of 100 for every Indian 
 scalp which should be presented to any magistrate. 
 The first place that was visited by the savages in New 
 Hampshire was Dover, where they killed one Joseph 
 Ham, with three of his children; the remainder es 
 caping to the fort. 
 
 In the spring of 1724, Kingston was surprised by 
 the Indians. They took four persons, one of. whom, a 
 Peter Colcord, escaped and returned to Kingston, where 
 he was rewarded by the assembly, for his ingenuity and 
 the information which he communicated to them con 
 cerning the Indians. 
 
 At Oyster Bay, Moses Davis, with his son, going to 
 their work in the fields not far distant from the village, 
 discovered several bundles belonging to the Indians, 
 lying on the banks of a brook. Supposing that the 
 owners must be near, they started for the village, where 
 Abraham Renwick, with a company of volunteers, was 
 stationed. Davis reported to him what he had seen, 
 and offered to guide him to the spot. They accordingly 
 started, with Davis and his son in the advance. When 
 within a short distance of the place, a fire from the 
 Indians, who lay in ambush, killed Davis and his son 
 
182 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The English returned the fire, killing one and wound 
 ing two; the remainder of the party fled. The ona 
 slain was apparently a chief, for he was dressed in the 
 richest manner, wearing a coronet of fur, to which 
 was attached some small bells to show his followers 
 his path when leading them through a thicket. The 
 scalp was presented to government, who gave the re 
 ward to Captain Matthews, for the company. 
 
 Among the Quakers who dwelt at Dover, was John 
 Hanson, who, like his brethren, refused to make any 
 efforts for the defence of his family in case of an attack* 
 A party of Mohawks seeing this negligence, concealed 
 themselves in the woods about his house waiting for a 
 good opportunity to assault it. One soon offered itself; 
 Hanson, having gone to meeting with his oldest daugh 
 ter, left two sons at work at a good distance from his 
 house. The Indians immediately entered the house, 
 killed two small babes, and took his wife, and a child 
 fourteen days old, the nurse, and a son and two daugh 
 ters. These were carried to Canada and sold, but 
 were all redeemed by their father* except one daughter, 
 who married a Frenchman. 
 
 During these incursions, the colonists were not idle. 
 Two officers, Captains Harman and Moulton, were ap 
 pointed by the governments of Massachusetts and New 
 Hampshire to conduct an expedition against Norridg- 
 wog. This was executed with so much secresy and 
 success, that Ralle, the Jesuit, with eighty Indians were 
 slain ; and the plate and furniture of the chapel, together 
 with the sacred banner, on which was painted a cross 
 surrounded with bows and arrows, were all carried 
 home as trophies. The effect of this expedition on the 
 Indians was to intimidate them ; so much so, that when 
 volunteer companies visited their villages for scalps 
 they found them all deserted. 
 
 Captain John Lovewell, of Dunstable, raised a volun 
 teer company and met with great success. At one time 
 he fell in with an Indian trail and pursued it till he dis 
 covered them asleep on the bank of a pond. They 
 were all killed, and their scalps, stretched upon hoops, 
 
INDIANS TAKING PRISONERS. 
 
 Page 183 
 
LOVEWELL'S DEATH. 183 
 
 served to decorate their triumphal return. They, of 
 course, received the bounty, which amounted to ten 
 pounds. 
 
 (1725.) Lovewell, having augmented his company 
 to 46 men, again set out with the intention of attacking 
 an Indian town on the Saco. They built a fort on the 
 Great Ossapy pond, and then proceeded, leaving one of 
 their number sick, and eight men to guard the fort. 
 
 When about 22 miles from the fort they rested on the 
 banks of a pond, where they discovered a single Indian 
 at a distance, on a point of land, and rightly judging 
 that he was attached to a large party of Indians, Love- 
 well determined to advance and attack them. Accord 
 ingly the whole company threw off their packs in one 
 place among the brakes ; and, to gain the advantage, 
 the men were spread so as partially to surround the wa 
 ter. Lovewell had, however, mistaken the position of 
 the Indians, who were already on his track, and coming 
 to the place where the packs were deposited, by count 
 ing them discovered the number of English to be less 
 than their own. They, therefore, marched to assault 
 the English in the rear, and actually hemmed them in 
 between the mouth of a brook, a rocky point, a deep 
 bog, and the pond. The company, completely sur 
 rounded, fought desperately till nightfall, when the In 
 dians, tired of the conflict, moved off. The number of 
 killed and wounded amounted to 23, Lovewell being 
 among the former. The remainder of the party re 
 turned to the fort which had been deserted, in conse 
 quence of the arrival of one of Lovewell's men who 
 fled at the beginning of the fight, and reported all the 
 rest killed. After resting, they started for home, \vhere 
 they arrived, to the great joy of their friends, after en 
 during the severest hardships. The survivors were lib 
 erally compensated, and the widows and families of the 
 slain were provided for by the government of the pro 
 vince. 
 
 In the same year, with the battle just mentioned, 
 three commissioners were dispatched from Massachu 
 setts and New Hampshire to present a remonstrance to 
 18 
 
184 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the governor of Canada. The governor, at first, denied 
 all connexion with the Indians ; but when the letters to 
 Ralle were produced, he promised to endeavour to pa 
 cify them. The commissioners had an interview with 
 the hostile chiefs, but came to no accommodation with 
 them, for their powers did not extend so far. The depu 
 tation returned and made their report, which deter 
 mined the states to carry on the war with more spirit. 
 Every provision that could be was made for defence. 
 In the meanwhile, the Indians repeated their attacks on 
 Dover, where they took three or four prisoners. John 
 Evans was wounded, and the blood flowing very plen 
 tifully, the Indians scalped him, and left him as dead. 
 But he was in perfect possession of his faculties all the 
 time the cruel operation of scalping was performed, and 
 lived afterwards fifty years. This was the last action in 
 the war, a treaty having been ratified at Boston. 
 
 The chief calamities and expenses of this war fell 
 upon New Hampshire. The hatred existing between 
 the Indians and English was continually fanned by the 
 former, who would often boast to the latter how many 
 they had slain or tortured, naming among the victims, 
 very often, members of the family to which they were 
 telling their adventures. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 LAST FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 
 
 (1754 to 1759.) 
 
 ,N forming their first set 
 tlements in Louisiana, the 
 French endeavoured to 
 connect their possessions 
 in that region with those 
 of Canada, by a chain of 
 intermediate posts. Fort 
 Niagara had been erected 
 between Lakes Erie and 
 Ontario, and Crown Point, 
 on the south-west of Lake 
 Champlain. This state of things was preserved by the 
 treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748; and the French, 
 wishing to make the communication between the lakes 
 and the Mississippi more certain, erected new forts 
 along the banks of the Ohio, that they might prevent 
 any other European colony from forming an establish 
 ment there. The planters of Virginia now began to 
 cast their eyes upon this country; the cultivation of 
 tobacco quickly exhausted the land, and they proceeded 
 gradually, farther and farther into the country, that 
 they might have a richer soil to cultivate. The in 
 crease of their productions encouraged them to pursue 
 their labours ; and when a large number of them had 
 arrived at the foot of the Alleghanies, they endeavoured 
 to cross them, and settle on their western side. In 
 London there was formed, in 1749, an association 
 
 (185) 
 
186 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 which was established under the name of the Ohio 
 Company : the British government granted it six hun 
 dred thousand acres of land, and a superintendent was 
 sent, in 1751, to choose the site of this grant, and to 
 establish commercial relations with the Indians. But 
 when the governor of Canada heard of this, he gave 
 notice to the English colonies to recall the merchants 
 and planters who had settled on this territory, and de 
 clared that he would seize on the persons of those who 
 refused to retire. 
 
 The English did not yield to this command, and the 
 governor of Virginia sent, in 1753, a message to the 
 commander of the forts on the Ohio, requesting him to 
 withdraw ; but the commander replied that he received 
 no orders but from his most Christian Majesty or the 
 governor of Canada ; that the country belonged to the 
 French, and that no Englishman should be allowed to 
 settle upon it. It was necessary to sustain so positive 
 a declaration with energy, and Fort du Quesne was 
 immediately constructed at the confluence of the Alle- 
 ghany and Monongahela, where the waters of these 
 two rivers unite and form the Ohio. The discontent 
 increased on both sides ; complaints multiplied, and 
 finally hostilities broke out, which changed the political 
 situation of this part of the New World. 
 
 The English, in this struggle, had a decided supe 
 riority in numbers ; in the colonies there were twenty 
 times as many inhabitants as in Canada and Louisiana. 
 To balance this, the French had recourse to the Indian 
 nations ; their influence over the minds of the savages 
 was skilfully increased by means of their missionaries ; 
 they had acquired over some tribes in Louisiana the 
 same ascendency as in Canada, and they formed of 
 them useful auxiliaries. But the minds of the Indians 
 were so wavering that they could /*ot be counted on 
 for continued and vigorous assistance. 
 
 When hostilities first commenced, the colonies peti 
 tioned England for aid. Little intercourse at that time 
 prevailed between them : they were all independent of 
 one another ; and as the mother country had not re- 
 
CAMP OF FRENCH AND INDIANS. Page 186. 
 
r DU 
 
 EXPEDITION AGAINST FORT DU QUESNE. 187 
 
 served the same rights over all of them, she could not 
 enjoy an equal influence in their deliberations, nor com 
 pel them to divide among themselves, in a manner pro 
 portioned to their resources, all the charges of the 
 common defence. The colonies which were nearest 
 the disputed territory were first engaged in the quarrel 
 which soon became genera). 
 
 An expedition was prepared against Port du Quesne, 
 and the English first established a small fort some 
 leagues from that place; but ip the month of April, 
 1754, the French commander marched to the post, at 
 the head of a detachment, and ordered them to depart. 
 As they were very inferior in numbers, they obeyed 
 his orders, and abandoned their works, which were 
 immediately destroyed. 
 
 This retreat was but momentary, and the English 
 fejl back upon new troops whom they had expected. 
 A regiment raised in Virginia, and placed under the 
 command of Colonel Frye, was proceeding at the same 
 time, towards the banks of the JVfonongahela : George 
 Washington, then twenty-two years of age, was lieu 
 tenant-colonel of the regiment, to which several bodies 
 of Indians were attached. He did not wait the com 
 plete formation of this corps to proceed to the theatre 
 of military operations ; he conducted the recruits first 
 raised to the Great Meadows, where he commenced 
 the construction of Fort Necessity; and, with two 
 companies of soldiers and a body of Indians, he ap 
 proached Fort du Quesne, that he might discover the 
 best way in which the troops could reach it. Arrived 
 within some leagues of the fort, he met a French de 
 tachment of twenty or thirty men, who received at 
 first from the English two discharges of musketry. 
 Inmonville, the commander of the detachment, endea 
 voured to make it understood that he had a commission 
 for the English commander; but before he could make 
 this known he was killed by a musket-ball ; his troops 
 were surrounded, and all were taken prisoners except 
 one, who made his escape and carried the news to 
 Fort du Quesne. 
 
188 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 After this event, Washington returned to Fort 
 Necessity, taking with him his prisoners, who were 
 afterwards sent to Virginia; and whilst they were 
 continuing to fortify this post, where the English 
 were receiving new troops, the French resolved to 
 attack them. A body of five hundred regular troops 
 with a great number of Indians, was charged with this 
 expedition, which set out June 28th, under the com 
 mand of Captain Villiers, brother of Inmonville. 
 
 On the 3d of July, they arrived before Fort Neces 
 sity and immediately began the attack. A continual 
 fire was kept up ; this lasted till evening ; the English 
 had already lost one hundred and fifty men ; and Vil 
 liers, wishing to spare a farther effusion of blood, sum 
 moned them to surrender under articles of capitulation. 
 The conditions were signed in the night ; and Wash 
 ington having become commander of the fort in con 
 sequence of the death of Colonel Frye, retired from the 
 place with the honours of war. The English engaged 
 on their part to send immediately to Fort du Quesne 
 the prisoners whom they had formerly taken. 
 
 On the 1st of February, 1755, General Braddock 
 arrived in Virginia and took command of the army. 
 He established nis head-quarters at Alexandria, where 
 he assembled his troops, and on the 18th of April con 
 voked a congress of the different colonies, to concert 
 with them the system of operation for the ensuing cam 
 paign. It was then determined to form three expeditions, 
 one near the boundaries of Acadia, another near Lake 
 Champlain, and a third near Lake Ontario, whilst Brad- 
 dock himself should march to the Ohio and take Fort du 
 Quesne. He had under his command three thousand 
 troops, consisting of regulars and militia, besides a small 
 body of Indians, and marched forward till he arrived at 
 the Great Meadows, where he made a fortified camp, 
 and left Colonel Dunbar there with eight hundred men. 
 He himself proceeded with the main body-till he arrived 
 within seven miles of the fort. Braddock was a very able 
 general, but he had never before served in America, and 
 was wholly unacquainted with the Indian mode of fighting. 
 
(190) 
 
BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT. l()l 
 
 Captain Contracceur, commander of Fort du Quesne, 
 learned, on the 8th of July, that the English were ap 
 proaching; he had but few men under his command, 
 but he placed all the troops he could dispose of under 
 the direction of Captain Beaujeu. They left the fort 
 at eight o'clock in the morning, and met the English 
 about mid-day. They immediately began the attack, 
 whilst their Indian auxiliaries sought to surround the 
 English by spreading from right to left in the thick for 
 est. Braddock, instead of sending out an advanced 
 guard to scour the thickets, bore down with his whole 
 force against the enemy who were before him. Beau 
 jeu was killed at the third discharge, and Captain Du 
 mas took the command. The Indians, concealed in the 
 woods, shot down the English while they themselves were 
 invisible; and the ranks of Braddock's army were so thin 
 ned in a short time that they ceased to resist, and began to 
 fly ; most of the officers were either killed or wounded 
 in attempting to restore order. Braddock, himself, was 
 mortally wounded, and carried from the field of battle, 
 where he left his artillery, and a third part of his sol 
 diers. (See Engraving on opposite page.) Those who 
 survived this disaster, and could have rallied round Col 
 onel Dunbar, only joined him to carry confusion into 
 his camp, and to drag him with them in their flight; 
 They did not stop till they reached Virginia ; and the 
 establishments of the interior were thus left to the mer 
 cy of the Indians. Previous to the battle, Washington, 
 who was aid to Braddock, had warned him of the dan*, 
 ger of a surprise, and advised him to send forward 
 scouts to prevent it ; but his advice was scornfully re 
 jected. It was chiefly owing to his skill and bravery 
 that the remnant of the army was saved. 
 
 The war in America now took different forms. Col 
 onel Monckton, an English officer, had been charged to 
 extend towards the north the boundaries of Acadia, 
 which was still limited to the peninsula of that name. 
 On the isthmus which separates the continent from this 
 peninsula, the French had erected two forts, named 
 Gasparaux and Beausejour. But Great Britain wished 
 
192 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 to possess all the region situated between Acadia and 
 New England : she demanded of France the cession of 
 a territory of twenty leagues in width, along the whole 
 northern shore of the bay of Fundy ; and, not being 
 able 10 obtain it by the negotiations of commission 
 ers charged with the making of the limits, Colonel 
 Monckton suddenly attacked Fort Beausejour with three 
 thousand men. This fortress sustained the siege for 
 fourteen days, and did not capitulate till the 16th of 
 June. The reduction of this fort led to that of Fort 
 Gasparaux, which had a garrison of but forty men ; 
 and the English spreading themselves to the north of 
 the bay, proceeded to attack Fort St. John, near the 
 river of this name. The commander having but a few 
 men, burnt the fort, and retired into the interior of the 
 country where the Abenaquis (or eastern Indians) had 
 taken arms, and from whence they made frequent incur 
 sions into Acadia. 
 
 While these events were passing in Acadia, a body 
 of English troops, and three hundred Indians from the 
 Six Nations, under the command of General William 
 Johnson, advanced towards Crown Point, but first de 
 termined to attack Fort Ticonderoga, then recently 
 erected by the French ; but the governor of Canada had 
 already provided for its defence, and the French wish 
 ing to be beforehand with Johnson, first defeated a de 
 tachment of one thousand men, and on the 8th of Sep 
 tember, 1755 attacked his camp ; but in this affair Dies- 
 kau, their commander, was mortally wounded and taken 
 prisoner; they were defeated with the loss of seven 
 hundred men, and were driven back upon Fort Ticon 
 deroga. Johnson was also wounded, and his loss in 
 these two battles, or his want of activity, prevented him 
 from accomplishing the purposes of his expedition. 
 
 The defeat of the English near Fort du Quesne gave 
 the advantages of the war thus far to the French. The 
 Cherokees took advantage of this event to rise up against 
 the English. They were, besides, stimulated to do this 
 by emissaries from the Indians of the Ohio. But they 
 were met in conference by Governor Glen, of South 
 
Page 193. 
 
CAMPAIGN OF 1757. 193 
 
 Carolina, and renewed their treaties, making also addi 
 tional grants of land. 
 
 War had not been formally declared between France 
 and England. But France seizing on the island of Mi 
 norca, Great Britain declared war on the 17th of May, 
 1756. Lord Loudoun, the commander-in-chief of the 
 English troops in America, a most inefficient officer, 
 was at first obliged to act on the defensive ; he estab 
 lished his head-quarters at Albany, when he contented 
 himself with protecting the threatened territories. New 
 England raised a force of three thousand men ; New 
 York contributed a like number ; and these, joined to the 
 force of General Johnson, again prepared to attack Ti- 
 conderoga and Crown Point. But during the prepara 
 tions for this expedition, the Marquis de Montcalm at 
 tacked Fort Oswego, situated on the southern shore of 
 Lake Ontario. This fortress was occupied by fifteen 
 hundred men; it -surrendered on the 14th of- August, 
 1756, after having sustained the siege for some days. 
 The garrison were made prisoners ; and being merci 
 lessly abandoned to the cruelties of the Indians by the 
 French, many of them were murdered. This loss hav 
 ing disconcerted the plan of operations of the English, 
 they could not, during the remainder of the campaign, 
 accomplish any thing effectual. 
 
 Lord Loudoun commenced the campaign of 1757 at 
 the head of six thousand troops, raised in New Eng 
 land, New York, and New Jersey, with which, it was 
 expected, by the Americans, that he would again attempt 
 the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. But 
 the news of a considerable armament having been dis 
 patched from Britain to Nova Scotia, caused him to al 
 ter his iritention and unite his force with this armament 
 at Halifax and attempt the reduction of Louisburg. But 
 he discovered, when too late, that this place was garri 
 soned by six thousand troops, besides militia, and de 
 fended by seventeen line-of-battle ships. He therefore 
 dis*missed the provincial troops, and returned to New 
 York, there to learn the disaster which his conduct had 
 
 19 N 
 
194 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 occasioned in another quarter, and which crowned tho 
 disgrace of this inglorious campaign. 
 
 Montcalm, the French commander, taking advantage 
 of Lord Loudoun's absence from the proper scene of 
 action, advanced with an army of nine thousand men, 
 and laid siege to Fort William Henry, which was gar 
 risoned by nearly three thousand troops, partly English 
 and partly American, and commanded by an English 
 officer, Colonel Monroe. The security of this import 
 ant post was supposed to be further promoted by its 
 proximity to Fort Edward, fourteen miles distant from 
 it, where the English general, Webb, was stationed with 
 four thousand men. Had Webb done his duty, Fort 
 William Henry might have been saved. But he gave 
 no succour to the besieged, nor did he even endeavour 
 to aid the place by summoning the American govern 
 ments to send militia to their relief. He merely wrote 
 a letter to Monroe, advising him to surrender. Mont- 
 calm, on the other hand, pressed the assault on Fort 
 William Henry with the utmost vigour and skill. He 
 had inspired his own daring spirit into the French sol 
 diers, and had roused the fury and enthusiasm of his 
 Indian allies by promises of revenge and plunder. Af 
 ter a spirited resistance of six days, Monroe, having ex 
 hausted his ammunition, and seeing not the slightest 
 prospect of relief, was compelled to surrender the place 
 by a capitulation, the terms of which were, that the gar 
 rison should not serve against the French for eighteen 
 months ; that they should march out with the honours 
 of war ; and, retaining their private baggage, be escort 
 ed to Fort Edward by the French troops, as a security 
 gainst the lawless ferocity of the Indians. 
 
 This treaty of capitulation was violated by Montcalm 
 in a manner which fixes eternal disgrace on his memo 
 ry. No sooner had the garrison marched out, and sur 
 rendered their arms, in reliance upon the pledge of the 
 French general, than a furious and irresistible attack 
 was made-upon them by the Indians, who stripped them 
 both of their baggage* and clothes, and murdered or 
 made prisoners of all who attempted resistance. At 
 
(1%; 
 
CAPTURE OP LOUISBURG. 197 
 
 least fifteen hundred persons were thus slaughtered or 
 carried into captivity. Such was the lot of eighty men 
 belonging to a New Hampshire regiment, of which the 
 complement was but two hundred. A number of the 
 Indian allies of the English, who had formed part of the 
 garrison, fared still more miserably. They were seized 
 by their savage enemies, and perished in lingering and 
 barbarous torture. (See Engraving on the opposite page.) 
 Of the garrison of Fort William Henry, little more than 
 half were enabled to gain the shelter of Fort Edward, 
 in a straggling and wretched condition. 
 
 This disaster roused the colonies of Massachusetts 
 and Connecticut, who raised and dispatched a force to 
 arrest the further progress of the French. But Mont- 
 calm, content with this savage triumph, attempted no 
 thing further in that quarter : the only additional opera 
 tion of the French, for this season, was a predatory 
 excursion in concert with their Indian allies against the 
 flourishing settlement of German Flats, in the province 
 of New York, and along the Mohawk river, which 
 region they utterly wasted with fire and sword. 
 
 The English now determined to attempt the conquest 
 of Cape Breton. Accordingly a fleet under Admiral 
 Boscawen sailed for this island, and arrived on the 2d 
 of June, 1758, in the bay of Gabon. The troops were 
 landed ; their chief commander was General Amherst, 
 and under him were Brigadier-Generals Lawrence, 
 Wolf and Whitmore. They proceeded towards Louis- 
 burg, which place, after a severe resistance, capitulated : 
 it was stipulated that the garrison should depart with 
 the honours of war, that the island of Cape Breton 
 should be surrendered, and that the island of St. John 
 should also be given up. 
 
 General Abercrombie, who succeeded Lord Loudon 
 in the command of the army, now determined to pro 
 ceed against General Montcalm, who was encamped 
 near Ticonderoga with three thousand regular troops, 
 and twelve hundred Canadians and Indians. They 
 were attacked by the English on the 8th of July, 1758 
 
198 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 but the British were defeated with the loss of two thou 
 sand men, killed or taken prisoners. 
 
 Notwithstanding the loss which the English had sus. 
 tained, they still had the advantage of numbers, and 
 formed other enterprises. Colonel Bradstreet pro 
 ceeded towards Fort Frontignac, situated on the east 
 ern extremity of Lake Ontario, and on the 27th of 
 August, succeeded in making himself master of it. 
 This capture interrupted the communications of Lower 
 Canada with the great lakes ; and the English found in 
 the arsenal a great quantity of. arms and munitions of 
 war, destined for the French troops on the banks of the 
 Ohio. Another expedition was now directed towards 
 Fort du Quesne, which could no longer receive from 
 Canada the assistance which it previously had enjoyed. 
 But before attacking this place the English had sought 
 to detach the Delawares, Shawanese, Mingoes, and 
 several other Indian tribes adjacent to the river, from 
 their alliance with the French. In the preceding year, 
 a treaty of peace had been concluded at Easton, be 
 tween the Pennsylvanians and the Delawares; and 
 this treaty led to a good understanding with the other 
 tribes. 
 
 A Moravian brother, named Frederick Post, of Ger 
 man origin, was charged with this important mission. 
 He had lived seventeen years in the midst of the Mo 
 hican Indians, with the design of converting them to 
 Christianity. He departed from Philadelphia July 
 15th, 1758, and soon arrived on the banks of the Mon 
 ongahela. The chief of the Delaware tribe was with 
 him; he wished that all the Indians from the rising 
 to the setting of the sun, would form but one body ; 
 he desired to inspire them with the love of peace ; and 
 he sent messengers to all the neighbouring tribes, to 
 invite their chiefs to assemble with him around the 
 council fire and smoke together the pipe of peace. 
 
 A deputation of Shawanese and Mingoes soon joined 
 him ; they proceeded nearer to Fort du Quesne, from 
 which they were now no longer separated except by 
 ihe bed of the river. The French commander could 
 
GENERAL WOLFE. Page 201 
 
THE ENGLISH INVADE CANADA- 201 
 
 not prevent this interview, although he feared its results. 
 Posl now rose and explained the objects of the meeting 
 in a few words, stating that the English sought their 
 love instead of hatred, and that they desired a peace 
 with them. (See Engraving on the opposite page.) 
 
 After having heard these propositions, the chiefs pro 
 ceeded to deliberate upon them, and a few days after 
 they declared that they would accede to the conditions 
 of peace already concluded with the Delawares. Post 
 having accomplished his mission, quitted the banks of 
 the Ohio, August 27th, and returned to give an account 
 of the success of his expedition. 
 
 Post afterwards proceeded to the valley of Beaver 
 Creek, among the Shawanese, whose territory extended 
 as far as the Scioto. The French sent messengers to 
 these Indians inviting them to come to Fort du Quesne 
 in all haste, to assist them against the English ; but 
 their opinions had by this time been changed ; they re 
 fused to go; and the successive abandonment of the 
 different tribes took from the French all power of de 
 fending the place; they therefore resolved to abandon 
 it, and await assistance in some other place. Accord 
 ingly, on the 25th of November, they left the post, and 
 a few days afterwards, General Forbes arrived and 
 took possession of it. The loss of Fort du Quesne led 
 to that of all the other French posts situated on and near 
 the Ohio. 
 
 In 1759, the English fitted out a maritime expedition 
 against the French* possessions in the Antilles. They 
 landed eight thousand men on the 16th of February, on 
 the island of Martinico. But General Beauharnais, 
 governor of the island, marched against them at the 
 head of the troops and colonists, and compelled them 
 to re-embark. The fleet then sailed to Guadaloupe. 
 
 The preparations for the invasion of Canada were 
 now nearly completed. A fleet set out under the com 
 mand of Admiral Saunders, and ten thousand men 
 were placed under the orders of General Wolf. A 
 part of the army landed, June 29th, 1 759, on the west- 
 
202 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ern extremity of the island of Orleans ; two other di 
 visions afterwards landed, one near Point Levi, the 
 other near Montmorency Falls. The English army 
 was thus divided into three bodies, placed at the dis 
 tance of some miles from one another ; and it was at 
 first unknown to the French upon what point the prin 
 cipal attack would be made. 
 
 The French camp charged with protecting the capi 
 tal was established in the plains of Beaufort, separated 
 from Quebec by the river St. Charles : Montcalm was 
 commander of the army ; but he had to concert his 
 operations with the Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor of 
 Canada, one of whose officers was then in the camp. 
 
 On the 12th of July, the English batteries on the 
 heights of Lausou began a destructive fire, and the 
 shells they threw into the lower city soon destroyed a 
 great part of it. On the 31st of the same month the 
 English made an attack on the left wing of the French 
 camp, but were defeated. They now placed small 
 detachments in light vessels which ravaged the shores 
 of the river, and distracted the attention of the French, 
 who were finally obliged to send a detachment of two 
 thousand men under the command of Bougainville to 
 protect the shores. This officer established his head 
 quarters at the village of Sillery, about three leagues 
 from Quebec, and placed a line of sentinels along the 
 river, so that the English could now make no attempt 
 at landing without being discovered. 
 
 General Wolf having now by degrees assembled all 
 his forces at Point Levi, on the night of the 12th of 
 September, embarked in vessels and landed on the left 
 side of the river. He surprised the first post of the 
 enemy; and finally succeeded in reaching the heights 
 of Abraham without giving the alarm to the French. 
 
 As soon as day broke the English were perceived by 
 their astonished enemy, ranged in battle order ; and a 
 ;ouncil of the principal French officers being held, it 
 was resolved to march immediately against them. 
 Accordingly, Montcalm proceeded against the Eng 
 lish many charges were made, and the engagement 
 
THE ENGLISH CONQUER CANADA. 203 
 
 was so destructive as to occasion considerable disorder 
 in both armies. The English had the advantage of 
 numbers, and were ranged in two lines; so that if the 
 first were broken they could rally behind the second. 
 But the French were drawn out in a single line, and 
 they were soon thrown into confusion. Montcalm 
 himself was mortally wounded, and Seunezergue, the 
 second in command, was killed on the spot. The Eng 
 lish now soon put to flight the army which was desti 
 tute of a commander, and was already in utter disorder. 
 General Wolf, the brave commander of the English, 
 was also killed, so that both the generals shared the 
 same fate. 
 
 Vaudreuil now left Quebec with his troops, and 
 authorized Ramsay, the commander of the city, to capit 
 ulate on the best conditions that he could obtain. Ac 
 cordingly, on the 18th of September articles of capitu 
 lation were signed ; the garrison left the city with their 
 arms and baggage, drums beating, and embarked, to 
 be landed at the first port of France. George Town- 
 send, becoming commander of the English army after 
 the death of General Wolf, took possession of the place. 
 
 This important conquest led to the immediate submis 
 sion of Upper Canada, while the French still occupied 
 Montreal and several other fortified places ; but they 
 had lost, in the beginning of the siege of Quebec, Ni 
 agara fort. This loss, and that of Fort Frontignac, 
 gave to the English the navigation of Lake Ontario, 
 and enabled them to send by this route a new body of 
 troops to Montreal and the neighbouring places ; and 
 the conquest of all Canada, and the consequent expul 
 sion of the French power from this part of North 
 America, was the immediate consequence. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 PONTIAC'S WAR. 
 
 REAT as were many of 
 the western Indian war- 
 riors, none was greater 
 than Pontiac, a chief 
 whose fame was not only 
 I spread throughout Amer 
 ica, but widely diffused 
 in Europe. He was tho 
 chief of all the Indians 
 on the chain of lakes: 
 the Ottawas, to which he 
 belonged, the Miamis, Chippewas, Wyandots, Potta- 
 watomies, Winnebagoes, Shawanese, Ottagamies, and 
 Mississagas, all of which tribes afterwards were led 
 by Tecumseh. Pontiac is said to have possessed a 
 majestic and princely appearance, so pleasing to the 
 Indians, and this in part accounts for his popularity 
 among them. 
 
 In 1760, after the capture of Quebec, Major Rogers 
 was sent into the country of Pontiac to drive the French 
 from it. Being informed of his approach, Pontiac sent 
 word to him to wait until he came to him. The major 
 waited, and when Pontiac came, that chief asked him 
 why he entered his dominions without permission. The 
 major answered that he came not against the natives 
 but the French ; and at the same time gave the chief 
 several belts of wampum; whereupon Pontiac replied, 
 " I stand in the path you travel until to-morrow morn 
 ing." By this was meant that he must not proceed 
 
 (204) 
 
PONTIAC TAKES THE BRAHDY. Page 205. 
 
PONTIAC. 205 
 
 until the next morning. Upon an offer of the Indian, 
 Major Rogers bought a large quantity of parched corn, 
 and other provisions. The next day Pontiac offered 
 him every facility for the undertaking. Messengers 
 were sent to the different tribes to assure them that the 
 English had his permission to pass through the country, 
 and he even accompanied the major and troops as far 
 as Detroit. He was noted for the desire of knowledge, 
 and while the English were in his country, he was very 
 curious in examining their arms, clothes, &c., and ex 
 pressed a wish to go to England. He said that he 
 would allow white settlements within his domains ; 
 and was willing to call the king of England uncle, but 
 not master. He further told the soldiers that they 
 must behave themselves peaceably while in his country, 
 or he would stop the way. 
 
 Pontiac had distinguished himself at Detroit and 
 Michillimackinac. When the French gave up Canada 
 (1760), their Indian allies still preserved their hatred 
 towards the English, and as Pontiac was the most con 
 siderable enemy of that nation, the adjacent tribes all 
 came to him as a support against them. Pontiac had 
 advanced farther in civilization than any of the neigh 
 bouring chiefs : he appointed a commissary during the 
 war of 1763, called Pontiac's war; and issued bills of 
 credit, on each of which was pictured the thing desired^ 
 and the figure of an otter, the symbol of his tribe. In 
 1763 Major Rogers sent a bottle of brandy to him, which 
 Pontiac was counselled not to drink, as it probably con 
 tained poison. But with the greatest magnanimity he 
 exclaimed, t( It is not in his power to kill him who haa 
 so lately saved his life." 
 
 Early in 1763 indications began to exhibit themselves 
 of an unfriendly disposition among the tribes of Pon 
 tiac ; and some persons informed Major Gladwin, who 
 commanded at Detroit, of this circumstance. The 
 commander immediately sent some soldiers into the 
 Indian country, who returned, saying that all was 
 peaceable. 
 
 About the same time, some traders reported at Fort 
 20 
 
206 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Michillimackinac that the Indians were preparing for 
 hostilities. Major Etherington, the commander, re 
 fused credit to any such stories, and even threatened to 
 send the next person who retailed such false reports 
 prisoner to Detroit. It was also observed that the In 
 dians began to assemble in large numbers, and even 
 spread themselves in the town. This latter circumstance 
 was reported to the major by one of his friends, who 
 added that they should not be trusted. This advice 
 was received with derision, and he was accused of 
 timidity. 
 
 On the king's birth-day, June 4th, a large band of 
 Indians collected without the palisades of the fort, to 
 play ball. This was played with a bat, which knocked 
 the ball a great distance ; and as the game was inte 
 resting, the whole of the garrison, about ninety men, 
 were lookers-on. In the midst of the game, the ball 
 was intentionally knocked into the fort, and all the In 
 dians leaping the palisades, took the guards and gar 
 rison prisoners, and thus obtained possession of Michilli 
 mackinac. Seventy of the garrison were slaughtered, 
 and the other twenty made slaves. A day or two 
 after, a party, in a vessel from Montreal, not knowing 
 of the capture, came to the fort and were taken by the 
 Indians. In this affair, Pontiac did not engage in per 
 son, but connived at it. 
 
 Within ten days after this, every post in Michigan, 
 except Detroit, fell into the hands of Pontiac. This 
 was closely invested by Pontiac, before the taking of 
 Michillimackinac. The garrison consisted of three hun 
 dred men. The Indians, on their first appearance, had 
 their wives, and commodities for trade ; and from this, 
 no suspicion of stratagem was aroused. The chief en 
 camped near the fort, and sent word to Major Gladwin 
 that he wished to have a talk with him, to brighten the 
 chain of peace between the English and him. To this 
 the major agreed, and fixed the ensuing morning for 
 the meeting. In the meantime, an incident occurred 
 which prevented the destruction of the fort. 
 
 An Indian woman who had been making moccasins 
 
PONTI \C'S CO\ T SPfRACY. 207 
 
 of elk-skin, came to Major Gladwin with a pair of 
 them, and brought the remaining skin. The major 
 returned the skin for her to make another pair, and 
 then dismissed her. When the time came for strangers 
 to leave the place, she remained in the area. When 
 questioned as to her stay, she would not answer, and 
 ner strange demeanour being reported to the major, 
 she was ordered into his presence. The major having 
 inquired why she stayed, she answered with much hesi 
 tation, that she did not wish to take away the skin, as 
 he valued it so much. He inquired why she did not 
 object to it before. She answered, with some confu 
 sion, that if she took it, she could never return it to 
 him. Judging, from this, that the woman knew of 
 some plot of the Indians for the capture of the fort, 
 he promised her protection and reward, if she would 
 tell what was the matter. Reassured, she informed him 
 that each Indian that would attend the council on the 
 morrow, would have a fusil under his blanket, and when 
 Pontiac should give the signal by handing the peace-belt 
 of wampum to the commander, they would commence 
 the attack. While the council was sitting, a large num- 
 oer of warriors were to enter the town to assist in the 
 massacre. 
 
 After obtaining all possible information from the wo 
 man, he discharged her, and proceeded to make ar 
 rangements for a counterplot. He put the soldiers in 
 possession of the information, and, after seeing that the 
 guards for the night were placed, he retired to his 
 house. 
 
 During the night, a strange war-cry sounded from 
 the Indian quarters. Each man repaired to his post, 
 but no attack was made. 
 
 At the hour of ten next day, Pontiac, with a number 
 of warriors, was admitted, and then the gates were 
 closed. This, and the number of soldiers that sur 
 rounded the council-house, did riot fail to attract the 
 notice of the chief. But Major Gladwin told him that 
 the troops were only drilling, and this seemed to satisfy 
 him. The council opened by a speech of Pontiac, in 
 
208 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the midst of which he passed the belt to the governor, 
 but neglected the signal, for he saw, from the half- 
 drawn swords of the officers, that they were betrayed. 
 With great presence of mind, he continued his speech, 
 which contained numberless protestations of eternal 
 friendship to the English. When he concluded, Major 
 Glad win spoke, and reproached him with the con 
 spiracy. Pontiac denied that any such plot had been 
 contrived ; but when the governor drew aside the 
 blanket of the chief nearest him, and disclosed the gun, 
 the Indian was silenced. The governor ordered them 
 to leave the fort, and it was with the greatest difficulty 
 that the men could be restrained from cutting them to 
 pieces. So jealous was Gladwin of his honour, that he 
 retained no one of them for a hostage, but kept his 
 word to let them go unharmed and without hindrance. 
 
 On the next day, a furious attack was made by Pon- 
 tiac ? s warriors on the fort. They thrust a cart full of 
 combustibles against the pickets : they began to shoot 
 fire-arrows at a church, but were stopped by a French 
 priest, who assured the chief that it would bring down 
 the vengeance of God upon him. At length they com 
 menced making a breach in the pickets, and the govern 
 or ordered his men to assist them from the inside. When 
 a passage was opened, the savages rushed forward ; but 
 were almost all destroyed by a four-pounder which was 
 fired among them as they entered. The rest retreated ; 
 and the place was repaired. This defeat, however, pre 
 vented them from assaulting the fort any more ; but 
 they commenced a blockade which caused great distress 
 in the garrison. 
 
 Fo'rt Pitt and Fort Niagara were closely besieged at 
 the same time, which prevented any succour being sent 
 to Detroit, but being relieved by Colonel Bouquet, Cap 
 tain Dalyell was sent on the 29th July. A day or two 
 after, Captain Dalyell, with two hundred and forty-sev 
 en men, attempted to surprise Pontiac in his camp ; but 
 that chief being apprised by his runners of his coming 
 prepared for them near a bridge, where he concealed 
 his men behind a picket fence. When the troops came 
 
BATTLE OF DETROIT Page 209 
 
SIEGE OF DETROIT. 209 
 
 to this ambush, they received a destructive fire from their 
 unseen enemy. They immediately turned and strove 
 to repass the bridge, but this was not accomplished with 
 out great loss. About two hundred men regained the 
 fort without Captain Dalyell, who was slain on the 
 bridge. In this affair, commonly called the battle of 
 Detroit, nineteen men were killed and forty-two wound 
 ed ; among the latter were Captain Gray and Lieuten 
 ants Brown and Luke. The bridge on which it was 
 fought has, since then, been called " Bloody Bridge." 
 
 Shortly after the battle, several vessels, bringing pro 
 visions to the besieged, were intercepted by Pontiac, 
 and their crews were cruelly treated. On the 8th Sep 
 tember, a schooner from Fort Niagara, manned with 
 eighteen men, arrived near Detroit, but being fired upon 
 by the Indians, tacked and stood out into the strait. She 
 was followed by the Indians in their canoes, who, after 
 killing almost all the crew, boarded her and began to 
 ransack the cabin. The captain, seeing that he would 
 be killed if he fell into their hands, resolved to effect 
 their destruction with his own. He cried out to the 
 gunner to fire the magazine. A Huron, who understood 
 English, hearing this, told his fellows, and a general re 
 treat to the canoes ensued, and the schooner sailed up 
 to the fort. The governor was so grateful for this de 
 liverance from starvation, that he had silver medals 
 struck commemorative of the event, and presented to 
 every one of the crew. 
 
 The siege of Detroit lasted twelve months, and by 
 that time General Bradstreet marched for the relief of 
 it. Pontiac being informed of this, sued for peace, 
 which was granted, and he returned to his own coun 
 try. He was a good friend to the English after this 
 war, and the government rewarded him with a pension. 
 He was inclined, it is said, to assist the Americans in 
 the Revolution, but was prevented by General Hamil 
 ton of Detroit. 
 
 During the war he went into Illinois to an Indian 
 council there, and the English, suspecting him, employ 
 ed an Indian as a spy upon him. When he attended 
 O 
 
210 
 
 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 the council he made a speech unfriendly to the English, 
 and was stabbed to the heart by the treacherous spy. 
 
 Pontiac was an uncommon man for talents and saga 
 city. Every war in w r hich he engaged was favourable 
 to his tribes ; and he never allowed himself to be mis 
 led by either the English or French. He was as cau 
 tious in the council as in the field ; determined and suc 
 cessful in his schemes ; and, in short, was unequalled by 
 any Indian chief, unless we except Philip of Pokano- 
 ket. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 WAR OF THE WESTERN INDIANS. 
 
 (1763.) 
 
 ANADA, and all the de 
 pendent provinces east of 
 the Mississippi, were now 
 lost to France; and the 
 renunciation of these pos 
 sessions entirely changed 
 the situation of the In 
 dians; those who dwelt 
 south of the great lakes 
 experienced, above all, 
 the effects of this cession. 
 The French had occupied there but a few establish 
 ments; and they had formed around these posts, and 
 under their shelter, several plantations, the addition of 
 which was hardly taken notice of; these positions offer 
 ed, in time of war, means of defence, and rallying 
 points ; they insured during peace commercial commu 
 nications, and a mutual confidence reigned between 
 the French and a great many of the tribes. 
 
INDIAN CONFEDERACY AGAINST THE ENGLISH. 211 
 
 The Indian nations placed between the colonies of 
 France and England enjoyed, besides, a great influence 
 in the quarrels of the two nations ; they both sought to 
 gain their friendship, and to employ them as auxiliaries. 
 
 This political importance of the Indians was materially 
 diminished when they had only one European power for 
 neighbours, and when they were surrounded by its pos 
 sessions. The chain of fortified posts which were oc 
 cupied by the English, was composed of Forts Fron- 
 tignac and Niagara, near Lake Ontario; those of 
 Buffalo, Presqueile, and Sandusky, to the south of Lake 
 Erie; Forts Miami and Detroit, towards its western 
 extremity ; those of St. Joseph, Green-Bay, and Michil- 
 limackinac, around Lake Michigan ; the posts of the 
 west were those of Illinois, Chartres, and Kaskaskia ; 
 and in the interior were found the Forts of Vincennes, 
 on the Wabash ; of Massiac, near the mouth of the 
 Tennessee ; of William, near the mouth of the Ken 
 tucky ; and of Pittsburg, upon the Ohio. 
 
 The Indians on the territory over which these differ 
 ent posts were dispersed, were thus suddenly deprived of 
 the assistance of a power which had habitually protected 
 them; and were consequently much alarmed. They re 
 garded these forts as the cradles of so many new colonies ; 
 and seeing the rapid increase of the English in all the 
 regions they had conquered, they feared that each of 
 these new establishments would extend in the same 
 manner ; and that all the American nations finally crowd 
 ed upon one another would lose, progressively, their 
 territory. Struck with this opinion, which so many 
 successive losses had greatly strengthened in their 
 minds, the Indians sought to unite, and prevent, by an 
 unforeseen attack, the perils with which they believed 
 themselves to be menaced. The Shawanese, Dela- 
 wares, and the Indians of the Ohio, put themselves at 
 the head of this .confederation, which was formed in 
 1763; the operations of war were distributed among 
 all the tribes, and the forts occupied by the English on 
 the frontiers of their new territory were simultaneously 
 attacked by the neighbouring Indians. The greater 
 
212 INDIAN WARS OF THE LNITED STATES. 
 
 part of these posts had but feeble garrisons ; the recent 
 conclusion of peace augmented their security, and as 
 they were not on their guard, the success of the enemy 
 was more easy. The forts of Niagara, Detroit, and 
 Pittsburg, were the only ones they did not seize ; the 
 garrisons in them were more numerous, and they were 
 better provisioned. The first was not even attacked ; 
 Major Gladwin gallantly defended the second against 
 the Ottawas ; and Fort Pittsburg, commanded by Cap 
 tain Ecuyer, resisted all the efforts of the Indians of 
 the Ohio. A body of troops, under the command of 
 Colonel Bouquet, was sent to the assistance of this 
 place ; he proceeded towards Fort Sigonier, and gain 
 ed afterwards, by forced marches, the valley of Bushy- 
 Run ; the defiles appeared to be still free ; but on the 
 5th of August, 1763, the English were suddenly sur 
 rounded by a cloud of enemies, who rushed down from 
 the neighbouring heights, and assailed them on all sides 
 in this narrow passage. The Indians have a manner 
 of fighting which always renders them formidable in 
 this woody country. Their skirmishes are frequent; 
 they know well how to form ambuscades ; motionless 
 during whole days, they await in silence the arrival of 
 an enemy ; if they are too feeble to capture them, they 
 only fly to return to the charge at another point ; their 
 retreat is but a stratagem ; they fly so swiftly that they 
 cannot be overtaken ; and it is necessary to surround 
 them on every side in order to conquer them. 
 
 In this sequel of engagements which began about 
 mid-day, the English troops finally drove the Indians 
 from all their positions; but the next morning at day 
 break, they were again surrounded by more numerous 
 forces. Colonel Bouquet resolved to come to a decisive 
 battle ; and when the action was commenced, he ordered 
 the centre of the line to fall back with the view of draw 
 ing upon this point the principal attack of the Indians. 
 His design was successful; the savages rushed into the 
 passage thus opened to them; but the troops who re 
 treated hastily proceeded to form an ambuscade upon a 
 height, covered with underwood, where their move- 
 
INDIANS DEFEATED BY THE BRITISH. 213 
 
 ments could not be perceived : suddenly they appeared, 
 and rushed with impetuosity upon the flanks of the 
 enemy, who, surprised and disconcerted by this unex 
 pected attack, were neither able to sustain the shock, 
 nor to gain their places of retreat. A great number of 
 them perished in these two battles of the 5th and 6th 
 of August. This was the last attempt of the savages ; 
 and Colonel Bouquet, pursuing his course towards Pitts- 
 burg, arrived there four days afterwards with his con 
 voy, of which he had been obliged to destroy a part, 
 because a great number of the horses had sunk under 
 the fatigue and perils of the march. The object of his 
 expedition was accomplished ; Pittsburg was relieved. 
 The Indians, discouraged by two successive defeats, 
 had abandoned the siege ; and Colonel Bouquet, having 
 not enough troops to pursue them into their forests, re 
 turned to take up his winter quarters in Pennsylvania. 
 
 The savages, descending the valleys of the Ohio, did 
 not believe themselves in safety till they arrived at the 
 Muskingum. There, they collected their forces ; they 
 sought other allies, and awaited the spring to' renew 
 their hostilities, and again ravage the frontiers. But 
 General Gage, becoming commander of the British 
 army, prepared two expeditions against them. A body 
 of troops, under the command of Colonel Bradstreet, 
 proceeded against the Wyandots, Ottawas, Chippewas, 
 and other nations near the great lakes : another body, 
 under Colonel Bouquet, was, as in the preceding cam 
 paign, to attack the nations situated between the great 
 lakes and the Ohio. Bradstreet proceeded rapidly to San- 
 dusky, and again took possession of all the forts of the 
 north-west, that he might be able to restrain the Indians 
 of these countries, and compel them to demand peace 
 but the preparations for the expedition of the south re 
 quired much more time, and the troops that formed a 
 part of it did not arrive at Pittsburg till the 17th of 
 September, 1764. The Indians of Ohio were then dis 
 concerted with their imminent danger, and they sent 
 messengers to Colonel Bouquet to treat for peace; as 
 their propositions, however, were still ambiguous, the 
 
214 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 colonel, wishing to put an end to their uncertainty, pen 
 etrated farther into the interior of their country ; he 
 gained the valleys of Beaver Creek and Muskingum; 
 and the Indians, not being able to stop his march, de 
 manded, on the 17th of October, a conference to be 
 held next day. That officer proceeded to the place ap 
 pointed with a body of regular troops, the Virginia 
 volunteers, and a troop of light-horsemen : the chiefs 
 of the Delawares, Shawanese, and Senecas, appeared 
 with their principal warriors ; and the colonel, after 
 having recounted the infractions of their late treaty, 
 told them that he would not grant them peace unless 
 they would deliver to him all the prisoners whom they 
 had in their possession : " I have with me," said he, 
 "the relations and friends of those whom you have 
 captured : they burn with the desire of revenge, and 
 demand satisfaction. The Ottawas, Chippewas, and 
 Wyandots, have already made a treaty of peace ; we 
 are masters of the Ohio, the Mississippi, the Miamis, 
 and the lakes ; we have surrounded you on every side, 
 and could extirpate your whole nation ; but we will not 
 treat you with so much rigour, if you deliver to us 
 within twelve days, and without exception, all your pri 
 soners, English and French, men, women, and children, 
 and also all the blacks whom you have taken away." 
 
 On the first day, the Delawares restored eighteen 
 Europeans, and they collected together, as a symbol of 
 the other restitutions which they would make, a bundle 
 of eighty-three stalks of young plants, expressing the 
 number of prisoners who were then absent. The 
 Shawanese hesitated to make such an engagement; 
 and to compel them to do it, Colonel Bouquet advanced 
 into their country as far as the Scioto : they then agreed 
 to restore their prisoners. On the 9th of November, 
 two hundred and six of them were brought into the 
 camp. On the same day a new conference was held 
 for a treaty of peace: a treaty was first concluded 
 between the Senecas and Delawares, and their orator, 
 Kiyasnuta, gave the necklaces or accustomed presents. 
 " I offer this wampum to dry up the tears of your eyes. 
 
INDIANS SURRENDER THEIR PRISONERS. 215 
 
 and I restore unto you the last man of your flesh and 
 blood who remains in the hands of the Senecas and 
 Delawares. Let us bury with this other wampum all 
 the men who have perished during the war which the 
 evil spirit has raised up ; and let us again cover with 
 earth and leaves their dead bodies, so that they may 
 no longer be seen, and that all the traces of our hate 
 may be buried." The same conditions were afterwards 
 made with the Shawanese; and these, still preserving 
 in their defeat their proud and noble character, declared 
 that they did not renounce the war on account of their 
 feebleness and exhaustion, but in commiseration of their 
 wives and children. 
 
 The arrival of all the prisoners in the camp afforded 
 a very affecting scene. Fathers, husbands, and brothers 
 recognised their sons, wives, and sisters, from whom 
 they had been separated: others seeking in vain for 
 those whom they had lost, did not dare to* inquire con 
 cerning their fate. The Indians themselves delivered 
 up their captives with great regret ; for they had be 
 come attached to thfem, and had admitted them into 
 their families ; they, therefore, left them with tears, and 
 recommended them to the English commander. These 
 prisoners had never been treated like slaves, and the In 
 dians, in granting them life, had adopted and cherished 
 them as brothers, sisters, and children ; many had settled 
 among the savages; they had learned their language, 
 and adopted their Customs, but were compelled to re 
 turn among the Europeans : some of them escaped and 
 returned to the Indian settlements. 
 
 The army having accomplished its design, proceeded 
 homeward on the 18th of November ; they reached Pitts- 
 burg on the 28th ; garrisons were sent to the different 
 posts. The prisoners proceeded towards their native 
 countries; and Colonel Bouquet returned, in the begin 
 ning of January, 1765, to Philadelphia, where the repre 
 sentatives of Pennsylvania rendered him and his soldiers 
 the thanks due to their services. The same was done 
 by the representatives of Virginia ; and the King of 
 England, George III., honoured the merits of the colo- 
 
216 
 
 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 nel by appointing him brigadier-general of his armies 
 and by confiding to him a command in the southern 
 provinces of North America. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 INDIAN WARS OF CAROLINA PREVIOUS TO THE 
 REVOLUTION. 
 
 ERY soon after the Eng- 
 lish first settled in South 
 Carolina, it was ascertain 
 ed that this state was oc 
 cupied by about twenty 
 different tribes of Indians. 
 These Indians viewed the 
 encroachments made on 
 their territories by the 
 whites with a jealous eye, 
 but yet did not take any 
 measures to resist them ; and the whites finally gained 
 possession of a great part of the territory. But in 
 the end the Indians began to perceive that if matters 
 went on in this way the English would soon expel them 
 from their native forests ; and contests, therefore, soon 
 broke out between the planters and parties of Indians, 
 in which many lives were lost. A price was at last 
 fixed on every Indian taken prisoner and brought to 
 Charleston, from whence they were sent to the West In 
 dies and sold as slaves. This measure may appear to 
 nave been very inhuman; but the planters had no other 
 means of getting rid of such troublesome enemies, and 
 therefore necessity pleaded in its vindication. 
 
 In the year 1680, a war broke out with the Westoes, 
 
MASSACRE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF ROANOKE. Page 217. 
 
INDIAN WARS IN CAROLINA. 217 
 
 me of the most powerful tribes in the province : a peace 
 was concluded in the subsequent year, and not much 
 loss was sustained by either party. In the year 1702, 
 Governor Moore marched into the country occupied 
 by the Apalachian Indians, who, being instigated by the 
 Spaniards, had commenced hostilities, took a great num 
 ber of them prisoners, and obliged the rest to submit to 
 the English government. 
 
 The next war with the Indians broke out in 1712. 
 Several of the most powerful tribes of Indians, among 
 whom were the Tuscaroras and Corees, united together, 
 and formed a plot to murder or expel the English. Their 
 plan was carried on with a profound secrecy. Their 
 principal town was fortified, in order to afford protec 
 tion to their women and children ; and the warriors ol 
 the different tribes, to the number of twelve hundred, 
 met here and matured their murderous design. At 
 length, when they thought they had a fit opportunity 
 they dispersed into small parties, and, entering the houses 
 of the planters, demanded something to eat. They ap 
 peared to be displeased with the provisions that were 
 set before them, and irrimediately began to murder the 
 men, women, and children without distinction. In the 
 neighbourhood of Roanoke one hundred and thirty- 
 seven settlers were murdered. A few who had hid 
 themselves in the woods, escaped and carried the ti 
 dings, into tlje neighbouring settlements, thus preventing 
 the total destruction of the colony. 
 
 Active measure were instantly taken against the In 
 dians. The Assembly voted four thousand pounds to 
 wards the war. A body of six hundred men, under Colo 
 nel Barnwell, marched against the savages. They 
 were joined by parties of Indians belonging to several 
 tribes in the neighbourhood, so that the whole force con 
 sisted of upwards of a thousand men. The army had to 
 march through .a wilderness in which no provisions 
 could be procured, and it was reduced to great straits ; 
 but, finally, came up with the enemy, and defeated them 
 with great slaughter. In the first battle about three 
 hundred of the Indians were killed and one hundred 
 21 
 
218 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 taken prisoners. The Indians then retreated to the 
 town, which they had fortified. Here they were sur 
 rounded, a large number were killed, and the rest were 
 compelled to sue for peace. This was granted them. 
 In this expedition, it was calculated that a thousand 
 Tuscaroras were either killed, wounded, or taken pri 
 soners. The survivors abandoned their country, emi 
 grated to the north, and joined the Five Nations, thus 
 making this confederacy consist of six tribes. 
 
 In 1715, South Carolina was visited with an Indian 
 war so formidable as to threaten its extirpation. The 
 Yemassees were the chief instruments in promoting this 
 conspiracy against the English. They had hitherto 
 been on terms of great intimacy and friendship with the 
 Carolinians. For about a year before the war broke 
 out, it was observed that the Indians went frequently to 
 St. Augustine, and returned loaded with presents. 
 
 About a week before the commencement of hostili 
 ties, an Indian warrior attached to the family of one 
 Fraser, a trader, told his wife that the English were all 
 heretics, and would go to hell when they died, and that 
 the Yemassees would go there, too, if they did not ex 
 pel the English ; that the governor of St. Augustine 
 was their king, and that a bloody war would soon break 
 out with the English ; he afterwards advised Fraser to 
 fly, which he did, and escaped to Charleston with his 
 family and effects. 
 
 On the 15th of April, 1715, about day-break, the Eng 
 lish traders at Pocotaligo were alarmed by the cries of 
 war. The Indians massacred above ninety persons in 
 that place and the neighbouring plantations. A man 
 who escaped fled to Port Royal and alarmed the town. 
 The inhabitants went on board the shipping and sailed 
 to Charleston. It was soon found that all the Indian 
 tribes from Florida to Cape Fear river had joined in 
 this conspiracy to massacre and extirpate the English. 
 The planters from every quarter fled to Charleston. 
 The governor proclaimed martial law, and laid an em 
 bargo on all ships, besides obtaining permission from 
 the Assembly to impress men, arms, and ammunition 
 
YEMASSEE WAR. 219 
 
 into the service. Robert Daniel was appointed deputy- 
 governor, whilst Governor Craven marched at the head 
 of the militia against the. largest body of savages. 
 
 In the mean time, Thomas Barker, with a company 
 of ninety horsemen, proceeded against the enemy. But, 
 by the treachery of an Indian guide, he was led into 
 an ambush of the enemy. Barker and several others 
 were killed at the first fire, and the remainder retreat 
 ed. After this, a party of four hundred Indians ad 
 vanced to Goose-creek. At this place a small fort had 
 been erected, containing seventy white men and forty 
 negroes. On the approach of the Indians, the garrison 
 became discouraged, and agreed to terms of peace ; 
 and having admitted the enemy within their works, the 
 whole garrison was barbarously murdered. 
 
 Governor Craven now advanced cautiously against 
 the enemy. He was well acquainted with the Indian 
 mode of fighting, and therefore took every precaution 
 against a sudden surprise. He knew that the fate of 
 South Carolina depended on the issue of the contest ; 
 and his men had no alternative but to conquer or suffer 
 a painful death. 
 
 He marched forward without opposition till he ar 
 rived at Saltcatchers, where the enemy had pitched his 
 camp. Here a severe contest took place. The In 
 dians, firing from behind trees and other places of con 
 cealment, killed a great number of the English. They 
 were several times compelled to retreat, but again re 
 turned to the charge with redoubled fury. The governor 
 finally succeeded in driving them from their coverts, 
 and kept his troops at their heels till they had crossed 
 Savannah river. 
 
 This victory raised the inhabitants of South Carolina 
 from the greatest despondency to the highest pitch of 
 joy. The expedition not only disconcerted the greatest 
 conspiracy ever formed against the colony, but also 
 placed it in a state of greater security than it had 
 hitherto enjoyed. 
 
 The Yemassees, after their defeat, retreated to St. 
 Augustine, where they were received with the firing of 
 
320 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 guns, the ringing of bells, and every other demonstration 
 of welcome. They were furnished by the Spaniards with 
 arms, and again began their depredations. Governor 
 Craven, with a body of militia, meeting a party of these 
 Indians near Stone Ferry, attacked and entirely defeat 
 ed them. This was the last general attempt of the 
 Yemassees against the settlers of South Carolina. A 
 few years after it became a royal province; and the 
 wise and prudent measures of the governor, Sir Fran 
 cis Nicholson, contributed to restore harmony, so that 
 for many years after the Yemassee war, the peace of 
 the province was preserved without any considerable 
 interruption^ 
 
 When the French had been defeated in the war 
 which led to the conquest of Canada* and compelled to 
 abandon Fort Duquesne, retreating down the Ohio and 
 Mississippi, they had the address to involve the Indians 
 in a serious war with Carolina. 
 
 It was the Cherokees that the French, who had evacu 
 ated the fort and fled to their country, endeavoured to 
 excite against the Carolinians. A quarrel occurred at 
 this juncture which helped materially to fan the flame 
 of dissatisfaction among them. The facts are as fol 
 lows : It had always been the custom for the Indians 
 and English colonists to seize the horses that ran wild 
 in the woods; It happened that a party of Cherokees, 
 returning from Fort Duquesne, seized some stray horses, 
 in order that they might reach home the sooner. But 
 it appears that the animals belonged to the whites, 
 who> instead of taking legal means for redress, pursued 
 the Indians, and killed twelve or fourteen of them. 
 The Cherokees were enraged when they heard of this. 
 The young meh proposed to fall upon the border towns, 
 and notwithstanding the arguments of the elder chiefs, 
 the Cherokees destroyed and massacred the inhabitants 
 of several settlements on the Carolina frontier. 
 
 The garrison of Fort Loudori was attacked several 
 times when on excursions for game ; so that it became 
 necessary to keep within the fort. 
 
 Information reaching Governor Lyttleton of these 
 
WAR WITH THE CHEROKEES. 221 
 
 hostile acts, he made every preparation to invade the 
 Cherokee villages. The Indians no sooner heard of 
 these preparations than they sent thirty-two chiefs to 
 make a treaty with the governor ; but he refused to 
 forego the war; and detaining the chiefs prisoners, 
 he marched for Fort Prince George.* 
 
 When he reached the Congaree he received additional 
 troops, which augmented his force to fourteen hundred 
 men. 
 
 By this time their valour and ardour began to dimin 
 ish ; and when they arrived at Fort Prince George they 
 became mutinous and ungovernable. Governor Lyttle- 
 ton saw the necessity of a peace, and accordingly in 
 vited Attakullakulla, the wisest of the Cherokees, to a 
 conference, and concluded a treaty ; but it was never 
 regarded by the Indians ; for the treachery of detaining 
 their chiefs was yet to be revenged. Occonostota, one 
 of their chiefs, was the principal promoter of a war, 
 and, indeed, very few were loath to attack the border 
 settlements and, if possible, rescue their imprisoned 
 friends. The opportunity now offered w r as in every 
 way advantageous. The Carolinians were rejoicing in 
 the peace, and nothing could have been more unexpect 
 ed than hostility with the Cherokees at that moment. 
 
 * After the success of the French at Fort Duquesne, in 1755, 
 the Indians conceived a high opinion of their valour; and the 
 Cherokees were disposed to enter into alliance with them. Their 
 chief warrior gave notice of this intention to Governor Glen, of 
 South Carolina, who had the prudence and address to engage 
 them in a treaty which was concluded at a place in their own 
 country, two hundred miles from Charleston. He also obtained 
 from them the cession of an immense tract of land, which occasioned 
 the removal of the Indians to a greater distance from the English. 
 Soon after this cession of lands, the governor built a fort about 
 three hundred miles from Charleston, afterwards called Fort Prince 
 George^ which was situated on the banks of the Savannah river, 
 and within gun-shot of an Indian town called Keowee. It con 
 tained barracks for one hundred men, and was designed for the 
 defence of the western frontiers of Carolina. The Cherokeea 
 could, at this time, bring about three thousand men into the field ; 
 but were unprovided with arms or ammunition for their own de 
 fence. 
 
222 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The war was commenced by the Indians cutting off 
 the soldiers at Fort Prince George whenever a chance 
 presented itself. Fourteen were slain in this way, and 
 it became necessary to keep the strictest guard. In fact, 
 Fort Prince George was invested by Occonostota with 
 his Cherokees. That chief at length became convinced 
 that the place could not be taken but by stratagem. In 
 order to effect this purpose he stationed his men in the 
 thickerts which surrounded the fort, and then dispatched 
 a squaw to Captain Coytmore, inviting him to a confer 
 ence on the river bank. The captain went with two 
 lieutenants. In the midst of the conference, the chief 
 made a signal, and the Indians firing, killed the captain 
 and wounded the two officers. They however reached 
 the fort, and ordered the thirty-two hostages to be put 
 in irons. While the soldiers were executing their orders 
 the Indians stabbed one with a knife. The soldiers, ex 
 asperated to the greatest pitch, fell upon them and mas 
 sacred the whole. This act exasperated the Indians to 
 frenzy, and preparations were made on both sides for a 
 bloody struggle. Scarcely any one of the Cherokees 
 but had a friend among the slaughtered chiefs. Revenge 
 being the uppermost object with them now, they fell 
 upon the border villages and committed the most un 
 paralleled cruelties. 
 
 In this extremity a messenger was sent to Lord Am- 
 herst for aid, who dispatched Colonel Montgomery with 
 two regiments to South Carolina. 
 
 Bull, who succeeded Lyttleton, exerted himself stren 
 uously to raise soldiers ; he put the forts into better or 
 der, and placed stronger garrisons in them. As soon 
 as Montgomery reached Carolina, in April, 1760, the 
 provincials joined him, and, in a short time, he was on 
 his way for the Cherokee country. His first attempt 
 was to surprise Estatoe. On his way thither he sur 
 prised a little village, and put every inhabitant to the 
 sword. The Indians at Estatoe having, by this time, 
 leceived notice of his approach, fled; and when the 
 troops arrived, they found nothing but the empty huts, 
 which, with the flourishing crops around, were destroy- 
 
INDIANS CAPTLRE FORT LOUDON. 223 
 
 ed. He then advanced to the lower towns, where sixty 
 Indians were killed and forty taken prisoners. The 
 troops next marched to the relief of Fort Prince George, 
 which was closely invested by the Indians. The sav 
 ages being dispersed, Montgomery determined to rest 
 his troops for a while. In the meantime offers of peace 
 had been made to the Middle village of the Cherokees, 
 but they had been rejected. 
 
 Colonel Montgomery, therefore, found it necessary to 
 go into the Cherokee country again. On his way to 
 Etchoe, the nearest town, he was attacked, and a des 
 perate battle ensued. The Indians fought with the 
 greatest bravery in the defence of their town ; but 
 they were at length compelled to fly. The English had 
 ninety-six killed and wounded. The victory rendered 
 it useless to proceed, and the troops returned to Fort 
 Prince George. 
 
 The time allotted for the stay of Montgomery in Car 
 olina now expired, and he prepared to embark for New 
 York with his two regiments, but at the solicitation of 
 the governor he left Major Frederick Hamilton with 
 four companies. 
 
 In the meantime Fort Loudon had been compelled to 
 surrender from the scarcity of provisions, and it re 
 ceived the most honourable terms from the Cherokees. 
 But, as the garrison was on its march homeward, they 
 were attacked by the Indians and nearly all cut to 
 pieces. Encouraged at this success, the Indians were 
 induced to attempt the capture of Fort Prince George. 
 
 In the midst of their preparations they were told that 
 one of their prisoners, Captain Stuart, had escaped, and 
 knowing that 'he would apprise the people at the fort of 
 their intention, they gave up the project. 
 
 Stuart, the officer who escaped, informed Governor 
 Bull of their design upon Fort Prince George, and advised 
 him to provide for its defence. The governor strengthen 
 ed the garrison, and sent word to the Indians that if they 
 attacked the fort they would be destroyed by the gun 
 powder that was buried around the walls. Presents 
 were also sent to the Indians to induce them to release 
 
224 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 their white prisoners. The Cherokees set them free, 
 and in a short time the worn-out captives returned to 
 their homes. 
 
 The people, at length, thought that the Indians would 
 come to terms, but they were sadly disappointed ; for, 
 instigated by a Frenchman, they recommenced the war. 
 Application was again made to Lord Amherst, who sent 
 Lieuenant-Colonel Grant with a Highland regiment. 
 Grant arrived at Charleston early in 1761, but was pre 
 vented from beginning operations on account of a sick 
 ness which broke out among the troops ; but by the 
 kind nursing of the Charleston people they nearly all 
 recovered. A regiment of provincials having joined 
 the Highlanders, the march commenced. The army, 
 including Indian allies, amounted to two thousand six 
 hundred. Every precaution was taken to guard against 
 surprise. The march of Grant's army lay through the 
 same valley where Montgomery had defeated the Cher 
 okees the previous year. As he entered this pass, the 
 Cherokees commenced an assault. A battle was thus 
 begun which terminated in favour of the Carolinians, 
 who, having sunk the dead in the river, proceeded to 
 Etchoe, which place was reduced to ashes. After stay 
 ing a long while in the Cherokee country, Colonel Grant 
 returned to Fort Prince George. 
 
 A few days after his return to the fort, the Indians 
 sued for peace, which was granted ; and thus ended a 
 war which destroyed entirely the French power in 
 North America. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CRESAP'S WAR. 
 
 OGAN, the celebrated 
 Mingo chief, was the son 
 of Shikellima, chief of 
 the Cayugas. He is said 
 to have been named from 
 Dr. James Logan, who 
 was much beloved by 
 his father. Logan bore a 
 high character for mag 
 nanimity and the other 
 qualities that distinguish 
 a great man. He was not at all concerned in the wars 
 of 1760; but in 1774 he was provoked to fierce hostility 
 against the whites by a series of unprovoked aggres 
 sions. The Indians, it appears, had robbed some whites 
 who contemplated a settlement on the Ohio river. The 
 settlers immediately collected at Wheeling Creek, and 
 one proposed to go after the Indians and kill them. 
 Accordingly Captain Michael Cresap was sent with a 
 party in pursuit of them, and two Indians were killed. 
 Cresap the sa*me day fell upon a party of unoffending 
 Indians, and slew several of them. Among these were 
 some of Logan's relations. 
 
 Another murder of still more horrid character was 
 committed soon after, by David Greathouse and one 
 Tomlinson. Hearing that a ^arty of Indians was en 
 camped on the banks of the Ohio, opposite to the place 
 where they lived, about thirty miles above Wheeling 
 they collected a considerable body of men, and invited 
 
 p . (225) 
 
226 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the Indians to come over the river and drink rum with 
 them, and having succeeded in getting them intoxicated, 
 they murdered all of the party but one. Among the 
 slain were a brother and sister of Logan. The re 
 maining Indians on the other side of the river, hearing 
 the firing and coming to the relief of their friends, were 
 fired upon, and many of them killed. The rest retreated. 
 This took place on the 24th of May, 1774. 
 
 These aggressions of the wnites led to an immediate 
 war, which was prosecuted on the part of the Indians 
 with their usual cruelty, which spared no age nor sex. 
 By the exertions of the injured Logan, and the chiefs 
 under his influence, the Shawanese, Mingoes, Dela- 
 wares, Wyandots, and Cayugas, were united in hos 
 tilities against the Virginians. The celebrated chief, 
 Cornstalk, was among the most conspicuous of their 
 leaders. 
 
 On the 12th of July, 1774, Logan, accompanied by 
 eight warriors, made an unexpected attack upon some 
 inhabitants upon the Muskingum, in which one man was 
 killed and two captured, one of whom, Robinson, was 
 saved from the torture by Logan, and adopted as his 
 secretary. 
 
 The Virginia legislature being in session when the 
 news of the commencement of hostilities arrived, 
 Governor Dunmore ordered a levy of three thousand 
 men. Half of these troops were to march to the mouth 
 of the Great Kanhawa, under General Andrew Lewis; 
 and the remainder, with the governor in person, were 
 to proceed to a higher point on the Ohio, in order to 
 attack the Indian settlements in the rear. He was then 
 to form a junction with Lewis at Point Pleasant. Gene 
 ral Lewis, with a force of one thousand one hundred 
 men, commenced his march from Camp Union through 
 the wilderness, on the llth of September, and arrived 
 at Point Pleasant (one hundred and sixty miles) on the 
 30th. Here he waited until the 10th of October for 
 the arrival of Governor Dunmore, who, it is now be 
 lieved, did not intend to join him until the fighting was 
 over. Or the morning of the 10th a hunter, just es- 
 

BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT. 227 
 
 caped from the Indian rifles, came into the camp and 
 gave notice of the approach of an immense body of 
 Indians. General Lewis immediately made arrange 
 ments for the battle, by ordering his brother, Colonel 
 Charles Lewis,' to march with his own regiment, and 
 another under Colonel Fleming, to reconnoitre the ene 
 my, while he should prepare the main body to support 
 them. At four hundred yards from the camp they were 
 met by the enemy just after sunrise, and the battle com 
 menced, after the Indian manner, each party availing 
 themselves of the trees for shelter and defence. Colo 
 nel Lewis was soon shot down, and the advanced regi 
 ments were on the retreat, when Colonel Field's regiment 
 coming to their support, they rallied, and drove the In 
 dians behind a rough breastwork of logs and bush which 
 they had erected, and which being extended from river 
 to river, so as to inclose the Virginians on the point, 
 would have insured their utter destruction in Case of a 
 defeat. 
 
 The ground was obstinately defended by the Indians 
 till near the close of the day. Logan, Cornstalk, Red 
 Eagle, and other distinguished chiefs led them on in 
 successive charges upon the Virginians, until Colonels 
 Field and Fleming having both fallen, and General Lewis 
 finding his ranks fearfully thinned by each charge of the 
 enemy, resolved to throw a body of troops into their rear. 
 Captain Isaac Shelby, afterwards so celebrated, together 
 with Captains Matthews and Steward, being detached 
 with three companies for this purpose, arrived at the 
 desired point, and fell upon the rear of the Indians with 
 such fury as immediately to decide the fortune of the 
 day. Supposing that a reinforcement had arrived, the 
 Indians instantly gave way, and, crossing the Ohio, re 
 treated to their towns on the Scioto. The loss of the 
 Indians in this action could never be accurately deter 
 mined, in consequence of the usual practice of carrying 
 off and concealing their dead. Thirty-three were found 
 dead, and many were known to have been thrown into 
 the river by the Indians themselves. The Virginians 
 ost fifty-five killed and eighty-seven wounded. 
 
228 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The Indians now sued for peace. Logan haughtily 
 declined to appear among the supplicants. He did not, 
 however, refuse his assent to the treaty concluded by 
 Cornstalk and the other chiefs ; but, on giving it, he de 
 livered that remarkable speech which has rendered his 
 name one of the most celebrated in the Indian annals. 
 It is reported by Mr. Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia, 
 as we have given it in the Introduction to this work. 
 Our artist, by a pardonable license, has represented the 
 speech which was actually delivered to an emissary of 
 Governor Dunmore, as having been delivered in his pre 
 sence. (See Engraving on the opposite page.) 
 
 Logan did not long survive the events of the war in 
 which he played so conspicuous a part. He was soon 
 after barbarously murdered as he was on his way home 
 from Detroit. Cornstalk, his compatriot, was murdered 
 with his son Ellinipnis, while on a friendly mission to 
 the fort at Point Pleasant in 1777. He had come thither 
 to apprise the Americans of the intention of his tribe, 
 the Shawanese, to join the British. He was detained 
 there and visited by his son ; and some whites having 
 been fired upon, and one man killed by Indians in the 
 neighbourhood of the fort, Cornstalk and his son were 
 both murdered in cold blood, by way of retaliation. 
 
(229) 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 INDIAN WARS OF THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 'ANY circumstances tend 
 ed to change the aspects 
 and relations of Indian 
 warfare at the commence 
 ment of the Revolution 
 ary war. 
 
 In the war which be 
 gan in 1755, between 
 the French and English, 
 great attention was paid 
 by both parties to the dif 
 ferent tribes of Indians. The French succeeded in 
 gaining the friendship of the greater nurnber ; but the 
 success of the English in the latter part of the war, 
 turned the affections of the Indians in their favour. In 
 the revolutionary war, the friendship of the Indians be 
 came a matter of much importance to both parties. 
 And as terror was one of the expedients by which 
 Great Britain endeavoured to reduce her colonies to 
 submission, the greatest care was taken to gain the af 
 fections of the Indians, and to induce them to join the 
 British standard. In doing this the English had fat 
 greater advantages than the colonists. The expulsion 1 
 of the French from Canada, which had taken place only 
 about thirteen years before, had given the Indians a 
 high opinion of the superiority and courage of the 
 British troops. They also had the means of supplying 
 the wants of the Indians, by articles which they received 
 from England ; while congress, by the non-importation 
 
 (231) 
 
232 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 act, had debarred the colonists from importing those 
 goods which were necessary for the Indian trade. 
 
 Besides this, the English had another great advantage 
 over the colonists. Since the peace of 1763, nearly all 
 the transactions with the Indians had been carried on by 
 agents appointed and paid by the king of Great Britain. 
 These, as may well be supposed, used all their influence 
 with the savages in favour of the mother country, and 
 against the colonies. They insinuated into the minds of 
 the Indians that the king was their natural ruler and 
 protector ; and that, should the colonists succeed in the 
 war in which they were then engaged, their next step 
 would be the extirpation of their red neighbours. By 
 such representations, as well as by a profusion of pre 
 sents, the Indians were nearly all pre-engaged in favour 
 of the English. 
 
 Meanwhile the Americans were not unmindful of 
 their interests in this quarter. They appointed com 
 missioners to explain to the Indians the nature and 
 cause of the quarrel ; and to gain their favour by means 
 of treaties and presents. They endeavoured to per 
 suade them that the war in no way concerned them ; 
 and that they, therefore, should not take part with either 
 side. Congress also resolved to distribute goods to the 
 amount of nearly two thousand dollars among them; but 
 this resolution was never executed. All the exertions of 
 congress were insufficient for the security of the western 
 frontiers. In almost every period of the war, the In 
 dians took part with the English against the Americans. 
 South Carolina was one of the first states that felt the 
 effects of the British influence over the minds of the 
 Indians. The Creeks and Cherokees inhabited lands 
 not far distant from the western settlements of this state. 
 All intercourse with these tribes had, for several years 
 prior to the beginning of the war, been carried on by 
 John Stuart, an officer of the crown, who was very 
 zealous in the British cause. A plan was formed by 
 him to land a force of English soldiers in Florida, and 
 in conjunction with the tories and Indians, make an 
 attack on the western settlements of the southern states ; 
 
CHEROKEES SUBDUED. 233 
 
 whilst at the same time a British fleet and army shouid 
 invade them on the coast. This scheme was discover 
 ed by the capture of Moses Kirkland, one of the prin 
 cipal agents employed in its execution, whilst he was 
 on his way with dispatches to General Gage. The in 
 formation thus received enabled the Americans to take 
 such steps as in a degree frustrated the scheme ; yet so 
 nearly had this plan succeeded, that the Cherokee In 
 dians began their massacres at the same time that a 
 British fleet attacked the fort on Sullivan's island. But 
 the defeat of the fleet, and the uninterrupted tranquillity 
 which succeeded the unsuccessful attempts of the Bri 
 tish, in 1776, enabled the Americans to carry the war 
 into the territories of the Indians. This they did, not 
 so much to punish the past, but to prevent them from 
 committing similar outrages in future. 
 
 A considerable force was at the same time sent by 
 Virginia, North Carolina, and some of the other south 
 ern states, which traversed the Indian country, burnt 
 their villages, and destroyed their crops. About five 
 hundred of the Indians belonging to the Cherokee tribe 
 were obliged, from a scarcity of provisions, to enter 
 Florida, and seek protection from the British. Here 
 they were fed and clothed for a considerable time ; but 
 they finally sued for peace in the most submissive man 
 ner; and soon after a treaty was made, by which they 
 ceded a considerable portion of their land in South 
 Carolina. This expedition so intimidated the Cherokees, 
 that for several years they attempted no further hos 
 tilities. 
 
 But the case of those Indians who dwelt near the 
 British posts, and on the frontiers of the northern and 
 middle states, was very different. The presents which 
 they were continually receiving from the English, and 
 the influence of a great number of tories who had taken 
 refuge 'among them, so enlisted them m favour of the 
 British government, that they were continually making 
 hostile excursions against the Americans. Their prin 
 cipal leaders in these expeditions were Colonel John 
 Butler, a Connecticut tory, and Brant, a half-blood In- 
 
234 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 dian, the principal chief of the Six Nations. The re- 
 mote situation of the settlements, and the Indians* 
 knowledge of the country, enabled them to send out 
 parties which did a great deal of mischief. 
 
 Both Brant and Butler were employed in the famous 
 expedition of Colonel St. Leger against Fort Schuyler 
 or Stanwix. When Burgoyne was advancing upon 
 Crown Point, in the invasion which terminated in his 
 capture, he detached Colonel St. Leger with a body of 
 light troops, Canadians, tories, and Indians, amounting 
 to eight hundred men, by the way of Lake Oswego and 
 the Mohawk river, to make a diversion in that quarter, 
 and to join him when he advanced to the Hudson. 
 
 On the 2d of August, St. Leger approached Fort 
 Schuyler, a log fortification, situated on rising ground 
 near the source of the Mohawk river, and garrisoned 
 by about six hundred continentals under the command 
 of Colonel Gansevoort. Next day he invested the place 
 with an army of sixteen or seventeen hundred men, 
 nearly one-half of whom were Indians, and the rest 
 British, Germans, Canadians, and tories. On being 
 summoned to surrender, Gansevoort answered that he 
 would defend the place to the last. 
 
 On the approach of St. Leger to Fort Schuyler, gene 
 ral Herkimer, who commanded the militia of Tryon 
 county, assembled about seven hundred of them and 
 marched to the assistance of the garrison. On the fore 
 noon of the 6th of August, a messenger from Herkimer 
 found means to enter the fort, and gave notice that he 
 was only eight miles distant, and intended that day to 
 force a passage into the fort and join the garrison. Gan 
 sevoort resolved to aid the attempt by a vigorous sally, 
 and appointed Colonel Willet with upwards of two hun 
 dred men to that service. 
 
 St. Leger received information of the approach of 
 Herkimer, and placed a large body of regulars and In 
 dians in ambush on the road by which he was to ad 
 vance. Herkimer fell into the snare. The first notice 
 which he received of the presence of an enemy was 
 from a heavy discharge of musketry on his troops, which 
 
HERKIMER'S DEFEAT. 235 
 
 Was instantly followed by the war-whoop of the Indians, 
 who attacked the militia with their tomahawks. Though 
 disconcerted by the suddenness of the attack, many of 
 the militia behaved with spirit, and a scene of unutter 
 able confusion and carnage ensued. The royal troops 
 and the militia became so closely crowded together that 
 they had not room to use fire-arms, but pushed and 
 pulled each other, and, using their daggers, fell pierced 
 by mutual wounds. Some of the militia fled at the first 
 onset, others made their escape afterwards ; about one 
 hundred of them retreated to a rising ground, where 
 they bravely defended themselves, till Sir John John- 
 stone, who commanded the ambuscade, found it neces 
 sary to call off his men for the defence of their own 
 camp. In the absence of the party against Herkimer, 
 Colonel Willet made a successful sally, killed a number 
 of the enemy, destroyed their provisions, carried off 
 some spoil, and returned to the fort without the loss of 
 a man. 
 
 The loss of Herkimer's party was computed to amount 
 to four hundred men : the general himself was among 
 the slain. Many of the most active political characters 
 in that part of the country were killed, wounded, or 
 made prisoners ; so that St. Leger was secured from 
 any further trouble from the militia. He now once more 
 summoned the fort to surrender, but again met with a 
 steady refusal. 
 
 General Schuyler, deeming it a matter of importance 
 to prevent the junction of St. Leger with General Bur- 
 goyne, dispatched Arnold with a considerable body of 
 regular troops to relieve Fort Schuyler. Arnold appre 
 hended an American of some wealth and influence, 
 who, he believed, had been acting the part of a traitor, 
 but promised to spare his life and fortune on condition 
 of his going into the British camp before Fort Schuyler, 
 and alarming the Indians and others by magnifying the 
 force which was marching against them. This the per- 
 son undertook and executed. Some Indians, who were 
 friendly to the Americans, communicated similar inform 
 ation, and even spread a report of the total defeat of 
 
236 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 General Burgoyne's army, founded, probably, on the cel 
 ebrated victory of General Stark at Bennington. 
 
 Fort Schuyler was better constructed, and defended 
 with more courage than St. Leger had expected ; and 
 his light artillery made little impression on it. His In 
 dians, who liked better to take scalps and plunder than 
 to besiege fortresses, became very unmanageable. The 
 loss which they had sustained in the encounters with 
 Herkimer and Willet deeply affected them : they had 
 expected to be witnesses of the triumphs of the British, 
 and to share with them the plunder. Hard service and 
 little reward caused bitter disappointment; and when 
 they heard that a strong detachment of continentals was 
 marching against them, they resolved to seek safety in 
 flight. St. Leger employed every argument and artifice 
 to detain them, but in vain ; part of them went off, and 
 all the rest threatened to follow if the siege were per 
 severed in. Therefore, on the 22d of August, St. Le 
 ger raised the siege, and retreated with circumstances 
 indicating great alarm : the tents were left standing, the 
 artillery was abandoned, and a great part of the bag 
 gage, ammunition, and provisions fell into the hands of 
 the garrison, a detachment from which pursued the re 
 treating enemy. St. Leger retired to Montreal, whence 
 he proceeded to Ticonderoga, with the intention of join 
 ing General Burgoyne. 
 
 General Arnold reached Fort Schuyler two days 
 after the retreat of the besiegers; but, finding no 
 occasion for his services, he soon returned to camp. 
 The successful defence of Fort Schuyler powerfully 
 co-operated with the defeat of the royal troops at 
 Bennington in raising the spirits and invigorating the 
 activity of the Americans. The loyalists became timid ; 
 the wavering began to doubt the success of the royal 
 arms ; and the great body of the people was convinced 
 that nothing but steady exertion on their part was ne 
 cessary to ruin that army which a short time before had 
 appeared irresistible. 
 
 General Schuyler, who, notwithstanding all his meri 
 torious sen ices, was no favourite with Congress, at this 
 
MURDER OF MISS M ACRE A. 237 
 
 critical period of the campaign, when by unwearied 
 exertion he had brought the northern arrny into a re 
 spectable condition, and had the fair prospect of gain 
 ing the laurels due to his industry and talents, was su 
 perseded, and General Gates appointed to the command 
 of the army. General Schuyler keenly felt the indig 
 nity offered him, by depriving him of the command at 
 that critical juncture ; but he faithfully discharged his 
 duty till the arrival in camp of his successor, on the 
 19th of August. The late events had greatly changed 
 the aspect of affairs ; and General Gates found the army 
 in a far more promising state than he had expected. 
 The harvest was over ; and many of the militia, who 
 had been kept at home by it, were arriving in camp, 
 where there was now a respectable force, much en 
 couraged by the recent success of the American arms. 
 
 Soon after General Gates entered on the command 
 of the northern army, an epistolary correspondence was 
 opened between him and General Burgoyne, not of the 
 most pleasant or courteous kind. On the 30th of Au 
 gust, the British general complained of the harsh treat 
 ment experienced by the loyalists who had been made 
 prisoners at Bennington, and hinted at retaliation. On 
 the 2d of September the American general answered 
 his letter, and recriminated by expatiating on the hor 
 rid atrocities perpetrated by the Indians who accompa 
 nied the armies of General Burgoyne and Colonel St. 
 Leger, and imputed them to General Burgoyne. One 
 barbarous act committed by an Indian attached to Gene 
 ral Burgoyne's army, although it involved only a case 
 of individual suffering, yet being described in the Amer 
 ican newspapers with every circumstance that could 
 excite the imagination and inflame the feelings, made a 
 deep impression on the public mind, and roused indig 
 nation to the highest pitch. 
 
 Mr. Jones, an officer of the British army, had gained 
 the affections of Miss Macrea, a lovely young lady of 
 amiable character and spotless reputation, daughter of 
 a gentleman attached to the royal cause, residing near 
 Fort Edward ; and they had agreed to be married. In the 
 
238 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 course of service, the officer was removed to some dis 
 tance from his bride, and became anxious for her safety 
 and desirous of her company. He engaged some In 
 dians, of two different tribes, to bring her to camp, and 
 promised a keg of rum to the person who should deliver 
 her safe to him. She dressed to meet her bridegroom, 
 and accompanied her Indian conductors ; but by the 
 way, the two chiefs, each being desirous of receiving 
 the promised reward, disputed which of them should 
 deliver her to her lover. The dispute rose to a quar 
 rel ; and, according to their usual method of disposing 
 of a disputed prisoner, one of them instantly cleft the 
 head of the lady with his tomahawk. (See Engraving 
 on the opposite page.) This simple story, sufficiently tra 
 gical and affecting in itself, was blazoned in the Ameri 
 can newspapers with every amplification that could ex 
 cite the imagination or touch the heart ; and contributed 
 in no slight degree to embitter the minds of the people 
 against those who could degrade themselves by the aid 
 of such allies. The impulse given to the public mind 
 by such atrocities more than counterbalanced any ad 
 vantages which the British derived from the assistance 
 of the Indians. 
 
 It is unnecessary for us to dwell longer on the atro 
 cities perpetrated by the Indian allies of Burgoyne. The 
 result of his campaign belongs to the general history of 
 the United States. We pass now to the dreadful mas 
 sacre at Wyoming, which took place in the following 
 year, first noting an exploit of Brant. 
 
 In the spring of 1778, General Lafayette being at 
 Johnstown, was waited upon by Colonel Campbell and 
 Mr. Wilson, who represented the exposed situation of 
 Cherry Valley. Lafayette directed a fort to be built 
 there, which was accordingly done, and the fort became 
 a retreat for the surrounding settlers when danger threat 
 ened. It became an object with Brant to destroy this 
 .little fortress. He accordingly lay in ambush near the 
 place with a party, but was deterred from his first in 
 tention of attack by mistaking a party of boys, playing 
 at soldiers, for a body of militia. He shot Lieutenant 
 

 r 
 
MASSACRE AT WYOMING. 241 
 
 Wormwood, however, and Captain Peter Sitz, who 
 passed near the ambush with dispatches. 
 
 Wyoming, a new and flourishing settlement on the 
 eastern branch of the Susquehannah, was destroyed in 
 July, 1778, by a party of Indians and tories. The ter 
 ritory in which this town was situated, was claimed 
 by two states, Pennsylvania and Connecticut ; and thus 
 the security of the inhabitants was destroyed. From 
 the collision of contradictory claims, founded on royal 
 charters, the laws of neither were enforced. In this set 
 tlement, so remote from any others, where the laws werei 
 but feebly enforced, the tories were under less control, 
 and could meet together without much danger of being 
 discovered. Twenty-seven of them were, however^ 
 taken and sent to Hartford for trial ; but they were af 
 terwards set at liberty. These, with others of the same 
 description, instigated by the desire of revenge against 
 the Americans, from whom they had suffered banish 
 ment and loss of property, joined the Indians, and at 
 tacked the Wyoming settlement; their combined forces 
 were estimated at about eleven hundred, of whom two 
 hundred were tories. The whole were commanded by 
 Colonel John Butler, of whom we have already spoken. 
 One of the forts, being very weak, surrendered to his 
 party ; but a part of the garrison had previously retired 
 to the fort at Kingston, called Forty-Fort. Colonel 
 John Butler soon appeared and demanded the surrender 
 of this place. Its commander, Colonel Zebulon Butler, 
 a continental officer, sent him a message, proposing a 
 conference at the bridge without the fort. This being 
 agreed to, the commander and some other officers re 
 paired to the place appointed ; they were followed by 
 nearly the whole garrison. Not finding any of the ene 
 my there, the Wyoming people advanced, supposing 
 that the enemy were retiring before them. They pro 
 ceeded forward till they were about three miles from 
 the fort ; they then saw a few of the enemy, whom they 
 fired at ; but they presently found that they had fallen 
 into an ambuscade. They* were now attacked by the 
 whole force of tories and Indians ; but fought gallantly 
 
242 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 till their retreat to the fort was entirely cut off. They 
 then fell into the greatest confusion. Out of four hun' 
 dred and seventeen who had left the fort, three hundred 
 and sixty were instantly slain. No quarter was given. 
 Colonel John Butler again demanded the surrender of 
 the fort. This was agreed under articles of capitula 
 tion, which secured to the people in the fort their effects. 
 The garrison, consisting of thirty men with two hundred 
 women, were allowed to cross the river and retreat 
 through the words to Northampton county. During 
 this retreat they suffered many hardships ; several wo 
 men were taken ill in the woods, and a scarcity of 
 provisions prevailed among them. The houses and 
 barns of the settlers were all burned; and their Jive- 
 stock either killed or carried away. (See Engraving on 
 the opposite page.) 
 
 In the November following, a massacre of the same 
 relentless character was perpetrated by Brant and his 
 tory friends in Cherry Valley. With a force of seven 
 hundred, of whom five hundred were his own warriors, 
 Brant, accompanied by Walter Butler, son of Colonel 
 John Butler, approached the fort on the 9th of Novem 
 ber, 1778. Colonel Ichabod Alden was in command at 
 the fort ; and he had disregarded certain intimations of 
 danger, and discouraged the inhabitants from taking 
 shelter in the fort, offering to keep scouts out to give 
 the alarm. His scouts built a fire and lay down to 
 sleep. They were of course captured by Brant, and 
 the surprise w r as complete. The place was invested in 
 all parts at once, and the inhabitants were murdered 
 with every circumstance of savage barbarity. Between 
 thirty and forty prisoners were carried off. Colonel 
 Alden paid for his carelessness with his life. The fort 
 was vigorously assailed, but being defended by two hun 
 dred soldiers, escaped the fate of the village. 
 
 Walter Butler, whose cruelty and callousness were 
 conspicuous in this massacre, was captured in an affair at 
 Johnstown in 1781. On his crying for quarter, an Onei- 
 da Indian, in the American service, screamed out " Sher- 
 
(343) 
 
AMERICANS CAPTURE ST. VINCENNES. 245 
 
 ry Valley !" and, at the same moment, clove his skull 
 with a tomahawk. 
 
 A short time previous to this affair, Colonel Butler, 
 with a party of Pennsylvania troops, proceeded on an 
 expedition against the Indians. Having, on the 1st of 
 October, 1778, reached the head of the Delaware, he 
 marched down that river for two days, and then struck 
 across the country to the Susquehannah. They burnt 
 the Indian villages both in that quarter and the other 
 settlements; but the inhabitants escaped. Great diffi 
 culties were encountered by Colonel Butler's men in 
 this expedition. Their provisions were carried on 
 their backs, and, thus loaded, they were frequently 
 obliged to wade through creeks and rivers. When their 
 march was over, they were compelled to endure damp 
 nights and heavy rains without having any thing to pro 
 tect them. Yet the expedition was successful, and in 
 sixteen days returned. About a month after Butler's 
 return, a large body of tories and Indians made an at 
 tack on Fort Alden in Cherry Valley, within the state 
 of New York. The fort was not taken ; but the enemy 
 succeeded in killing about forty persons, among whom 
 were Colonel Arden and ten of his soldiers^ 
 
 An expedition, under Henry Hamilton, lieutenant- 
 governor of Detroit, was entirely broken up through 
 the bold and spirited conduct of Colonel Clarke. This 
 expedition was intended to proceed against the back 
 settlers of Virginia, and a great many Indians were en 
 gaged in it. But Hamilton, posting himself at St. Vin- 
 cennes for the winter, that he might have every thing 
 ready for invading the American settlements as soon as 
 the season would permit, had weakened himself by send 
 ing parties of Indians against the frontier settlers. Clarke 
 hearing of this determined to attack him. After sur 
 mounting a great many obstacles, he suddenly appeared 
 before St.Vincennes with one hundred and thirty men. 
 
 The inhabitants of the town immediately surrendered 
 
 to the Americans, and assisted them in taking the fort, 
 
 (February 23d, 1779.) The next day Hamilton and 
 
 the garrison surrendered. Clarke, on hearing that a 
 
 23 
 
24(5 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 convoy of British goods was on its way from Detroit, 
 detached a party of sixty men, which succeeded in 
 making a prize of the whole. By this spirited attack, 
 Colonel Hamilton's expedition was nipped in the bud. 
 
 Clarke now transmitted some letters and papers to 
 the council of Virginia, relating to Lieutenant Governor 
 Hamilton, Philip de Jean, Justice of Peace for Detroit, 
 and William Lamothe, captain of volunteers, whom he 
 had made prisoners. This board reported that Hamil 
 ton had incited the Indians to take up arms against the 
 United States, and given them rewards for the scalps 
 they had taken ; that de Jean was the willing instru 
 ment of Hamilton ; and that Lamothe was captain of 
 a band of tories and Indians, whom he had ordered to 
 spare neither women nor children. The board, there 
 fore, considered them as fit objects for retaliation, and 
 advised the governor to put them in irons ; confine them 
 in a dungeon of the public jail ; debar them from the 
 use of pen, ink, and paper ; and permit them to con 
 verse with no one except the keeper. 
 
 On the 19th of April, Colonel Van Shaick, with a 
 party of fifty-five men, destroyed the whole of the 
 Onondaga settlements, consisting of about fifty houses, 
 together with a large quantity of provisions. In this 
 expedition twelve Indians were killed, and thirty-four 
 taken prisoners ; while not a single man of the Amer 
 icans was lost. 
 
 In all these contests the greatest cruelties were prac 
 tised by the Indians upon their prisoners. The American 
 refugees who had fled to the west, took part with the 
 savages, and by their knowledge of the settlements, and 
 their resources, did the Americans a great deal of harm. 
 Some of them were even more barbarous than the In 
 dians themselves ; they often assumed the dress of the 
 savages ; and, under the name of loyalty, perpetrated 
 cruelties that had heretofore been unheard of. 
 
 In the expeditions that had been made against the 
 Indians, a great many of them had been destroyed ; yet 
 those who remained were not intimidated, and still con 
 tinued their ravages. It was, therefore, resolved, in the 
 
COLONEL CL>EKB. Page 246. 
 
SULLIVAN CHASTISES THE INDIANS 247 
 
 year 1779, to carry a decisive expedition into the Indian 
 country. A considerable body of continental troops 
 was selected for this purpose, and placed under the com 
 mand of General Sullivan. 
 
 The Six Nations, or Mohawks, were the objects of 
 this expedition. They had promised the Americans to 
 remain neutral in the war. But overcome by the pre 
 sents and promises of the British agents, they all, with 
 the exception of the Oneidas, took up arms against the 
 United States. From their vicinity to the American 
 settlements, and their knowledge of the country, they 
 were enabled to do much harm. 
 
 The Indians, on hearing of the expedition projected 
 against them, immediately took measures to resist it. 
 They posted themselves on an advantageous piece of 
 ground, and fortified it in the best manner. On the 29th 
 of August, General Sullivan appeared before their works, 
 and immediately began the attack. The Indians resist 
 ed for about two hours, and then fled without making 
 any attempt to rally. Their consternation was so great 
 that they had no idea of making any further resistance ; 
 and as General Sullivan advanced into the country, 
 they retreated before him. The Americans were so 
 irritated against them, that officers and men laboured 
 equally in the destruction of their villages and corn 
 fields ; so that when the expedition was ended, there 
 was scarcely a house left standing, or an Indian to be 
 seen. The savages were thus taught that they could 
 not commit their depredations with impunity ; and their 
 ardour for making incursions into the American settle 
 ments was damped. 
 
 Meanwhile several detached parties of Indians had 
 succeeded in distressing different settlements in tiie 
 United States. A party of Indians and tories, eighty- 
 seven in number, under the command of Brant, at 
 tacked the Minnisink settlement, on the 23d of July ; and 
 burnt several houses and barns. A party of one hun 
 dred and forty-nine militia pursued them, but they pro 
 ceeded with so little caution that they were surprised 
 and defeated. About the same time an expedition was 
 
248 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 undertaken by General Williamson and Colonel Pickens 
 both of South Carolina, into the Indian country, August 
 22d, 1779 ; they burnt the corn of eight towns ; and in 
 sisted on the Indians leaving the lands which they there 
 occupied, and removing farther into the country. 
 
 In the same month, Colonel Broadhead left Pittsburg 
 with six hundred men, and proceeded against the Seneca 
 and Mingo Indians ; he was gone more than a month, 
 and destroyed several Indian huts, besides five hundred 
 acres of corn. 
 
 The state of New York continued to suffer from in 
 cursions of tories and Indians. They destroyed nearly 
 the whole town of Canajoharie, about fifty-six miles 
 from Albany. They also laid waste the country about 
 the Mohawk river, and killed several persons. 
 
 The Cherokees made an incursion into the district 
 of Ninety-Six, in South Carolina, where they massa 
 cred several families, and burned a number of houses. 
 In 1781, General Pickens, with about four hundred 
 mounted men, proceeded into their country. In a 
 fortnight he destroyed thirteen towns, and killed up 
 wards of forty Indians, besides taking several prison 
 ers. The vanquished Cherokees sued for peace, but it 
 was not granted them till they promised to deliver to 
 the Americans all persons who might instigate them to 
 take up arms in favour of the British. 
 
 In the latter part of the war, in 1782, a party of 
 civilized Indians, settled near the Muskingum, were 
 barbarously massacred. They abhorred war, and ad 
 vised the other Indians to remain neutral. This so 
 provoked the hostile Indians, that they carried them 
 away from the Muskingum to Sandusky Creek. In the 
 fall of the year, finding corn to be scarce, the civilized 
 Indians obtained permission to visit their old habitations, 
 and collect the crops they had planted before their re 
 moval. 
 
 When the people near the Monongahela heard that a 
 body of Indians were at the Moravian towns on the 
 Muskingum, a party of one hundred and sixty men 
 crossed the Ohio, and without inquiring who they were 
 
MASSACRE AT THE MORAVIAN VILLAGES. 249 
 
 put ninety of them to death. These Indians submitted 
 to their hard fate without attempting to destroy their 
 murderers, who, calling themselves Christians, were 
 more worthy the name of savages than the persons 
 whom they had so barbarously murdered. 
 
 Soon after this massacre, a party of Americans set 
 out to destroy the Indian towns near Sandusky ; but the 
 Delawares and some other Indians opposed them. A 
 battle ensued. The Indians were victorious ; several 
 Americans were killed and some taken prisoners. 
 Among the latter was Colonel Crawford. He was 
 sacrificed to the manes of those Indians who had been 
 murdered at the Moravian towns; and the rest were 
 put to death with the tomahawk. 
 
 Throughout the whole of this war, not only men 
 were massacred, but women and children were often 
 put to death in the most horrible manner. Whole 
 settlements were involved in promiscuous desolation. 
 Each was made a scourge to the other ; and the un 
 avoidable calamities of war were rendered doubly dis 
 tressing by the dispersion of families, the breaking up 
 of settlements, and an addition of savage cruelties, to 
 the most extensive devastation of those things which 
 conduce to the comfort of human life. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 NORTH-WESTERN WAR. 
 
 (DURING WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION.) 
 
 EMOTE from the seats 
 of commerce and civili 
 zation, the hardy pioneers 
 of the western country, 
 after the termination of 
 the revolutionary strug 
 gle, had still a bloody 
 war to sustain with the 
 savages in their neigh 
 bourhood. When peace 
 was concluded with Great 
 Britain, in 1783, many of 
 the Indian tribes on the north-western frontier, who had 
 been in alliance with that power, refused to lay down 
 the hatchet, and continued their merciless ravages on 
 the border settlers. 
 
 Between 1783 and 1790, according to estimates ap 
 parently correct, no less than one thousand five hundred 
 men, women, and children, were killed or captured by 
 the Indians upon the waters of the Ohio. More than 
 two thousand horses were stolen from the inhabitants; 
 an immense number of farms and plantations were 
 desolated ; boats passing on the river were constantly 
 plundered, and their crews murdered ; and property to 
 an unknown amount was destroyed by the savage foe. 
 Every effort which a humane policy could dictate had 
 been made to restore peace by negotiation; but the 
 
 (2.50) 
 
DEFEAT OF GENERAL HARMAR. 25 i 
 
 Indians were stimulated to these aggressions by the 
 British agents, and supplied with arms and sheltered 
 under the guns of the forts which Great Britain, in de 
 fiance of the stipulations of the treaty, still continued to 
 hold within our territory ; and they scornfully refused to 
 listen to any terms of conciliation. 
 
 They still committed many*ravages upon the western 
 frontier, and the most horrible cruelties were perpetrat 
 ed by them on the inhabitants. It finally was found ne 
 cessary to reduce them by force of arms. An expedi 
 tion was accordingly sent out in 1791, for the purpose 
 of destroying the Indian settlements on the Scioto and 
 Wabash. This expedition consisted of fourteen hun 
 dred and fifty men, under the command of General Har- 
 mar. Colonel Harden was dispatched by the com 
 mander with two hundred and ten militia and thirty 
 regulars, for the purpose of bringing the Indians to ac 
 tion. His party was attacked by them about ten miles 
 from Chillicothe, and, on- the first fire, the militia fled. 
 The regulars, however, maintained their ground; but 
 they were overpowered by numbers, and only seven of 
 them made their escape, leaving the remaining twenty- 
 three dead on the field. The ardour of the army was 
 damped by this disaster ; but it marched forward and 
 destroyed the towns on the Scioto. After this, Colonel 
 Harden was again dispatched for the purpose of bring 
 ing the Indians to a general engagement ; he was again 
 met and defeated with a great loss, (one hundred and 
 fifty men and twelve officers.) The survivors retreated 
 to the main army. 
 
 The Indians, becoming emboldened by these successes, 
 now committed greater ravages than before. The 
 whole western frontier was in a state of alarm. Hardly 
 a day passed without a report being heard of some one 
 murdered or some village burnt; and next year (1791) 
 the government of the United States determined to take 
 some decisive measures. General Arthur St. Clair was 
 accordingly appointed commander-in-chief of a large 
 army, whose object was to destroy the Indian villages on 
 the Miami, and to expel the savages from the country. 
 
S52 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The army, consisting of about two thousand men, march 
 ed from- Fort Washington (built on the site where Cincin 
 nati now is) on the 7th of September, and advanced to 
 wards the Indian settlements. When they approached 
 near the enemy, a body of the militia deserted ; Major 
 Hamtramck was detached to pursue them. The army 
 was by this means reduced to fourteen hundred men ; 
 they, however, proceeded on their march, and on the 
 3d of November encamped on an elevated piece of 
 ground about fifteen miles south of the Miami. The 
 Indians shortly afterwards made an attack on the mili 
 tia, who fled into the camp and caused confusion among 
 the regulars. The enemy now improved the advan 
 tage they had gained. Sheltering themselves behind 
 the trees and beneath the thick underwood, they poured 
 in a destructive fire upon the Americans, while they 
 themselves were scarcely ever to be seen. 
 
 General St. Clair was at this time suffering under a 
 painful disease ; but he delivered his orders with a per 
 fect calmness and self-possession. Attempts were made 
 to dislodge the enemy by the use of the bayonet, but 
 without success. Meanwhile General Butler had been 
 killed, and nearly all the artillery seized by the Indians. 
 Another charge was made with the bayonet, and the 
 artillery recovered. While the enemy were driven from 
 one point, they poured a deadly fire upon the Americans 
 from another. A great part of the army was now un 
 able to continue the fight on account of their wounds, 
 while a great many more had been killed. 
 
 St. Clair now saw that nothing could be done but to 
 endeavour to save the remnant of the army. A retreat 
 was therefore ordered; and the Indians pursued them 
 for about four miles ; and then returned to the camp to 
 share the spoil. The vanquished troops fled to Fort 
 Jefferson, left their wounded there, and then proceeded 
 to Fort Washington. 
 
 The loss in this battle was very great. Thirty-eight 
 officers were killed on the field, and five hundred and 
 ninety-three non-commissioned officers and privates 
 were either slain or missing. The number of Indians 
 
WAYNE PROCEEDS AGAINST THE INDIANS. 253 
 
 engaged is not exactly known. It is supposed that there 
 were about fifteen hundred ; and their loss is believed 
 to have been much less than that of the Americans. 
 The leader of the Indians on this occasion, as well as 
 in the defeat of General Harmar, was the Miami chief, 
 Little Turtle, a very celebrated personage. 
 
 The English are supposed to have instigated the In 
 dians to this engagement, and even to have led them on. 
 But this matter has never been satisfactorily settled. 
 The land for which the Indians fought had been the 
 property of their forefathers for many preceding ages. 
 Though they had ceded it to the United States, they 
 still hankered after it, and finally determined to keep, 
 at all hazards, the country where the bones of their an 
 cestors were deposited, and where they drew their first 
 breath. In the attempts to treat with them, which fol 
 lowed this defeat of St. Glair's, they insisted on the Ohio 
 river being considered the boundary of their territory ; 
 i. e., they claimed the whole state of Ohio and all the 
 country west of it, for themselves ostensibly, for the 
 British really. Peace on such terms was out of the 
 question. 
 
 The Indian war had now a very serious aspect. A 
 bill was introduced into the House of Representatives 
 directing three additional regiments of infantry, and a 
 squadron of cavalry to be raised for three years, if not 
 sooner discharged. This bill, after a great deal of dis- 
 cussiqn, was finally passed. By it, the military force 
 of the United States was fixed at five thousand men. 
 Several months elapsed before these could be raised. 
 General Wayne was appointed commander-in-chief in 
 place of General St. Clair, who had resigned. While 
 preparations were in progress for another campaign, 
 measures were taken to end the war in a pacific manner. 
 Two envoys were sent into the Indian territory with 
 offers of peace ; but they were both murdered. It there 
 fore became necessary again to attempt their defeat by 
 force of arms. 
 
 General Wayne advanced as far as the ground on 
 which St. Clair had been defeated, as it was too late in 
 24 
 
254 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the season to prosecute the objects of the expedition. 
 He erected a fort there, which he called Fort Recovery ; 
 and spent the time in disciplining his troops. The In 
 dians, expecting an attack upon their villages, had col 
 lected in force, with a determination to fight in their de 
 fence. On the 8th of August, Wayne reached the con 
 fluence of the Au Glaize and the Miamis of the lake, 
 without opposition. He here threw up some works of 
 defence. The Indians had collected at the British post 
 on the Miamis of the lakes, (a British post, let it be 
 remembered, on American ground,) at about thirty 
 miles distance, to the number of two thousand men. 
 Wayne now made one more effort for the attainment 
 of peace without bloodshed ; but was unsuccessful. He 
 therefore cautiously proceeded down the Miami, and 
 on the 20th of August a decisive engagement took 
 place. The Indians were posted in a wood in front of 
 the British works, which were inaccessible to the cav 
 alry. They were drawn up in their lines so near as to 
 support each other. Wayne ordered the front of his 
 army to advance with their bayonets and drive the ene 
 my from their hiding-places, and then to deliver their 
 fire and press the fugitives so vigorously as not to allow 
 them time to load. So rapid was the charge, and so 
 entirely was the enemy broken by it, that in the course 
 of one hour they were driven more than two miles 
 through thick woods to within gunshot of the British 
 fort. Little Turtle, who bore a conspicuous parkin the 
 fight, had opposed the other chiefs in council when they 
 decided on giving battle. His opposition was silenced 
 by another chief charging him with cowardice. The 
 event showed his wisdom. 
 
 General Wayne remained for three days in front of 
 the field of battle, laying waste the houses and corn 
 fields of the Indians. He then returned to Au Glaiz6 
 and destroyed the villages and corn within fifty miles 
 of the river. General Wayne lost in the battle one hun 
 dred and seven men in killed and wounded. The loss 
 of the Indians is unknown ; but they were driven out of 
 
EFFECTS OF WAYNE'S VICTORY. 
 
 255 
 
 their country, and forts erected in it to prevent their re 
 turn. 
 
 This decisive victory may be considered as closing 
 the wars of the Indians at that period in the United 
 States. The other Indian nations, which had shown some 
 symptoms of hostility, now became quiet and peace 
 able. The power of the United States, to restrain and 
 punish their enemies, became known among the Indian 
 tribes, and had a decided influence on their conduct. 
 
 General Wayne soon after concluded treaties with 
 the Indians on the north-west of the Ohio, by which 
 peace was restored to the contending parties on terms 
 satisfactory to both ; and the western frontier, no longer 
 at open war with the Indians, was soon peopled by emi 
 grants from the eastern states, who came hither to seek 
 their fortunes. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 TIPPECANOE WAR. 
 
 ENTUCKY, Ohio, ana 
 the other western states, 
 were by no means entire 
 ly exempted from the hor 
 rors of Indian warfare, 
 by the effects of General 
 Wayne's decisive victory. 
 British Influence was still 
 exerted to embroil the 
 frontier settlers of the 
 west with . the natives ; 
 and as the disputes respecting the orders in council, 
 and the impressment of seamen, rendered the approach 
 of war between Great Britain and the United States 
 more probable, the outrages of the savages increased 
 in frequency and boldness. But British influence was 
 not the only exciting cause for Indian hostilities. There 
 were two Indians, who appear to have emulated the 
 fame of king Philip in their systematic and determined 
 hostility to the United States. These were Tecumseh 
 and his brother, the Prophet. The following account 
 of these personages is extracted from Judge Hall's excel 
 lent work, the Memoir of the public services of William 
 Henry Harrison. 
 
 " In the year 1806, the celebrated impostor Ol-li-wa- 
 chi-ca, the prophet, called by some writers, from what 
 authority we know not, Els-kwa-taw-a, and his distin 
 guished brother Tecumthe, began to disturb the frontier 
 of Indiana, by a series of intrigues which produced the 
 
 (256) 
 
TECUMSEH. 257 
 
 most calamitous results. Tecumthe had matured a plan, 
 suggested to him, as is said, by the celebrated Red Jack 
 et, a plan which the great Pontiac had attempted in 
 vain, and which Little Turtle, another lofty spirit, was 
 supposed to ^.ve favoured to unite all the western 
 tribes in a league against the white people, under the 
 vain expectation that the combined Indian force would 
 be sufficient to destroy all the western settlements, and 
 drive the whites out of the great valley of the Missis 
 sippi. To effect this object, that crafty and daring war 
 rior traversed the whole frontier, visited the different 
 tribes, appealed earnestly to their prejudices, stirred up 
 the recollection of their wrongs, and exerted upon them 
 the subtle diplomacy, and masterly eloquence, in both 
 which he was so consummately skilled. 
 
 The two brothers, who were born at the same birth, 
 differed widely in character, but were well fitted to act 
 together in the prosecution of such an enterprise. The 
 Indian name of the prophet signified literally a door 
 opened, 9 in allusion probably to the way of deliverance 
 he was expected to point out to the red men ; while the 
 interpretation of the word Tecumthe is, s a panther 
 crouching.' , 
 
 Tecumthe was a daring and sagacious man a shrewd 
 and fluent orator, an able military chief, and a success 
 ful negotiator. He was full of enthusiasm, and fertile 
 of expedient. He possessed an intuitive hatred towards 
 the white men, against whom he had sworn eternal ven 
 geance, and with whom he held himself bound to ob 
 serve no measures of conciliation, until the purposes to 
 which he had devoted himself should be accomplished. 
 Peculiarly gifted in that kind of tact which distinguishes 
 the artful demagogue, he appealed successfully to the 
 people touched artfully upon topics which awakened 
 the vanity, the hatred, or the love of plunder of the In 
 dian ; and though the chiefs held back from motives of 
 policy, and the old men paused at the prospect of a war 
 fare which would cut off their annuities, and expose 
 them to the vengeance of a powerful nation, the young 
 er warriors panted to follow him to the spoil of the 
 R 
 
258 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 white man. Th^ daring and improvident, the indolent, 
 the thoughtless, and the intemperate all the loose ele 
 ments of society in the native villages those who were 
 careless of consequences, and to whom no change could 
 be productive of injury these were especially the 
 minds to which Tecumthe addressed himself; while to 
 the more prudent class he used arguments which at 
 least won their respect, and in some measure disarmed 
 opposition. 
 
 The Prophet possessed none of the manly qualities 
 of Tecumthe. He had no name in war, and was an 
 indifferent hunter. He was crafty, cruel, pusillanimous, 
 and haughty. He was also lazy and sensual, and, un 
 der various pretexts, obtained a livelihood by extorting 
 supplies of food and other necessaries from the Indians. 
 A variety of accidental circumstances gave him an as 
 cendency over the Indians, which his own talents could 
 not have earned the condition of the frontier, the su 
 perstition of the savages, and the powerful protection 
 of Tecumthe, who affected to treat his brother as a su 
 perior being. 
 
 The superior mind of Tecumthe had obtained a com 
 plete mastery over that of the Prophet ; and when in 
 council together, the latter never spoke. He was, how 
 ever, a better speaker than Tecumthe, and his manner 
 is said to have been more graceful than that of any 
 other Indian. Without the dignity of Tecumthe, he 
 possessed more persuasion and plausibility. 
 
 The project of governing the Indians through the 
 medium of a person supposed to be in immediate com 
 munication with the Great Spirit, probably originated 
 with Tecumthe, who found a suitable instrument in his 
 cunning and unprincipled brother. The Shawanese, to 
 which tribe they belonged, had long held the belief that 
 they were the favourite tribe, in the estimation of the 
 Great Spirit. In a speech made to Governor Harrison 
 in 1803, an old man of that nation said that the Shaw 
 anese had once possessed all the knowledge in the world, 
 but that having offended the Great Spirit, he had taken 
 it from them and lent it to the white people, who would 
 
THE TIPPECANOE WAR. 25S 
 
 soon be obliged to surrender it to the Shawanese. Act- 
 ing upon this delusion, the Prophet commenced a series 
 of incantations, and from time to time communicated 
 the supposed results of his intercourse with the Great 
 Spirit. He uttered the most extravagant prophecies, in 
 reference to the speedy downfall of the whites, the re 
 storation of the Indians to all their former hunting- 
 grounds, and the resumption of the customs of their an 
 cestors. To hasten this desirable end, the Indians were 
 admonished to abstain from the use of alt articles man 
 ufactured by the whites, and to cease their intercourse 
 with that hated race. Tecumthe acted upon this plan. 
 He seldom ate with a white man, and uniformly de 
 clined all articles of food which were peculiar to our 
 tables, unless when necessity compelled him to eat them." 
 
 The result of these intrigues was the famous Tippe- 
 canoe war. 
 
 In the autumn of the year 1811, a combination of 
 Indians, instigated by Tecumthe and the Prophet, began 
 a system of ravages upon the American territory, which 
 made it necessary that the government should immedi 
 ately take measures for the protection of its citizens. 
 For this purpose a small force of regulars and militia 
 was assembled at Vincennes, and placed under the 
 command of William Henry Harrison, governor of 
 the Indian territory, with instructions to march im 
 mediately to the Prophet's town, and demand a resto 
 ration of the property carried off by his partisans. He 
 was also authorized to obtain redress by coercive mea 
 sures if necessary. 
 
 Accordingly he marched into the enemy's country, 
 and on the evening of the 5th of November encamped 
 within nine miles of the Prophet's town. The next 
 morning he resumed his march, but no Indians were 
 discovered till he had arrived within six miles of the 
 town. The interpreters were then placed with the ad 
 vanced guard in order to open a communication witn 
 them if possible. But their efforts were vain. Parties 
 of Indians were frequently seen, but they paid no atten 
 tion to the invitation of the Americans ; and all theii 
 
260 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 attempts to open a communication and come to an un 
 derstanding with them were vain. When they came 
 within two miles of the town, the path descended a steep 
 hill, at the bottom of which was a small creek running 
 through a narrow wet prairie ; and, beyond this, a level 
 plain partially covered with oak timber, and without 
 underbrush. This was a very good situation for the 
 savages to make an attack upon the Americans, and 
 Harrison, supposing he would be assailed, proceeded 
 with the greatest caution. His march was, however, 
 not interrupted, and he arrived safely before the town. 
 He now sent Captain Dubois to the Prophet to treat for 
 peace. But in a few moments he returned, and stated 
 that the Indians were near in considerable numbers, but 
 would make no answer to the interpreter, though they 
 were near enough to hear what was said. 
 
 Harrison resolved no longer to hesitate about treat 
 ing the Indians as enemies. He therefore ranged his 
 troops in order of battle, and was marching against 
 them, when he met with three Indians sent to him by 
 the Prophet. An interview was held with them ; and, 
 after some consideration, it was resolved that no hos 
 tilities should take place before next morning, when a 
 conference should be held with tj^e principal chiefs, and 
 terms of peace agreed on. The army now proceeded 
 to a creek north-west of the village, and bivouacked on 
 a bank of dry oak land, considerably elevated, and situ 
 ated between two prairies. The infantry, in two co 
 lumns, occupied the front and rear, separated on the 
 left, one hundred and eighty yards, and on the right, 
 about half that distance. The left flank was covered 
 by two companies of mounted riflemen, containing one 
 hundred and fifty, rank and file, commanded by Major- 
 General Wells of Kentucky ; and the right flank by 
 Spencer's troop of mounted riflemen, to the number of 
 eighty. The front line was composed of one battalion 
 of the fourth regiment of the United States' infantry, 
 under the command of Major Floyd, flanked on the 
 right by two companies of militia, and on the left by 
 one. The rear line was formed of another battalion of 
 
BATTLE OF TJPPECANOE. 261 
 
 the fourth United States' infantry, under Colonel Baen, 
 acting major, flanked by four companies of militia, un 
 der Lieutenant-Colonel Decker. Two troops of dra 
 goons, sixty strong, took post in the rear of the left 
 flank ; and another, somewhat stronger, in the rear of 
 the front line. To guard against a night attack, the or 
 der of encampment was appointed the order of battle; 
 and each man rested upon his arms. 
 
 The order given to the army, in the event of a night 
 attack, was for each corps to maintain its ground at all 
 hazards till relieved. The dragoons were directed in 
 such case to parade dismounted, with their swords on 
 and their pistols in their belts, and to wait for orders. 
 The guard for the night consisted of two captains' com 
 mands of twenty-four men and four non-commissioned 
 officers ; and two subalterns' guards of twenty men and 
 non-commissioned officers the whole under the com 
 mand of a field officer of the day. 
 
 Just before reveille, on the morning of the 7th of Novem 
 ber, 1811, an attack commenced on the left flank, and the 
 piquets were driven in. The first notice of the enemy's 
 approach was the usual yell of the savages, within a short 
 distance of the line. They had violated the armistice 
 agreed upon, to subsist until the ensuing day ; which, it 
 would seem, they had proposed with a view to gain an 
 opportunity of surprising their adversaries in their usual 
 manner. Nothing but the precaution of encamping in 
 order of battle, and the deliberate firmness of the officers 
 in counteracting the effects of a surprise, saved the army 
 from total defeat. The storm first fell upon Captain 
 Barton's regulars and Captain Geiger's mounted rifle 
 men, forming the left angle on the rear line. Some In 
 dians forced themselves through the line and penetrated 
 into the encampment, where they were killed. The 
 companies, thus suddenly and severely attacked, were 
 reinforced with all possible speed. A heavy fire then 
 opened, to the left of the front, immediately on the reg 
 ular companies of Captains Baen, Snelling, and Pres- 
 cot. A gallant charge by the cavalry, from the rear 
 of the front line, under Major Davies, was ordered foi 
 
262 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the purpose of breaking the Indians, who appeared in 
 great force among some trees a few yards distant in 
 front. The major received a mortal wound, and his 
 men were driven back by superior numbers of the ene 
 my. Captain Snelling's company then charged with 
 fixed bayonets, and the enemy were dislodged. The 
 enemy's fire now extended along the left flank, the whole 
 of the front, the right flank, and part of the rear line. 
 Upon Spencer's mounted riflemen, and the right of War 
 wick's company, it was excessively heavy. Captain 
 Spencer and his first and second lieutenants were kill 
 ed ; and Captain Warwick fell, mortally wounded. The 
 troops, notwithstanding the fall of their officers, bravely 
 maintained their posts until reinforced. Day approach 
 ed, when Major Wells, reconnoitring the position of the 
 enemy on the left, charged and broke them. At this 
 favouring moment, a small detachment from the caval 
 ry dashed furiously upon the retreating Indians, and 
 precipitated them into the marsh. (See Engraving on 
 the opposite page.) Simultaneously with these success 
 ful efforts on the left, the enemy were charged on the 
 right by the companies of Captain Cook and Lieutenant 
 Larabie, supported by the mounted riflemen, who pur 
 sued and killed a number of Indians in their flight. 
 Driven now at all points, and pursued as far as the 
 ground would admit, the Indians dispersed in every di 
 rection. They were handled so severely in the retreat, 
 that they were compelled to abandon many of their 
 killed and wounded on the field, which is, with them, 
 evidence of positive defeat. Forty Indians were found 
 dead on the field. Numbers were carried off, some ot 
 whom were discovered the next day, in holes containing 
 two, three, and four bodies, covered, to conceal them from 
 the victorious army. The general estimated their loss, 
 in killed and wounded, at one hundred and fifty. Such 
 was the famous battle of Tippecanoe. Tecumseh was 
 not engaged in this battle, being absent from that region 
 on an excursion in the south. 
 
 During the time of the contest, the Prophet kept him 
 self secure un an adjacent eminence, singing a war- 
 
(263) 
 
DEATH OF MAJOR DA VIES. 265 
 
 song. He had told his followers that the Great Spirit 
 would render the army of the Americans unsuccessful, 
 and that their bullets would not hurt the Indians, wno 
 would have light, while the enemies would be involved 
 in thick darkness. Soon after the battle commenced, 
 he was informed that his men were falling. He told 
 them to fight, it would soon be as he predicted, and then 
 began to sing louder. 
 
 The troops throughout displayed the greatest bravery, 
 and effectually resisted one of the most furious assaults 
 ever experienced in savage warfare. They were saved 
 only by their soldierly conduct. Had a panic, in the first 
 onset of the savages, produced disorder, they would pro 
 bably, to a man, have become the victims of the most 
 merciless of foes. Their loss was severe, both in offi 
 cers and men, viz., one aid-de-camp, one captain, two 
 subalterns, one serjeant, two corporals, and thirty pri 
 vates killed ; two lieutenant-colonels, one adjutant, one 
 assistant surgeon, two captains, three subalterns, nine 
 Serjeants, five corporals, one musician, and one hundred 
 and two privates wounded ; besides one major, two cap 
 tains mortally. 
 
 Major Da vies fell early in the action, greatly lament 
 ed by all his associates. He held the first standing in 
 Kentucky, as a lawyer and an orator. In the field he 
 was brave to desperation, and in his death a hero. The 
 legislature of Kentucky, in testimony of their regret for 
 the loss of Davies, Owens, and other volunteers, who 
 were slain in this engagement, resolved to wear mourn 
 ing for thirty days ; and appointed John Rowan, Esq., 
 to deliver, in the capitol, a funeral oration, in honour of 
 the deceased. 
 
 Governor Harrison, on the 9th of November, having 
 burned the town, and laid waste the surrounding settle 
 ment, from which he obliged the defeated enemy to fly, 
 returned with his forces into the settled country. The 
 Prophet was immediately abandoned by his followers, 
 who, on his defeat, lost all faith in his supernatural pre 
 tensions. Even his life was endangered by the sudden 
 change in the feelings of those whom he had too sue- 
 
266 
 
 INDIAN WAilS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 cessfully deluded. Most of the Indian tribes who had 
 been influenced by his impious pretensions, after his ex 
 pulsion from his imagined sanctuary, offered their sub 
 mission, and sued for peace. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 NORTH-WESTERN WAR. 
 
 (1812 and 1813.) 
 
 IHE calm that succeeded 
 the battle of Tippecanoe 
 was but of short duration. 
 The Indians were not con 
 ciliated; they had been 
 overpowered ; and they 
 still bore an unquenchable 
 hatred to the people of 
 the United States. Wher* 
 war was declared, June 
 18th, 1812, against Great 
 Britain, they again broke out, devastated the whole of 
 the western frontier, and committed the most horrible 
 cruelties and murders ; so that in a short time many of 
 the inhabitants deserted their homes, and sought safety 
 in flight. 
 
 After the capture of Hull, the frontier was still more 
 exposed than formerly to the ravages of the Indians. 
 General Harrison, who had been appointed major-gen 
 eral in the Kentucky militia, in compliance with the 
 unanimous desire of his fellow-citizens in the western 
 country, hearing that Fort Wayne was invested by a 
 
INDIAN CHIEFS. 
 
 Page 266. 
 
" 
 
!K,ON ROOST FORK. 
 
 Page 267 
 
INDIAN OUTRAGES 2G7 
 
 arge body of the savages, hastened to its relief. But 
 when he had approached within a short distance of the 
 fort, the enemy retreated ; and he thus had the honour 
 of relieving that place without the shedding of blood. 
 Shortly after this event General Winchester was ap 
 pointed commander of the army instead of Harrison; 
 this appointment occasioned much uneasiness among 
 the troops ; and it required all Harrison's influence to 
 reconcile the army to the change. 
 
 Winchester, however, enjoyed the command but a 
 short time. When the president heard that it was the 
 wish of nearly all the inhabitants of the western states 
 that Harrison should be commander-in-chief of the 
 army, he appointed him to that situation, and intrusted 
 him with powers and responsibilities the most weighty 
 and delicate. No other person, except Washington and 
 Greene, had ever been entrusted with such absolute 
 authority as he now exercised. 
 
 On the 3d of September, a body of Kickapoo and 
 Winnebago Indians assembled at Fort Harrison, on 
 the Wabash, and endeavoured by treacherous pretences 
 of friendship to gain admission. The commander, Cap 
 tain Jeremy Taylor, was not, however, deceived by 
 them, but kept his garrison ready to defend the post ; 
 and on the next day the Indians made an assault ; but 
 were gallantly repulsed. 
 
 Irritated at this defeat, a large party of them broke 
 into the settlements on the Pigeon Roost Fork of White 
 River, where they massacred, in the most horrible man 
 ner, twenty-one persons, including women and children. 
 Shortly after, an escort of thirteen men, bearing pro 
 visions, was also surprised, and the whole of the party 
 murdered. 
 
 Similar atrocities having been committed in the Illi 
 nois and Missouri territories, Governor Edwards of 
 Illinois made appeals to the general government, as 
 well as to the governors of the neighbouring states, for 
 assistance. 
 
 Governor Shelby, whose zealous patriotism has ren 
 dered his name so conspicuous in the annals of this 
 25 
 
268 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 war, made an eloquent appeal to the people of Ken 
 tucky, calling on them for assistance. This appeal was 
 not without effect, for two thousand men were imme 
 diately assembled at Louisville, and other points on the 
 Ohio while so great was the excess of numbers that 
 many were turned back; and one veteran belonging 
 to a company whose services were not accepted, 
 after venting his disappointment, was heard to remark, 
 " Well, well, Kentucky has often glutted the market 
 with hemp, flour, and tobacco ; and now she has done 
 it with volunteers." 
 
 On the 1st of October the army was assembled at 
 Vincennes, where it was organized, and the command 
 assumed by General Samuel Hopkins, of the Kentucky 
 militia. They now crossed the W abash, and proceeded 
 in the direction of the Kickapoo villages, on the Illinois 
 river. But being deceived by their guides, they wan 
 dered about for several days without advancing far 
 towards the point of destination. The want of pro 
 visions was soon felt, and both horses and men were 
 sinking with fatigue. Under these circumstances it 
 was determined to return. The expedition was con 
 sidered to have failed in its principal object, and severe 
 reflections were cast upon the commander. But a court 
 of inquiry being afterwards held, they decided that his 
 conduct merited applause, rather than censure. 
 
 After dismissing the mounted men, General Hopkins 
 led a body of infantry against the Indians on the Wa- 
 bash. The march was commenced on the llth of No 
 vember, and conducted with the greatest caution. On 
 the 19th they arrived at the Prophet's Town, which was 
 destroyed, as were a Winnebago village, a few miles 
 lower down, and a Kickapoo village, on the western 
 side of the river. Operations were continued until the 
 24th, when the weather becoming extremely cold, and 
 the troops being destitute of the necessary clothing, they 
 returned home. 
 
 Meanwhile a successful expedition had been carried 
 on by Governor Edwards and Colonel Russell against 
 '.he Kickapoos. Their principal village, at the head of 
 
BATTLE OF FRENCHTOWN. 269 
 
 Peoria Lake, was surprised, a large number of warriors 
 killed, their corn destroyed, and about eighty horses 
 captured. 
 
 Information having been received that Colonel Elliot 
 was advancing from Maiden towards the river Raisin, 
 with a body of English and Indians, to attack the camp 
 at the Rapids, Colonel Lewis, who was stationed at 
 Presque Isle, pushed forward for Frenchtown, a village 
 midway between Presque Isle and Maiden, and distant 
 from each eighteen miles. After a laborious march 
 they arrived at this place, where they found the enemy 
 ready to receive them. It was, however, determined 
 to attack them ; accordingly an assault was made, and 
 the enemy were finally forced to give way. The Brit 
 ish were commanded by Major Reynolds, and they lost 
 about a hundred in killed and wounded. 
 
 Lewis determined to maintain his position at French- 
 town, and General Wincester, on receiving intelligence 
 of the victory, approved the decision of Lewis, hasten 
 ed to support him with all his troops, and on the 21st 
 of January established his head-quarters at Frenchtown, 
 which he determined to fortify the next day. Colonel 
 Wells was sent to the Rapids, where he met General 
 Harrison, who had arrived there the day before, and 
 was making every effort to hasten forward the rein 
 forcements. 
 
 The advices sent by Winchester to Harrison had all 
 been delayed by accidents incident to the wilderness 
 and the season ; and he was now endeavouring to sup 
 port movements which he could not have foreseen, and 
 of which he was recently and unexpectedly apprized. 
 This, with his feeble and scattered means, in the depth 
 of a northern winter, and in the impracticable state of 
 that wilderness region, was a hopeless undertaking ; but 
 unpromising as it was, it was attempted with zeal and 
 earnestness; and on the 20th he dispatched Captain 
 Hart with instructions to Winchester to maintain the 
 position at the river Raisin. 
 
 As soon as the British at Maiden heard of the ad 
 vance of the Americans on Frenchtown, they deter- 
 
270 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 mined to attack them. Accordingly, on the morning 
 of the 22d, they commenced the assault, by opening a 
 heavy battery at the distance of three hundred yards 
 from the American camp. The enemy had approached 
 in the night in profound silence. The Americans were 
 outnumbered, and only a part of them were protected 
 by temporary breastworks. The assailants rushed for 
 ward to the charge, with the bayonet and the toma 
 hawk, amid the loud yells of the savage. From the 
 camp of Lewis, which was surrounded with pickets, 
 they were repulsed ; but the reinforcement which had 
 arrived under Winchester, and was unprotected by any 
 work, was overpowered, and forced to give way. 
 General Winchester hastened to the scene of action, 
 and endeavoured, ineffectually, to rally the broken lines. 
 But the British pressed upon the disordered troops ; the 
 Indians gained their right flank, and the men began to 
 retreat in confusion across the river. Lewis and Allen 
 gallantly endeavoured to regain the ground that had 
 been lost, but in vain ; the Indians had now gained the 
 other flank, and were in possession of the woods in the 
 rear. Confusion increased ; a large party of our troops 
 which had reached the woods were surrounded and 
 massacred without distinction and without mercy. Near 
 ly one hundred were tomahawked at one spot. Every 
 fugitive was slaughtered. The brave Allen, after being 
 badly wounded, and retreating two miles, surrendered 
 to an Indian ; another savage assailed him, and Allen, 
 with a blow of his sword, struck the assassin dead, and 
 was himself shot down by a third Indian. 
 
 Lieutenant Garrett having surrendered himself, with 
 a party of fifteen or twenty men, all but himself were 
 instantly butchered. Another party of thirty men had 
 retreated three miles, when they were surrounded, and 
 compelled to surrender; half of them were murdered. 
 Winchester and Lewis were captured, and their coats 
 stripped off: in this condition they were taken to Colo 
 nel Proctor's head-quarters. 
 
 The troops within the picketing, under Graves and 
 Madison, still maintained that position with Spartan 
 

MASSACRE AT THE RIVER AAISIN. 27 I 
 
 valour. Major Graves, when severely wounded, sat 
 down, exclaiming, " Never mind me fight on." Proc 
 tor, at length wearied with the ineffectual sacrifice of 
 his men, withdrew his mercenary troops and savage 
 allies from the vain attempt to dislodge this little band 
 of heroes. 
 
 But Proctor at length procured by an act of inde 
 scribable baseness, what he could not effect by valour. 
 He told General Winchester that unless the remainder 
 of his troops should surrender, the whole of the prison 
 ers would be massacred. Shocked as he must have 
 been at such a violation of the laws of war, he had 
 seen enough to know that he was in the hands of a 
 monster, who only wished for some pretext to steep his 
 hands still more deeply in blood. A flag was sent by 
 him, therefore, with an order to Major Madison to sur 
 render, borne by Major Overton, the aid of Winchester, 
 and accompanied by Proctor. The latter insolently 
 demanded an immediate surrender ; threatening, in case 
 of refusal, to deliver over the whole garrison to the 
 vengeance of the Indians. Major Madison observed, 
 " That it had been customary for the Indians to massa 
 cre the wounded and prisoners, and that he would not 
 agree to any capitulation which General Winchester 
 might direct, unless the safety and protection of his 
 men were stipulated." Colonel Proctor said, " Sir, do 
 you mean to dictate to me ?" " No," replied the gallant 
 Madison, " I intend to dictate for myself, and we prefer 
 selling our lives as dearly as possible, rather than to be 
 massacred in cold blood." Proctor then received the 
 surrender, on the conditions that private property should 
 be respected, that the prisoners should be protected by 
 a guard, the sick and wounded removed on sleds, and 
 the officers allowed to retain their side-arms. 
 
 We forbear to shock our readers by recounting in 
 detail the atrocities that ensued ; atrocities which have 
 covered the name of Proctor with eternal infamy. 
 The prisoners thus taken were given over to the In 
 dians to be slain in cold blood. A few were saved by 
 the interposition of some of the officers. Graves, Hart, 
 
272 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Hickman, and other gallant officers, with their brave 
 companions, were coldly delivered up, by British of 
 ficers, to the infuriated Indians, and butchered in their 
 presence. Some of their bodies were thrown into the 
 flames of the burning village, and others, shockingly 
 mangled, left exposed in the streets. Major Woolfolk, 
 the secretary of Winchester, was shot some days after 
 his capture, and Major Graves murdered at some later 
 period, which has never been ascertained. For several 
 days this horrid tragedy continued to be acted; and 
 every prisoner who became exhausted in the march 
 towards Maiden, was handed over to the savages. (See 
 Engraving on the opposite page.) 
 
 For the massacre at the river Raisin, for which any 
 other civilized government would have dismissed, and 
 perhaps have gibbeted, the commander, Colonel Proctor 
 received the rank of major-general in the British army ! 
 So far from disgracing the perpetrator of such atro 
 cities, the government rewarded him ; and the com 
 mander of the forces in Upper Canada, in a general 
 order distinguished for its falsehood and malignity, 
 boasted of this " brilliant action," and of the "gallantry" 
 of Proctor, which he declared to have been " nobly dis 
 played !" 
 
 In the latter part of April, the British, accompanied 
 by their usual allies, the Indians, proceeded against 
 Fort Meigs. On the morning of the 1st of May, they 
 had completed their batteries, and had every thing ready 
 for opening their fire upon the Americans. But while 
 the British had been employed in erecting batteries, the 
 Americans had constructed a grand traverse, running 
 entirely across the camp. When the British were about 
 to fire, orders were given for the tents in front of this 
 work to be struck; and in a few minutes they all dis 
 appeared, and not a person was visible from the British 
 lines. They, however, opened their batteries, but with 
 out doing much harm. 
 
 General Clay was still on his way to join Harrison. 
 He being informed that Clay would reach the camp at 
 dawn on the ensuing morning, determined to make a 
 
(S73) 
 
 s 
 
SORTIE FROM FORT MEIGS. 275 
 
 sortie upon the enemy; he, therefore, sent orders for 
 Clay to land with eight hundred men at a point to be 
 shown by Captain Hamilton, a mile and a half above 
 Camp Meigs. Hamilton was to conduct the detach 
 ment to the British batteries, on the left bank of the 
 river. These were to be taken, the cannon spiked, and 
 the carriages cut down ; the troops were then to em 
 bark in the boats, and cross to the fort. The remainder 
 were to land on the other bank, and cut their way 
 through the Indians into the fort. 
 
 Colonel Dudley proceeded to lead the detachment 
 against the enemy's batteries ; while General Clay fol 
 lowed with the remainder of his men. In attempting 
 to land, the boats of Clay became separated by the 
 violence of the current, and were landed at different 
 points. Captain Peter Dudley marched into the camp 
 without loss, under a heavy fire of the enemy. Colonel 
 Boswell, with the rear boats, deceived by a movement 
 of those in advance, was about to land on the wrong 
 side, when he was instructed to cross over, and fight 
 his way into the camp. When he had landed, the party 
 was put in great danger by the Indians ; but they fought 
 their way through them, and arrived safely at the fort. 
 
 General Harrison now ordered a sortie from the fort, 
 under the command of Colonel John Miller. He, ac 
 companied by Major Todd, charged the British, and 
 drove them from their batteries spiked their cannon, 
 and took forty-one prisoners, including an officer, hav 
 ing completely beaten and driven back the enemy. The 
 British force consisted of two hundred regulars, one 
 hundred and fifty Canadians, and five hundred Indians, 
 being more than double the number of the brave de 
 tachment that had attacked them. 
 
 Meanwhile Colonel Dudley had effected a landing on 
 the opposite side of the river, and marched rapidly 
 towards the enemy's batteries. He succeeded com 
 pletely in the objects of the expedition ; the batteries 
 were carried without the loss of a single man. But 
 instead of returning immediately to the fort, they loiter 
 ed about the batteries with the most perfect indifference 
 
276 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 to any approaching danger. They were now attacked 
 by a party of Indians ; these they defeated and pur 
 sued for two miles. The left column, under Major 
 Shelby, which remained in possession of the batteries, 
 was now charged by the enemy, who had rallied -. 
 some were made prisoners, and others driven to the 
 boats. Shelby rallied the remainder and hastened to 
 the assistance of Dudley. A retreat was now at 
 tempted, but in the utmost disorder. A greater part of 
 the men were captured by the Indians, or surrendered 
 to the English. 
 
 The British and Indians now perpetrated their usual 
 atrocities. The gallant Dudley, with several of his 
 companions, were tomahawked. The prisoners were 
 taken to Fort Miami, and the Indians there stationed 
 themselves on the ramparts, and fired upon them. 
 Others, still more cruel, selected a victim, led him out, 
 and in the very presence of Proctor and his officers, 
 tomahawked him. This horrid work continued till the 
 arrival of Tecumseh, who put a stop to the carnage. 
 
 Soon after, Proctor sent a formal summons to Har 
 rison to surrender; but he replied that he considered 
 such a message as an insult. Proctor, finding that he 
 could not take the fort, raised the siege and decamped. 
 
 On the morning of the 31st of July, a body of 
 English and Indians arrived before Fort Stephenson, 
 which was commanded by Major Croghan. The gar 
 rison were then summoned to surrender, and in case of 
 refusal, were threatened with instant death at the hands 
 of the Indians. ,Major Croghan answered, " that when 
 the fort should be taken, there would be none left to 
 massacre; as it would not be given up while a man 
 was able to fight." 
 
 The British began their firing early in the morning, 
 and continued it throughout the day. In the evening, 
 an assault was made by the whole force of the enemy, 
 in two columns, one led by Colonel Short, the other by 
 Colonel Warburton and Major Chambers. They rushed 
 forward with great bravery; but they were thrown 
 into confusion by a destructive fire of musketry, kept 
 
SIEGE OF FORT ME1GS. 277 
 
 up by Captain Hunter. The loss of the Americans 
 was one killed and seven wounded ; whilst that of the 
 British was about one hundred and fifty in killed and 
 wounded. 
 
 When the fighting had ceased, Major Croghan sent 
 out provisions and water to the wounded of the British, 
 who were lying in a deplorable condition, in the ditch 
 around the fort ; and those who were able to creep to 
 the fort were kindly received. 
 
 The next morning, at three o'clock, the whole British 
 and Indian force commenced a disorderly retreat. 
 
 A few days before this event, Fort Meigs was in 
 vested by fifteen hundred British regulars and Cana 
 dians, and by five thousand Indian warriors led on by 
 Tecumseh and Dickson. A large portion of the latter 
 were Winnebagoes, and others of the fiercest of the 
 Indian tribes, from the shores of the upper lakes ; who 
 were brought for the first time against the army of 
 Harrison, by a promise that the fort should be stormed, 
 and the prisoners and booty delivered over to them, to 
 be dealt with according to their pleasure. 
 
 Harrison received information of these facts by Cap 
 tain M'Cune; he having received his advices, had just 
 returned to the fort, when a subtle stratagem was made 
 use of to draw the Americans from the fort. A sham 
 fight was acted in sight of the garrison ; the Indians 
 attacked a body of Canadians, who at first broke, but 
 afterwards rallied again, when the Indians gave back. 
 It was expected that the garrison would mistake the 
 Canadians for the army of Harrison, and rush out to 
 their relief. But the advices brought by Captain M'Cune 
 prevented this mistake. Had the troops rushed out as 
 had been anticipated, they would all, without doubt, 
 have been instantly massacred, and the fort taken pos 
 session of by the Indians and British troops. A short 
 time after, dissensions broke out among the English and 
 their allies, and the siege was raised. 
 
 The victory of Commodore Perry having opened to 
 the Americans the navigation of Lake Erie, General 
 Harrison now determined to cross over into Canada 
 26 
 
278 INDIAN WARS IN TFIK UNITED STATES. 
 
 and bring Proctor to an engagement. This latter gene 
 ral retreated before him, but, after a severe pursuit, 
 was overtaken on the 5th of October. Proctor's army 
 was posted on the river Thames ; his left was flanked 
 by that river, and his right by a swamp. Beyond the 
 latter, and between it and another swamp still further 
 on the right, were the Indians under Tecumseh. Proc 
 tor had formed his men in open order, that is, with in 
 tervals of three or four feet between the files. Har 
 rison, on perceiving this, ordered Colonel Johnson, with 
 the mounted men, to dash through the enemy's line in a 
 column. This was easily done ; and forming in their 
 rear, the Americans assailed their broken line. The 
 battle was gained. No sooner was their line broken, 
 than the British began to throw down their arms and 
 beg for quarter. 
 
 On the American left, some fighting took place with 
 the Indians. A lively fire was kept up for some time. 
 Tecumseh rushed on Colonel Johnson, with his toma 
 hawk raised, and was on the point of striking him, 
 when Johnson drew a pistol from his belt and shot him 
 dead.* The Indians, on the death of their chief, gave 
 way and retired in confusion. (See Engraving on the 
 opposite page.) 
 
 With the exception of a few who had galloped off 
 with General Proctor, the whole British army was 
 taken. Their loss in this engagement was eighteen 
 killed and twenty-six wounded ; while the prisoners 
 amounted to six hundred. The number of troops en 
 gaged on our side was less than twenty-five hundred, 
 of whom nearly all were militia. The enemy brought 
 into the field eight hundred and forty-five regular sol 
 diers and two thousand Indians ; so that if there was 
 any difference in point of numbers, it was in their 
 favour. 
 
 * It is but fair to state that this account of the death of Tecum 
 seh is disputed ; and this with so much circumstantial evidence 
 against the version of the affair in the text, that it still remains a 
 question in the history of Indian warfare, " Who killed Tecum- 
 eh?" 
 
(279) 
 

TESTIMONY TO HARRISON'S MERIT. 281 
 
 We close our account of this war, which thus fur 
 may be characterized as an Indian war, with the fol 
 lowing remarks of Judge Hall.* 
 
 " The defeat of the enemy was the consequence of a 
 novel and most able disposition of our army by its 
 commander, and the quickness with which he took 
 advantage of the enemy's errors on the field of battle, 
 at the moment of engaging, and of the gallantry of 
 our brave troops. It closed the war in that quarter ; 
 and, together with the brilliant victory of Perry on the 
 adjacent lake, rescued the whole north-western frontier 
 from the depredations of the savage, and from all the 
 accumulated horrors of war. In the language of the 
 Hon. Langdon Cheves on the floor of Congress, * The 
 victory of Harrison was such as would have secured 
 to a Roman general, in the best days of the republic, 
 the honours of a triumph. He put an end to the war 
 in the uppermost Canada.' He received his reward. 
 He was complimented by Congress, and by various 
 public bodies. There was but one voice it was that 
 of national gratitude, bursting out in loud acclamation, 
 in applause of the public services of a great national 
 benefactor." 
 
 * " Memoir of the Public Services of William Henry Harrisoa 
 of Ohio." 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 THE CREEK WAR. 
 
 (1813 and 1814.) 
 
 the spring of 1812, the 
 southern Indians were 
 visited by the celebrated 
 Tecumseh, who, with an 
 ardent but savage elo 
 quence, urged them to 
 take up arms against the 
 whites. He reminded 
 his countrymen of the 
 usurpation of their lands 
 by the European race; 
 and painted in glowing terms their spirit of encroach 
 ment, and the consequent diminution of the Indians. He 
 also brought to his aid the influence of religion, and de 
 nounced the vengeance of the Great Spirit against those 
 who should imitate the manners of the whites. In short, 
 his arguments had such an effect that the Creeks took 
 up arms, and began to commit depredations upon the 
 settlements of the Americans. 
 
 The first regular appearance of hostility was, how 
 ever, made by the Creeks and Seminoles, who resided 
 within the limits of Florida. A number of fugitive 
 negroes having joined them, they began a cruel and 
 harassing warfare against the whites. In September, 
 1812, a party of Georgia volunteers, under the com 
 mand of Colonel Newman, was attacked near the 
 Lackway towns, by a very superior force of Indians. 
 Thev, however, bravely defended themselves, and the 
 
 (282) 
 
'284) 
 
CREEK INDIANS DEFEATED. 285 
 
 Indians were obliged to retreat. But in the evening 
 they again returned, and obliged the Georgians to re 
 treat to the place from which they had set out. 
 
 On the 30th of August, 1813, Fort Mimrns, which 
 contained one hundred and fifty men, under the com 
 mand of Major Beasely, besides a number of women 
 and children, was surprised by a party of Indians. The 
 houses were set on fire, and those who escaped the 
 flames fell victims to the tomahawk. Neither age nor 
 sex was spared; and the most horrible cruelties, of 
 which the imagination can conceive, were perpetrated. 
 Out of the three hundred persons which the fort con 
 tained, only seventeen escaped to carry the dreadful 
 intelligence to the neighbouring stations. 
 
 This sanguinary and unprovoked massacre excited 
 universal horror, and the desire of revenge. The state 
 of Tennessee immediately took active measures for 
 punishing the aggressors. General Jackson was order 
 ed to draft two thousand of the militia and volunteers 
 of his division; and General Coffee was directed to pro 
 ceed with five hundred mounted men to the frontier of 
 the state. The former having collected a part of his 
 force, joined Colonel Coffee on the 12th of October, at 
 Ditto's landing, on the Tennessee. They then marched 
 10 the Ten Islands, on the same river. A few days 
 afterwards, General Coffee was detached with nine 
 hundred men to attack a body of the enemy, posted at 
 Tallushatchee. He arrived early in the morning within 
 a short distance of it, and dividing his force into two 
 columns, completely surrounded it. The Indians, for a 
 long time, made a desperate resistance, and did all that 
 it was possible for men to do who were in their situa 
 tion. But they were finally overpowered, with the loss 
 of one hundred and eighty-six men. (See Engraving 
 on the opposite page.) A number of women and children 
 were also taken prisoners. Of General Coffee's force, 
 five were killed, and forty wounded. 
 
 General Jackson now determined to proceed with his 
 whole force to the relief of a post garrisoned by the friend- 
 y Indians, at Talladega, about thirty miles distant, which 
 
286 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 was besieged by the enemy. Accordingly, on the 
 evening of the 7lh of December, he arrived within six 
 miles of the enemy. On the next morning, his march 
 was resumed, and having arrived at a mile from the 
 Indians, he made his dispositions for the attack. The 
 advance, under General Carroll, was directed to com 
 mence the action, and the mounted men were posted on 
 the right and left so as to be able to surround the enemy. 
 This plan would have fully succeeded, had not a part 
 of the infantry fled on the first approach of the enemy. 
 The Indians were, however, defeated, but a great por 
 tion of them escaped, in consequence of the investment 
 not being complete. Three hundred warriors were left 
 dead on the field, and a great number were killed in the 
 pursuit. Of the Americans, fifteen were killed, and 
 eighty wounded. 
 
 An opportunity might now have offered to follow up 
 the blow, but this was prevented by the want of pro 
 visions. General Jackson, therefore, marched back his 
 army to Fort Strother, at the Ten Islands ; but on his 
 arrival there, he learnt, to his great mortification, that 
 no supplies had arrived. In this situation the army was 
 reduced to great inconveniences, and discontent soon 
 broke out among the volunteers. Having in vain en 
 deavoured to quell it, he ordered them to be marched 
 back to Nashville, to await the orders of the president. 
 
 Whilst General Jackson was thus contending with 
 his men, General Cocke, who commanded the militia 
 of East Tennessee, detached General White with a 
 part of his force against the towns of the Hillabee 
 tribe. White proceeded to fulfil his instructions ; and 
 having destroyed their town and killed sixty warriors, 
 he returned with about two hundred and fifty prisoners. 
 About the same time, the Georgia militia under General 
 Floyd, obtained a signal victory over a body of the 
 enemy at the Autossee towns, on the Tallapoosa river. 
 
 General Jackson being now reinforced by a body of 
 about one thousand mounted volunteers, determined to 
 attack the Indians, who were posted at the bend of the 
 Tallapoosa. On the 21st of January, 1814, he arrived 
 
Page 286. 
 
OPERATIONS AGAINST THE CREEKS. 287 
 
 in the vicinity of the enemy, and encamped in a hollow 
 square. On the morning of the 22d, the Indians com 
 menced a furious attack upon his left flank, but after a 
 warm action were repulsed with considerable loss. 
 Jackson now determined on a general attack. The 
 Indians resisted for a long time, but were finally over 
 powered. They fled, leaving a great number of their 
 companions lying dead on the field of battle. 
 
 This battle was not gained without considerable loss 
 to the victors. The wounded required care and atten 
 tion, which they could not receive in that quarter, and 
 it was therefore determined to proceed to the Ten 
 Islands. Accordingly, on the next morning, the army 
 began its march, and proceeded without interruption 
 till it arrived at the Enotichopco creek. While crossing 
 this, Jackson was attacked by a numerous body of 
 Indians. On the first fire, the vanguard retreated into 
 the creek, thus leaving only about twenty to oppose the 
 enemy. But the Indians, perceiving that they were 
 now about to be attacked by the main body, retired in 
 confusion, and were pursued a considerable distance. 
 Their loss during the pursuit was very great, while that 
 of the Americans was but trifling. The repulse received 
 by the enemy, prevented any further molestation of the 
 army, which reached Fort Strother on the 27th of 
 January. 
 
 A short time after Jackson's return to Fort Strother, 
 the term of service of the volunteers expired, and they 
 were discharged with honourable testimonies, by their 
 commander. To supply their places, a draft of twenty- 
 five hundred militia was now made, for a tour of three 
 months ; and on the 6th of February, a regiment of 
 regular infantry, six hundred strong, arrived at Fort 
 Strother. Discontent again broke out among his army, 
 occasioned by the want of provisions ; but, by the firm 
 ness of General Jackson, order was again restored. He 
 finally succeeded in gaining the supplies of which he 
 was in so much need, and on the 14th of March, com 
 menced another expedition against the Creeks, which 
 ended in the entire overthrow of this unfortunate nation. 
 
288 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The encampment which General Jackson determined 
 to attack, was situated on the Tallapoosa, near Toucka. 
 This place had been fortified by the Indians, with a de 
 gree of skill uncommon among an uncivilized people. 
 The force which Jackson brought with him consisted 
 of about three thousand men ; and at ten o'clock in the 
 morning of the 27th of March, he arrived within a 
 short distance of the encampment, and made his pre 
 parations for the attack. These were soon completed, 
 and the army marched forward to the contest. The 
 Indians resisted for a long time with the greatest obsti 
 nacy; but the ramparts were finally scaled and the 
 enemy driven into the brush. But they were soon com 
 pelled to retire from this, and surrounded on every side. 
 General Jackson now sent a flag, with an interpreter, 
 to summon them to surrender. But the party was fired 
 on and a person wounded. The destruction which they 
 appeared to seek, was now accorded them. The trees 
 and brush in which they had concealed themselves, 
 were set on fire, and they were thus exposed to the 
 view of their assailants, by whom their numbers were 
 soon materially thinned. This work of slaughter and 
 misery continued until night, when the few wretched 
 survivors, aided by the darkness, succeeded in making 
 their escape. This victory gave a death-blow to the 
 power and hopes of the Creeks. Five hundred and 
 fifty-seven of their warriors were found dead on the 
 ground; and three hundred women and children fell 
 into the hands of the victors. The American loss was 
 fifty-five killed, and one hundred and forty-six wounded. 
 
 After this engagement, General Jackson returned 
 with his victorious army to Fort Williams ; but, deter 
 mined to give his enemy no opportunity of retrieving 
 the misfortune that had befallen him, he recommenced 
 operations immediately afterwards. On the 7th of April, 
 he again set out for Tallapoosa, with the view of form 
 ing a junction with the Georgia troops under Colonel 
 Milton, and completing the subjugation of the country. 
 On the 14th of that month, the union of the two armies 
 was effected, and both bodies moved to a place called 
 
(290) 
 
SUBMISSION OF THE CREEKS. 291 
 
 the Hickory Ground, where, it was expected, the lasf 
 final stand would be made by the Indians, or terms of 
 submission would be agreed* on. The principal chiefs 
 of the different tribes had assembled here, and, on the 
 approach of the army, sent a deputation to treat for 
 peace. Among them was Weatherford, celebrated 
 equally for his talents and cruelty, who had directed 
 the massacre at Fort Mimms. It had been the intention 
 of General Jackson, to inflict a signal punishment upon 
 him, if ever in his power. Struck, however, with the 
 bold and nervous eloquence of this fearless savage, 
 and persuaded of the sincerity of his wishes for peace, 
 he dismissed him without injury. Some of the speeches 
 of this warrior have been preserved, and exhibit a beau 
 tiful specimen of the melancholy but manly tone of a 
 savage hero, lamenting the misfortunes of his race. 
 The following passages are all we have room to insert. 
 (See Engraving, on the opposite page.) Addressing Gene 
 ral Jackson, he said, " I am in your power do with 
 me as you please. I am a soldier. I have done the 
 white people all the, harm I could ; I have fought them, 
 and fought them bravely." " There was a time when 
 I had a choice, and could have answered you : I have 
 none now, even hop'e is ended. Once I could animate 
 my warriors ; but I cannot animate the dead. My war 
 riors can no longer hear my voice : their bones are at 
 Talladega, Tallushatchee, Emuckfaw, and Tohopeka, 
 Whilst there was a chance of success, I never left my 
 post, nor supplicated peace. But my people are gone ; 
 and I now ask it for my nation and myself." He 
 shortly afterwards became the instrument of restoring 
 peace, which was concluded by the total submission of 
 the Indians. They agreed to retire in the rear of the 
 army, and occupy the country to the east of the Coosa ; 
 while a line of American posts was established from 
 Tennessee and Georgia, to the Alabama, and the power 
 and resources of these tribes were thus effectually de- 
 stroved. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 (1817.) 
 
 UST after the close of the 
 last war with Great Bri 
 tain, when the British 
 withdrew their military 
 force from the Floridas, 
 Edward Nicholls, former 
 ly a colonel, and James 
 Woodbine, a captain in 
 the British service, who 
 had both been instru 
 mental in exciting the 
 Indians and negroes of the south to hostilities, remained 
 in the territory for the purposes of forming combina 
 tions against the south-western frontier of the United 
 States. To the Creeks, who had ceded their lands to 
 our government by General Jackson's treaty of August, 
 1814, Nicholls represented that they had been defrauded; 
 that the treaty of Ghent had provided for the restoration 
 of tl^eir lands, and that the British government was 
 ready to enforce their claims. He even went so far 
 as to assume the character of a British agent, with 
 powers, from the commencement, for supporting their 
 pretensions. 
 
 To effect their purposes, Nicholls and Woodbine 
 established a fort on the Appalachicola river, between 
 East and West Florida, as a rendezvous for runaway 
 negroes and hostile Indians. In July, 1816, about four 
 
 (21)2) 
 
FORT BLOWN UP. 293 
 
 hundred negroes and Indians were collected at this 
 place, which was strong by its position, fortified with 
 twelve pieces of artillery, and well provided with am 
 munition and provisions. 
 
 To dislodge this horde of outlaws, Colonel Clinch v 
 with a detachment of United States troops, and five 
 hundred friendly Indians, under the command of M'ln- 
 tosh, proceeded from the head waters of the Appalachi- 
 cola, and laid siege to the fort on the land side. Nicholls 
 and Woodbine first exacted an oath from their follow 
 ers not to suffer an American to approach the fort 
 alive, and then giving it up to them went oiF. 
 
 To supply Colonel Clinch's forces with munitions and 
 provisions for the siege, two schooners, from New Or 
 leans, by permission of the Spanish authorities at Pen- 
 sacola, proceeded up the Appalachicola, under convoy 
 of two gun-boats, on the 10th of July. When near 
 the fort, a watering party of seven men, from the 
 schooners, was surprised by an ambuscade of negroes: 
 five were killed, one escaped, and one was captured, 
 tortured, and put to death. The gun-boats, having but 
 a twelve pounder and twenty-five men each, were 
 deemed insufficient by Colonel Clinch to attack the 
 fort, and their commander was cautioned against at 
 tempting any offensive operations. Not deterred by 
 this, he warped up sufficiently near to reach it, and on 
 commencing the firing of hot shot, one of them enter 
 ed the principal magazine, and blew up the fort. 
 
 The destruction was complete: two hundred and 
 seventy of the enemy were killed ; most of the remain 
 der were badly wounded, and only three of the whole 
 number escaped unhurt. An immense quantity of arms 
 and munitions of war, designed for supplying the In 
 dians and negroes with the means of annoying the 
 frontier settlers, fell into the hands of the conquerors ; 
 and two chiefs, who had directed the torture of Amer 
 ican prisoners, were given over to the tender mercies 
 of M'Intosh's Indians. The savage horde of West 
 Florida was thus broken up. 
 
 In East Florida, an enemy of the same description 
 
294 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 was engaged in a similar system of operations. This 
 province of Spain had become the receptacle of a popu 
 lation of the vilest character. The Spanish authorities 
 had no control over them beyond the limits of their 
 fortified posts. The most numerous occupants of the 
 interior were the Seminole Indians, outcast runaways, 
 as their name indicates from the Creeks. Their allies 
 were the Red Sticks, and other fugitives from the north 
 ern tribes. The Red-Sticks were Creeks who had been 
 expelled from their lands in 1813. They had erected a 
 high pole at their principal village of Mickasuky, and 
 painted it red, to denote their thirst for the blood of 
 the whites. Their flag was composed of scalps of 
 Americans whom they had murdered. Hence their 
 name Red-Sticks. To this Indian population were 
 added some hundreds of runaway negroes from Georgia. 
 The frontier inhabitants had much to dread from such 
 a population. Their warriors amounted to some fifteen 
 hundred or more. Francis Hillishago, a Creek chief, 
 had been on an unsuccessful visit to England for the 
 purpose of recovering his lands by the aid of the go 
 vernment. The Spanish authorities of Florida, and 
 numerous adventurers from New Providence, gave 
 them encouragement, and supplied them with arms ; 
 and represented the Americans as enemies bent upon 
 the extermination of the Indian race. Thus supported, 
 these outcasts carried on a system of murder and plun 
 der on the frontiers of Georgia and Alabama, taking 
 refuge in the Mickasuky and Sawaney villages, situated 
 on the borders of Georgia. 
 
 The region which had thus become the seat of a 
 sanguinary border warfare, was situated in the military 
 department of General Jackson, and was under the im 
 mediate command of General Gaines. The latter, in 
 pursuance of his orders to protect the frontier, concen 
 trated his forces in that quarter, and built Fort Scott, 
 on the Flint river, near its junction with the Catahoo- 
 chee ; Fort Gaines, on the latter river, on the line be 
 tween Georgia and Mississippi ; and Fort Crawford, in 
 Mississippi, on the Canacho branch of the Escambia. 
 
INSTRUCTIONS TO GENERAL GAINES. 295 
 
 General Games' instructions on the subject of the 
 Seminole war, were contained in four orders from the 
 war department. The first, of the 30th of October, 
 1816, after directing a detachment of Georgia militia 
 to be called into service, states, " that the assurance of 
 an additional force, the president flatters himself, will at 
 least have the effect of restraining the Seminoles from 
 committing further depredations, and perhaps of in 
 ducing them to make reparation for the murders which 
 they have committed : should they, however, persevere 
 in their refusal to make such reparation, it is the wish 
 of the president that you should not, on that account, 
 pass the line, and make an attack upon them within the 
 limits of Florida, until you should have received further 
 instructions from this department. You are authorized 
 to remove the Indians still remaining on the lands ceded 
 by the treaty made by General Jackson with the Creeks." 
 
 The second, bearing date the 2d of December, re 
 marks, " the state of our negotiations with Spain, and 
 the temper manifested by the principal European pow 
 ers, make it impolitic, in the opinion of the president, 
 to move a force, at this time, into the Spanish posses 
 sions, for the mere purpose of chastising the Seminoles 
 for depredations which have heretofore been committed 
 by them." By the third, dated the 9th of December, 
 General Gaines was instructed, that should the Indians 
 appear in force on the Spanish side of the line, and per 
 severe in committing hostilities within the limits of the 
 United States, to exercise a sound discretion as to the 
 propriety of crossing the line, for the purpose of at 
 tacking them and breaking up their towns. The fourth, 
 bearing date the 16th of December, further instructed 
 him, that should the Seminole Indians still refuse to 
 make reparation for their outrages and depredations on 
 the citizens of the United States, to consider himself at 
 liberty to march across the Florida line and attack 
 them within its limits, unless they should shelter them 
 selves under a Spanish fort, and in that event, imme 
 diately notify the war department. 
 
 On the 19th of November, 1816, General Gaines being 
 
296 (NDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 at Fort Scott, and having been instructed to remove the 
 remaining Creeks from the territory ceded to the United 
 States, by Jackson's treaty, sent an officer to Fowl- 
 town, one of their settlements near him, to require the 
 removal of certain Indians still remaining. The chief 
 returned a haughty refusal. Major Twigs being dis 
 patched on the next day, with two hundred and fifty 
 men, to bring the chiefs and warriors to Fort Scott, was 
 attacked by the Indians, but he repulsed and put them 
 to flight, after killing and wounding a small number. 
 Four days after, he marched to the town, which he 
 found deserted. Three vessels, under the direction of 
 Major Muhlenburg, with military stores for the supply 
 of Fort Scott, were ascending the Appalachicola, on 
 the 30th of November, when a party of forty men, un 
 der Lieutenant Scott, was sent down the river to their 
 assistance, by General Gaines. Muhlenburg took out 
 twenty of the men, and supplying their places with his 
 sick, invalids, and seven women, sent the boat back 
 towards the fort. At the mouth of Flint river, the boat 
 was attacked by an ambuscade of Indians, and all 
 were killed except six soldiers, who escaped to the op 
 posite shore by swimming, and one woman, who was 
 captured. The scalps of the killed were taken to the 
 Mickasuky village and added to the trophies on the red 
 pole of the Indians. The vessels, retarded by the cur 
 rent, and constantly assailed by the savage enemies who 
 lined the banks of the river, received the aid of another 
 detachment from the fort, which a favourable wind at 
 last enabled them to reach. 
 
 The news of these disasters induced the government 
 to take more decisive measures, and on the 26th of De 
 cember, General Jackson was ordered to take the field, 
 with instructions to raise troops at his discretion, and 
 conform to the orders previously given to General 
 Gaines, as to the method of prosecuting the war. An 
 appeal from the general, to the patriotism of the volun 
 teers of West Tennessee, soon brought a thousand sol 
 diers into the service. They were ordered to rendez 
 vous at Fayetteville and proceed to Fort Scott. 
 
CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE &EM1NOLES. 297 
 
 The general now left his residence at Nashville, ana 
 on the 9th of March arrived at Fort Scott, with nine 
 hundred Georgia militia. He crossed the Flint rivei 
 on the 10th, and arrived on the 16th at Prospect Bluff', 
 where he erected a fort, to which he gave the name of 
 Fort Gadsden, in honour of the engineer engaged in 
 its erection. General Gaines had joined him on the 
 march. 
 
 Being nearly destitute of provisions, General Jack 
 son determined to sustain the army by causing supplies 
 to be transported up the Escambia, passing Pensacola 
 and the fortress of Barancas. He accordingly wrote 
 to the Spanish governor of West Florida, that he should 
 consider any interruption to this proceeding, on his part, 
 as an act of hostility against the United States. The 
 governor demanded duties on the stores, but did not 
 venture to enforce his demand. 
 
 M'Intosh, the Creek chief, with one thousand five 
 hundred warriors, having entered the service of the 
 United States in this expedition, the whole force of 
 General Jackson now amounted to four thousand three 
 hundred men. The enemy consisted of runaway In 
 dians and negroes to the amount of one-quarter or one- 
 third of that number. No serious contest could be 
 anticipated ; and, accordingly, the subsequent operations 
 constituted, as Jackson afterwards aptly denominated 
 it, " a war of movements." 
 
 On the 1st of April, the Tennessee volunteers joined 
 the main body, which had then nearly reached the 
 Mickasuky villages. As they approached them, the 
 outposts had a trifling skirmish with some Indians, who 
 soon fled ; and the villages, on the arrival of the army, 
 were found deserted by their inhabitants. The wigwams 
 were burnt ; the old red stick, with the scalps of Lieu 
 tenant Scott's party attached to it, was found still 
 standing. 
 
 M'Intosh and his warriors were ordered to scour 
 the neighbouring country in pursuit of the fugitives ; 
 and General Jackson now marched to the Spanish 
 fort of St. Mark's, took possession of it, hoisted the 
 
298 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 American flag, and shipped the Spanish garrison to 
 Pensacola. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of this place was found a 
 Scotch trader, named Alexander Arbuthnot, who had 
 been carrying on an extensive intercourse with the 
 hostile Indians and negroes. The general put him in 
 close confinement. Francis Hillishago, the Creek chief, 
 and Hoonotlemied, a Red-Stick chief, who had led the 
 murderers of Lieutenant Scott's party, and had been 
 decoyed on board a vessel in Apalachee bay, by Cap 
 tain M'Keever, were now hung by the general's order. 
 
 The general then left a small garrison at St. Mark's, 
 and on the 9th of April marched for the Sawaney villages. 
 distant one hundred and seven miles. He arrived there 
 on the 16th, killed eleven Indians, and took two prison 
 ers. The next day the villages were destroyed, and 
 parties were sent out in pursuit of the fugitives. Ar- 
 buthnot's schooner was captured at the mouth of the 
 Sawaney river, and employed in transporting the sick 
 and baggage of the army to St. Mark's. On the 18th, 
 Robert C. Ambrister, late a lieutenant of marines in 
 the British service, under Nicholls, was captured in the 
 neighbourhood of the villages. 
 
 The war was now considered as having terminated. 
 The Georgia militia and M'Intosh's Indians were dis 
 charged; and on the llth of April the main body set 
 out for St. Mark's, and after a rapid march of five days 
 arrived at that place. 
 
 It is foreign to our purpose to go into a history of 
 what was denominated, at that time, the Arbuthnot and 
 Ambrister affair. The proceedings in relation to their 
 trial were certainly of a very summary character, and 
 they were put to death ; but whether as outlaws, spies, 
 or pirates, we must leave to General Jackson to decide. 
 It is worthy of remark, however, that the proceedings 
 of the general, in relation to these men, were justified 
 by the congress of the United States, and the parliament 
 of Great Britain. The Spanish government complained, 
 but were silenced by the answer of Mr. Adams. 
 
 At St. Mark's, General Jackson received intelligence 
 

FLORIDA OCCUPIED BY AMERICAN TROOPS. 
 
 299 
 
 that some of the fugitive Seminoles had escaped to 
 West Florida. He, therefore, after leaving a garrison 
 in the fort, marched into the immediate neighbourhood 
 of Pensacola. The Spanish governor remonstrated ; 
 the general occupied the town, and the governor and 
 garrison were obliged to take refuge in the fortress 
 of Barancas. (24th May.) The fort was now invested 
 and bombarded till the 27th of May, when it was sur 
 rendered to the United States. St. Augustine, the only 
 remaining Spanish fortress, being subsequently cap 
 tured by General Gaines, in obedience to Jackson's 
 orders, the whole province was in the military posses 
 sion of the United States ; and the Seminole war had 
 ended in the conquest of Florida. 
 
 The diplomatic proceedings which followed this 
 event, the temporary restoration of the province, and 
 its final cession, are matters which belong to the civil 
 history of the United States. 
 
 Subsequent events have made it pretty apparent, that 
 in this war the Seminoles were not all killed. 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 BLACK HAWK'S WAR. 
 
 [LACK HAWK, the In 
 dian chief whose fame 
 has been recently so 
 widely extended among 
 us, was born on Rock 
 river, in Illinois, about 
 the year 1767. His great 
 grandfather was a chief 
 by the name of Nana- 
 makee, or Thunder. Hav 
 ing, at the early age of 
 fifteen, taken the scalp of an enemy, he was admitted 
 to the rank of a brave. A short time afterwards, he 
 joined in a war-party against the Osages, and was 
 greatly distinguished for his valour. On his return, he 
 was allowed to join in the scalp-dance of the nation. 
 His reputation being thus established, he frequently led 
 war-parties against the enemies of his tribe, and was 
 in almost every case successful. 
 
 The treaty which had been made in 1804, by Go 
 vernor Harrison, with the Sacs and Foxes, by which 
 they ceded their lands east of the Mississippi, was ex 
 ecuted by a few chiefs, without the knowledge or con 
 sent of the nation. Therefore, when Fort Madison was 
 erected by the Americans, upon the Mississippi, these 
 tribes expressed their dissatisfaction in an open manner, 
 and even made an unsuccessful attempt to cut off the 
 garrison. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the territory of Illinois had been 
 admitted into the Union, and now formed a state. Emi- 
 
 (300) 
 
AGGRESSIONS UPON THE INDIANS. 301 
 
 grants poured in from all parts, and in a short time the 
 territory occupied by the Sacs and Foxes was com 
 pletely surrounded by the settlements of the white men. 
 These soon began to commit outrages upon their red 
 neighbours, in order to hasten their departure from the 
 ceded territory. In 1827, when these tribes were ab 
 sent from their homes, engaged in hunting, some of the 
 whites set fire to their village, by which forty houses 
 were consumed. The Indians said nothing concerning 
 this disgraceful act; but, on their return, quietly rebuilt 
 their dwellings. The whites also turned their cattle 
 into the fields of the Indians, by which means the corn 
 was all trodden under foot and destroyed. 
 
 The American government now determined to sell 
 the lands occupied by these tribes of Indians, and they 
 were accordingly advised to remove. Keokuk, the 
 chief, with a majority of the nation, determined to do 
 so ; but Black Hawk, with a party which he gained 
 over to himself, resolved to remain, at all hazards. 
 
 Meanwhile, the whites committed greater acts of 
 violence upon the Indians than before. The latter at 
 last took up arms, and a war would certainly have 
 taken place, had not General Gaines, commander of the 
 western division of the United States' army, hastened 
 to the scene of action. He held a council with the 
 principal chiefs, in which it was agreed that the nation 
 should instantly remove. They accordingly crossed the 
 river and settled on its western bank. 
 
 The majority of the Indians were on peaceable terms 
 with the United States. But Black Hawk and his band 
 determined to return to Illinois, alleging that they had 
 been invited by the Potawatamies, residing on Rock 
 river, to spend the summer with them, and plant corn 
 on their lands. 
 
 Accordingly, they crossed the Mississippi and pro 
 ceeded towards the country of the Potawatamies. They 
 did not attempt to harm any one upon the road. The 
 traveller passed by them without receiving any injury, 
 and the inmates of the lowly hut experienced no out 
 rage. Thus they continued, and without doubt, no vio- 
 
302 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 lence would have been committed by them, had not the 
 whites been the first to shed blood. Five or six Indians, 
 who were in advance of the party, were all captured 
 and put to death, by a battalion of mounted militia, ex 
 cept one who made his escape. The one who escaped 
 brought the news to Black Hawk, who immediately 
 determined to be revenged. He therefore planned an 
 ambuscade, into which the militia were enticed. On 
 receiving the fire of the Indians, they became panic- 
 struck, and fled in disorder, with the loss of fourteen 
 men. 
 
 The Indians, now that the war was begun, deter 
 mined to do all the mischief in their power. They 
 accordingly divided into small parties, proceeded in 
 different directions, and fell upon the settlements which 
 were at that time thinly scattered over a greater por 
 tion of Illinois. Here they committed such outrages 
 that the whole state was in the greatest excitement. 
 Governor Reynolds ordered out two thousand addi 
 tional militia, who, on the 10th of June, assembled at 
 Hennepin, on the Illinois river, and were soon engaged 
 in pursuit of the Indians. 
 
 On the 20th of May, 1832, the Indians attacked a 
 small settlement on Indian Creek, and killed fifteen per 
 sons, besides taking considerable plunder. On the 14th 
 of June, five persons were killed near Galena. General 
 Dodge being in the neighbourhood, marched with thirty 
 of his mounted men immediately in search of them. 
 When he had gone about three miles, he discovered 
 twelve Indians, whom he supposed to be the party that 
 had committed the murders, and he entered into the pur 
 suit with great spirit. The Indians made for a swamp, 
 in which they immediately took shelter. The whites 
 rushed in after them, and soon met them. No resistance 
 was made ; every Indian was killed, and their scalps 
 were taken off and borne away in triumph. 
 
 Meanwhile, General Atkinson was pursuing Black 
 Hawk, whose camp was near the Four Lakes. Instead 
 of crossing the country, to retreat beyond the Missis- 
 sipoi, as was expected, he descended the Wisconsin, to 
 
D ALTON FOUND, MURDEEED BY THE INDIANS. Page 80S. 
 
BLACK HAWK PURSUED. 303 
 
 escape in that direction; by which means General 
 Dodge came upon his trail and commenced a vigorous 
 pursuit. 
 
 On the 21st of July, Dodge, with about two hundred 
 men, besides Indians, came up with Black Hawk, on 
 the Wisconsin, forty miles from Fort Winnebago. The 
 whites came upon the Indians just as they were about 
 to cross the river ; after a short engagement the Indians 
 retreated ; and, it being dark, the whites could not pur 
 sue them without disadvantage to themselves. Black 
 Hawk's party, it is supposed, lost about forty men in 
 this encounter. 
 
 The Indians were now in a truly deplorable condition ; 
 several of them were greatly emaciated for want of 
 food, and some even starved to death. In their pursuit 
 of them before the battle, the whites found several of 
 their number lying dead on the road. Yet were they 
 not altogether dispirited, and they resolved to continue 
 hostilities as long as they were able. 
 
 In the affair which we have just related, a squaw, 
 the wife of a warrior, called Big-Lake, was taken 
 prisoner. From her the whites learned that Black 
 Hawk intended to proceed to the west side of the Mis 
 sissippi, above Prairie du Chien ; those having horses 
 were to strike across the country, whilst the others 
 were to proceed by the Wisconsin. A great many of 
 these latter were taken prisoners on the road by the 
 whites. 
 
 Several circumstances now transpired to prevent the 
 escape of the main body under Black Hawk. The 
 first was his falling in with the " Warrior " steam 
 boat, (August 1st,) just as he was about to cross the 
 Mississippi. On this occasion, the chief did not wish 
 to fight, but to escape. He displayed two white flags ; 
 and about one hundred and fifty of his men came to 
 the river without arms, making signs of submission. 
 But J. Throckmorton, the commander of the boat, 
 either could not or would not understand their signals ; 
 he gave orders for his men to fire upon them, which 
 they did the fire was returned, but without doing any 
 
304 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 damage. The engagement lasted for about an hour 
 when the wood of the steam-boat began to fail, and 
 it proceeded to the Prairie. In this battle, the Indians 
 had twenty-three men killed, besides a great many 
 wounded ; while the whites had none killed, and only 
 one wounded. 
 
 On the next day, Atkinson's army came up with 
 Black Hawk, after having encountered many incon 
 veniences and dangers in the march. He immediately 
 formed his troops in order of battle, and attacked 
 the Indians. However, lest some should escape up 
 or down the river, Atkinson had ordered generals 
 Alexander and Posey to form the right wing of the 
 army, and march down to the river above the Indian 
 encampment on the bank, and then move down. The 
 battle now commenced, and lasted for about three 
 hours. The Indians fought with desperation, and dis 
 puted the ground with the greatest valour. They were, 
 however, finally obliged to retreat. Their loss in killed 
 and wounded amounted to about two hundred, while 
 that of the Americans was but twenty-seven. 
 
 This action may be considered as the finishing stroke 
 of the war, although Black Hawk made his escape. 
 From this time Black Hawk's men continually deserted 
 him, and went over to the whites. Finally, the war 
 rior himself came in, and surrendered to the agent at 
 Prairie du Chien. On this occasion he made a speech, 
 in which he said that he regretted his being obliged to 
 close the war so soon, without having given the whites 
 much more trouble ; that he had done nothing of which 
 he had any reason to be ashamed ; that an Indian who 
 was as bad as the white men would not be allowed to 
 live in their communities ; and ended with the following 
 words : " Farewell, my nation ! Black Hawk tried to 
 save you, and revenge your wrongs. He drank the 
 blood of some of the whites. He has been taken pri 
 soner, and his plans are stopped. He can do no more. 
 He is near his end. His sun is setting, and he will rise 
 no more. Farewell to Black Hawk." 
 
 Black Hawk was now taken to Washington, where 
 
SEM1NOLE WAR 305 
 
 he had an interview with the President. He was 
 then conducted through the principal Atlantic cities, 
 and received everywhere with the most marked atten 
 tion and hospitality. He was then set at liberty, and 
 returned to his nation. He died on the 3d of October 
 1838, at his village, on the Des Moines river.* 5 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 "T is generally admitted that 
 the existing Seminole war 
 originated in the opposition 
 of the Mecasukians, and 
 some hostile chiefs of the 
 Seminole nation, to the 
 execution of the treaty of 
 Payne's Landing. In this 
 treaty it had been stipu 
 lated that the Seminole 
 Indians should relinquish 
 to the United States all claim to their lands, and emigrate 
 to the region west of the Mississippi, in consideration of 
 a certain sum of money which should be paid to them 
 when they came to the banks of that river. It was 
 further stipulated, that a party of these Indians should 
 visit the territory in question, and give their opinion 
 concerning it. This party accordingly proceeded thither, 
 and when they returned, reported very favourably of the 
 country. 
 
 Every preparation was now made for leaving Florida, 
 
 * See Hall & M'Kenny's Indian Biography. 
 W 
 
306 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 when John Hext, one of the chief men of the tribe, 
 who exercised a very great influence over them, died. 
 Osceola, or Powell, who, previous to this time, had 
 shown no extraordinary powers, now began to exhibit 
 abilities which soon gave him, with the Mecasukians, 
 the influence exercised by John Hext, but which he wield 
 ed with far different purposes. For as Hext had always 
 been in favour of the emigration, and was peaceably 
 disposed, so was Osceola as much opposed to it ; and by 
 every art in his power inflamed the minds of the people 
 against the whites, and against the execution of this 
 measure. He conducted himself in so violent a man 
 ner, that the Indian agent was obliged to arrest him 
 and put him in irons. But, deceived by his professions 
 of friendship, he released him on his return to Fort King. 
 
 The first rupture with the Indians took place near 
 Hogs Town settlement, on the 19th of July. A party 
 of Indians had crossed their bounds for the purpose of 
 hunting. They separated, and agreed to meet each 
 other on a certain day. Accordingly, on that day five 
 of the Indians had met together, when a party of white 
 men came along, who flogged them with their cow- 
 whips. Whilst they were doing this, two other Indians 
 arrived, who, seeing what was going on, raised their 
 war-whoop, and fired upon the whites. The fire was 
 returned, by which one of the Indians was killed, and 
 the other wounded. Three of the whites were also 
 wounded. 
 
 On the evening of the 6th of August, 1835, Dalton, 
 who was employed to carry the mail from Camp King 
 to Tampa Bay, was met by a party of Indians, who 
 barbarously murdered him. General Thompson, the 
 Indian agent, when he heard of this transaction, con 
 vened the chiefs, who promised to bring the offenders 
 to justice. But this promise they did not keep; arid 
 while they were deluding the whites with fair promises, 
 they gathered together arms, and made preparations 
 for the war which they meditated. 
 
 In September, Charley Omathla, a friendly chief of 
 great influence, while journeying with his daughter, 
 
HOSTILITIES BY THE SEMINOLES. 307 
 
 was waylaid and shot by some Mecasukies, led by 
 Osceola, probably with a view to deter other chiefs from 
 favouring the operations of our government, which 
 were steadily directed to the entire removal of the In 
 dians to the region west of the Mississippi. 
 
 The occurrence of these and similar hostilities, in 
 duced General Clinch, the officer commanding on that 
 frontier, to represent to the general government the im 
 portance of having an efficient force placed at his dis 
 posal, for terminating the war. It will be recollected 
 by the reader, that General Jackson, when in similar 
 circumstances himself, had assumed powers almost dic 
 tatorial, raised between four and five thousand troops, 
 and conquered Florida from the Spaniards, without 
 being able to find above a dozen or two of the Indians 
 to kill. As president of the United States, he conducted 
 this war in a very different style, having probably a 
 different object. 
 
 General Clinch, at the commencement of the hostili 
 ties, had no more than two hundred and fifty regulars. 
 Receiving no seasonable aid from President Jackson, 
 he called on the executive of Florida for assistance, 
 obtained six hundred and fifty militia, and with this 
 force made a demonstration on the Ouithlacoochee 
 river. 
 
 It was while the army was advancing in this direction 
 that the most signal disaster, of this truly disastrous 
 and disgraceful war, took place the total destruction 
 of the detachment commanded by Major Dade. 
 
 On the 23d of December, the companies of Captains 
 Gardiner and Frazer of the United States army, under 
 Major Dade, marched from Tampa Bay for Camp 
 King. The first halt was made at Hillsborough Bridge. 
 Here Major Dade wrote to Major Belton, urging him 
 to forward a six-pounder, which had been left four miles 
 behind, in consequence of the failure of the team which 
 was to have been used in transporting it. Three horses 
 were purchased, with the necessary harness, ana it 
 joined the column that night. 
 
 From this time no more was heard of the detach- 
 29 
 
308 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ment until the 29th of December, when John Thomas, 
 one of the soldiers, returned, and on the 31st, Rawson 
 Clarke. The account given by the latter of the fate 
 of the detachment is as follows : 
 
 " It was eight o'clock. Suddenly I heard a rifle shot 
 in the direction of the advanced guard, and this was 
 immediately followed by a musket shot from that quar 
 ter. Captain Frazer had ridden by me a moment before 
 in that direction. I never saw him afterwards. 1 had 
 not time to think of the meaning of these shots, before 
 a volley, as if from a thousand rifles, was poured in 
 upon us from the front, and all along our left flank. 1 
 looked around me, and it seemed as if I was the only 
 one left standing in the right wing. Neither could I, until 
 several other volleys had been fired at us, see an enemy 
 and when I did, I could only see their heads and arms 
 peering out from the long grass, far and near, and from 
 behind the pine trees. The ground seemed to me an 
 open pine barren, no hammock near that I could see. 
 On our right, and a little to our rear, was a large pond 
 of water, some distance off. All around us were heavy 
 pine trees, very open, particularly towards the left, and 
 abounding with long high grass. The first fire of the 
 Indians was the most destructive, seemingly killing or 
 disabling one half our men. 
 
 "We promptly threw ourselves behind trees, and 
 opened a sharp fire of musketry. I, for one, never fired 
 without seeing my man, that is, his head and shoulders. 
 The Indians chiefly fired lying or squatting in the grass. 
 Lieutenant Bassinger fired five or six pounds of cannister 
 from the cannon. This appeared to frighten the Indians, 
 and they retreated over a little hill to our left, one-half 
 or three-quarters of a mile off, after having fired not 
 more than twelve or fifteen rounds. We immediately 
 then began to fell trees, and erect a little triangular 
 breastwork. Some of us went forward to gather the 
 cartridge boxes from the dead, and to assist the wound 
 ed. I had seen Major Dade fall to the ground by the 
 first volley, and his horse dashed into the midst of the 
 enemy Whilst gathering the cartridges, I saw Lieu- 
 
(310) 
 
DESTRUCTION OF DADE'S DE1ACHMENT. 311 
 
 tenant Mudge sitting with his back reclining against a 
 tree, his head fallen, and evidently dying. I spoke to 
 him, but he did not answer. The interpreter, Louis, it 
 is said, fell by the first fire.* 
 
 " We had barely raised our breastwork knee high, 
 when we again saw the Indians advancing in great 
 numbers over the hill to our left. They came on boldly 
 till within a long musket shot, when they spread them 
 selves from tree to tree to surround us. We immediately 
 extended as Light Infantry, covering ourselves by the 
 trees, and opening a brisk fire from cannon and musketry. 
 The former I dont think could have done much mischief, 
 the Indians were so scattered. (See Engraving on the 
 opposite page.) 
 
 " Captain Gardiner, Lieutenant Bassinger, and Dr. 
 Gatlen, were the only officers left unhurt by the volley 
 which killed Major Bade. Lieutenant Henderson had 
 his left arm broken, but he continued to load his musket 
 and to fire it, resting on the stump, until he was finally 
 shot down ; towards the close of the second attack, and 
 during the day, he kept up his spirits, and cheered the 
 men. Lieutenant Keyes had both his arms broken in 
 the first attack ; they were bound up and slung in a 
 handkerchief, and he sat for the remainder of the day, 
 until he was killed, reclining against the breastwork, 
 his head often reposing upon it, regardless of everything 
 that was passing around him. 
 
 " Our men were by degrees all cut down. We had 
 maintained a steady fight from eight until two, P. M., 
 or thereabouts, and allowing three quarters of an hour 
 interval betw r een the first and second attack, had been 
 pretty busily engaged for more than five hours. Lieu 
 tenant Bassinger was the only officer left alive, and he 
 severely wounded. He told me as the Indians ap 
 proached to lie down and feign myself dead. I looked 
 through the logs, and saw the savages approaching in 
 
 *It has since been learned that this person only feigned death, 
 and that he was spared, and read all the dispatches and letters 
 vhat were found upon the dead to the victors. Cohen. 
 
312 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 great numbers. A heavy-made Indian, of middle stature 
 painted down to the waist, and whom I suppose to have 
 been Micanope, seemed to be the chief. He made 
 them a speech, frequently pointing to the breastwork. 
 At length, they charged into the work ; there was none 
 to offer resistance, and they did not seem to suspect the 
 wounded being alive offering no indignity, but stepping 
 about carefully, quietly stripping off our accoutrements, 
 and carrying away our arms. They then retired in a 
 body in the direction from whence they came. 
 
 " Immediately upon their retreat, forty or fifty negroes 
 on horseback, galloped up and alighted, tied their beasts, 
 and commenced with horrid shouts and yells the butch 
 ering of the wounded, together with an indiscriminate 
 plunder, stripping the bodies of the dead of clothing, 
 watches, and money, and splitting open the heads of all 
 who showed the least signs of life with their axes and 
 knives ; and accompanying their bloody work with 
 obscene and taunting derision, and with frequent cries 
 of " what have you got to sell V 
 
 " Lieutenant Bassinger hearing the negroes butcher 
 ing the wounded, at length sprang up, and asked them 
 to spare his life. They met him with the blows of their 
 axes, and their fiendish laughter. Having been wounded 
 in five different places myself, I was pretty well covered 
 with blood, and two scratches that I had received on 
 my head, gave me the appearance of having been shot 
 through the brain, for the negroes, after catching me 
 up by the heels, threw me down, saying, ' damn him, 
 he *s dead enough !' They then stripped me of my 
 clothes, shoes, and hat, and left me. After stripping all 
 the dead in this manner, they trundled off the cannon 
 in the direction the Indians had gone, and went away. 
 I saw them first shoot down the oxen in their gear, 
 and burn the wagon. 
 
 " One of the other soldiers who escaped, says they 
 threw the cannon in the pond, and burned its carriage 
 also. Shortly after the negroes went away, one Wilson, 
 of Captain Gardiner's company, crept from under some 
 of the dead bodies, and hardly seemed to be hurt at all. 
 
ESCAPE OF A PRIVATE SOLDIER. 313 
 
 He asked me to go with him back to the fort, and 1 
 was going to follow him, when, as he jumped over the 
 breastwork, an Indian sprang from behind a tree and 
 shot him down. I then lay quiet until nine o'clock that 
 night, when D. Long, the only living soul beside myself, 
 and I, started upon our journey. We knew it was 
 nearest to go to Fort King, but we did not know the 
 way, and we had seen the enemies retreat in that di 
 rection. As I came out, I saw Dr. Gatlin lying stript 
 amongst the dead. The last I saw of him whilst living, 
 was kneeling behind the breastwork, with two double 
 barrel guns by him, and he said, * Well, I have got four 
 barrels for them !' Captain Gardiner, after being se 
 verely wounded, cried out, * I can give you no more 
 orders, my lads, do your best!' I last saw a negro 
 
 rirn his body, saying, with an oath, * that 's one of 
 ir officers.' 
 
 " My comrade and myself got along quite well until 
 the next day, when we met an Indian on horseback, 
 and with a rifle, coming up the road. Our only chance 
 was to separate we did so. I took the right, and he 
 the left of the road. The Indian pursued him. Shortly 
 afterwards I heard a rifle shot, and a little after another. 
 I concealed myself among some scrub, and saw pal 
 metto, and after a while saw the Indian pass, looking 
 for me. Suddenly, however, he put spurs to his horse, 
 and went off at a gallop towards the road. 
 
 " I made something of a circuit before I struck the 
 beaten track again. That night I was a good deal an 
 noyed by the wolves, who had scented my blood, and 
 came very close to me ; the next day, the 30th, I reached 
 the fort." 
 
 The following is the report of Captain Hitchcock 
 concerning this affair : 
 
 "WESTERN DEPARTMENT, ) 
 Fort King, Florida, Feb. 22, 1836. ] 
 
 " GENERAL Agreeably to your directions, I observed 
 the battle ground six or seven miles north of the With- 
 lacoochee river, where Major Dade and his command 
 Were destroyed by the Seminole Indians, on the 28th 
 
314 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 December last, and have the honour to submit the fol- 
 .owing report : 
 
 " The force under your command, which arrived at 
 this post to-day from Tampa Bay, encamped on the 
 19th instant, on the ground occupied by Major Dade 
 on the night of the 27th December. He and his party 
 were destroyed on the morning of the 28th, about four 
 miles in advance of that position. He was advancing 
 towards this post, and was attacked from the north ; so 
 that on the 20th instant we came upon the rear of his 
 oattle ground, about nine o'clock in the morning. Our 
 advanced guard had passed the ground without halting, 
 whenthe General and his Staff came upon one of the 
 most appalling scenes that can be imagined. We first 
 saw some broken and scattered bones ; then a cart, the 
 two oxen of which were lying dead, as if they had 
 fallen asleep, their yokes still on them ; a little to the 
 right, one or two horses were seen. We then came to 
 a small enclosure, made by felling trees in such a man 
 ner as to form a triangular breast-work for defence. 
 Within the triangle, along the north and west faces of 
 it, were about thirty bodies, mostly mere skeletons, al 
 though much of the clothing was left upon them. These 
 were lying, every one of them, in precisely the same 
 position they must have occupied during the fight ; their 
 heads next to the logs over which they had delivered 
 their fire, and their bodies stretched with striking regu 
 larity parallel to each other. They had evidently been 
 shot dead at their posts, and the Indians had not dis 
 turbed them, except by taking the scalps of most of 
 them. Passing this little breast-work, we found other 
 bodies along the road, generally behind trees, which had 
 been resorted to for covers from the enemies' fire. Ad 
 vancing about two hundred yards farther, we found a 
 cluster of bodies in the middle of the road. They were 
 evidently the advanced guard, in the rear of which 
 was the body of Major Dade, and to the right that of 
 Captain Fraser. 
 
 " These were doubtless all shot down by the first fire 
 of the Indians, except, perhaps, Captain Fraser, who 
 
APPEARANCE OF DADE'S BATTLE GROUND. 315 
 
 must, however, have fallen very early in the fight* 
 Those in the road, and by the trees, fell during the first 
 attack. It was during a cessation of the fire, that the 
 little band still remaining, about thirty in number, threw 
 up the triangular breast-work, which, from the haste 
 with which it was constructed, was necessarily defective, 
 and could not protect the men in the second attack. 
 
 " We had with us many of the personal friends of 
 the officers of Major Dade's command ; and it is grati 
 fying to be able to state, that every officer was identi 
 fied by undoubted evidence. They were buried, and 
 the cannon, a six-pounder, that the Indians had thrown 
 into a swamp, was recovered, and placed vertically at 
 the head of the grave, where it is to be hoped it will 
 long remain. The bodies of the non-commissioned 
 officers and privates were buried in two graves, and it 
 was found that every man was accounted for. The 
 command was composed of eight officers, and one 
 hundred and two non-commissioned officers and pri 
 vates. The bodies of eight officers and ninety-eight 
 men were interred ; four men having escaped, three of 
 whom reached Tampa Bay ; the fourth was killed the 
 day after the battle. 
 
 " It may be proper to remark, that the attack was 
 not made from a hammock, but in a thinly wooded 
 country ; the Indians being concealed by palmetto and 
 grass, which has since been burned. 
 
 " The two companies were Captain Frazer's of the 
 3d Artillery, and Captain Gardiner's of the 2d Artillery. 
 The officers were, Major Dade of the 4th Infantry, 
 Captains Fraser and Gardiner, Second Lieutenant Bas- 
 singer, Brevet Second Lieutenants R. Henderson, Mudge 
 and Keyes, of the Artillery, and Dr. J. S. Gatlin. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, with the highest respect, 
 your obedient servant, 
 
 E. A. HITCHCOCK, 
 Captain 1st Infantry, Act. In. General. 
 
 Major General E. P. GAINES, 
 Commanding Western Department, Fort King, Florida.* 
 
316 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Thus perished the gallant Bade anJ his command by 
 the hand of a cruel and savage foe. They maintained 
 their ground until none were left unwounded, and then 
 those who were not dead were massacred by a cruel 
 and bloodthirsty foe. Their names are honoured by all, 
 and it is hoped that the nation may erect some enduring 
 memorial which shall mark the scene of their suffering, 
 and record the virtues of these martyrs in their country's 
 cause. 
 
 On the 6th of January, 1836, a party of thirty Indians 
 made an attack on Mr. Cooly's family, settled on New 
 River, about twelve miles from Cape Florida, whilst he 
 was absent from home. They murdered his wife, three 
 children, and a Mr. Flinton, who was employed as their 
 teacher. Mrl Cooly had long resided among the Indians, 
 learnt their language, and uniformly treated them with 
 kindness. But, notwithstanding these circumstances, 
 they massacred his whole family in cold blood. The 
 families in the neighbourhood, seeing what was going 
 on, made their escape, and thus avoided a similar fate. 
 
 On the 31st of December, 1835, General Clinch 
 pushed forward across the Ouithlacoochee, to attack 
 the Indians who were encamped about a mile from that 
 river. The following account of this engagement is 
 taken from the general's official report : 
 
 " HEAD QUARTERS, TERRITORY OF FLORIDA, ) 
 Fort Drane, Jan. 4, 1836. $ 
 
 " SIR On the 24th ultimo, Brigadier General Call, 
 commanding the volunteers called into service by order 
 of his Excellency G. R. Walker, Acting Governor of 
 Florida, formed a junction with the regular troops at 
 this post, and informed rne that his command had been 
 raised to meet the crisis ; that most of their terms of 
 service would expire in a few days, which made it 
 necessary to act promptly. Two large detachments 
 were sent out on the 15th, to scour the country on our 
 right and left flank. Lieut. Col. Fanning, with three 
 companies from Fort King, arrived on the 27th ; and 
 on the 29th, the detachment having returned, the Bri- 
 
BATTLE OF THE OUITHLACOOCHEE 317 
 
 gade of Mounted Volunteers, composed of the 1st and 
 2d regiments, commanded by Brigadier General Call, 
 and a'battalion of regular troops, commanded by Lieut. 
 Col. Fanning, took up the line of march for a point on 
 the Ouithlacoochee river, which was represented by our 
 guides as being a good ford. About four o'clock on the 
 morning of the 31st, after leaving all our baggage, pro 
 visions, &c., protected by a guard commanded by Lieut. 
 Dancy, we pushed on with a view of carrying the ford, 
 and of surprising the main body of Indians, supposed 
 to be concentrated on the west bank of the river ; but 
 on reaching it, about day-light, we found, instead of a 
 good ford, a deep and rapid stream, and no means of 
 crossing, except in an old and damaged canoe. Lieut. 
 Col. Fanning, however, soon succeeded in crossing ; 
 the regular troops took a position in advance, whilst 
 Brig. Gen. Call was actively engaged in crossing his 
 brigade, and in having their horses swum over the river. 
 But before one half had crossed, the battalion of regu 
 lars, consisting of about two hundred men, were attacked 
 by the enemy, who were strongly posted in the swamp 
 and scrub which extended from the river. This little 
 band, however, aided by Col. Warren, Major Cooper, 
 and Lieut. Yeoman, with twenty-seven volunteers, met 
 the attack of a savage enemy, nearly three times their 
 number, headed by the Chief Osceola, with Spartan 
 valour. The action lasted nearly an hour, during which 
 time the troops made three brilliant charges into the 
 swamp and scrub, and drove the enemy in every direc 
 tion ; and after the third charge, although nearly one- 
 third their number had been cut down, they were found 
 sufficiently firm and steady to fortify the formation of 
 a new line of battle, which gave entire protection to 
 the flanks, as well as to the position selected for re- 
 crossing the troops. Brig. Gen. Call, after using every 
 effort to induce the volunteers remaining on the east 
 bank, when the action commenced, to cross the river, 
 and in arranging the troops still remaining on that bank, 
 crossed over, and rendered important service by his 
 coolness and judgment in arranging part of his corps 
 
818 INDIAN WARS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 on the right of the regulars, which gave much strength 
 and security to thut flank." 
 
 Here the general goes into a pretty minute enume 
 ration of the signal services performed by sundry cap 
 tains, lieutenants, and sergeants, of whom he gives the 
 names, regiments, &c., alter which he thus concludes : 
 
 " The term of service of the volunteers having ex 
 pired, and most of them having expressed an unwilling 
 ness to remain longer in service, it was considered best, 
 after removing the dead, and taking care of the wounded, 
 to return to this post, which we reached on the 2d in 
 stant, without the least interruption ; and on the follow 
 ing day the Volunteers from Middle Florida took up the 
 line of march for Tallahassee, and this morning those 
 from East Florida proceeded to their respective homes, 
 leaving me a very few men to guard this extensive 
 frontier. I am now fully convinced, that there has been 
 a great defection among the Florida Indians, and that a 
 great many Creeks have united with them, consequently 
 it will require a strong force to put them down." 
 
 While these operations were going forward in the 
 western part of the peninsula, the plantations and set 
 tlements in the neighbourhood of St. Augustine were 
 ravaged by the enemy, many of the inhabitants slain, 
 and the negroes taken away. General Hernandez, who 
 was in command at that place, ordered out the militia, 
 who were ill supplied with munitions and provisions; 
 and were, for the most part, unable to follow the rapid 
 movements of the Indians, or even to arrest the pro 
 gress of their devastations. A detachment under Major 
 Putnam, succeeded in bringing the Indians to action at 
 Dunlawton, the plantation of George Anderson ; a skir 
 mish took place, in which, according to the official 
 report, one negro was killed outright, and seventeen 
 more wounded two mortally. The same report claim 
 ed to have killed ten of the Indians ; and assigns the 
 immense superiority of the enemy's force as a reason 
 for his retreating after what is humorously denominated 
 the Battle of Dunlawton. 
 
 At this period of the war it was asserted without 
 
GAINES'S EXPEDITION TO THE OUITHLACOOCIIEE 319 
 
 contradiction in congress, that in East Florida five hun 
 dred families had been driven from their homes, and their 
 possessions destroyed by the Indians ; and that all this 
 individual suffering, and every other calamitous con 
 sequence of the contest, had been caused, not by the 
 hostility of the savages to the citizens, but by the de 
 termination of the enemy to resist the fixed policy of 
 the government to remove them to the region west of 
 the Mississippi. An appropriation was then voted by 
 congress for the relief of the families suffering by the 
 hostilities of the Indians. 
 
 General Gaines, the commander of the southern di 
 vision of the army of the United States, was on a tour 
 of observation, remote from the scene of action, when 
 hostilities commenced. Arriving at New Orleans, Jan 
 uary 15th, and learning the state of affairs, he called 
 on the governor of Louisiana to have a body of volun 
 teers in readiness for service, and proceeded himself to 
 the seat of war. At Pensacola he found some armed 
 vessels under Commodores Dallas and Bolton, and Cap 
 tain Webb, who had commenced operations near Tampa 
 Bay. Colonel Twigs was ordered to receive into ser 
 vice the Louisiana volunteers, which, with the regular 
 troops in the neighbourhood, amounted to one thousand 
 one hundred men. 
 
 General Gaines now returned to New Orleans to 
 hasten the reinforcements, and on the 9th of February 
 arrived at Tampa with the forces, in three steam-boats. 
 He then marched for Fort. King, where he arrived on 
 the 22d February, and thence moved down the Ouith- 
 lacoochee. On the 27th, at General Clinch's crossing 
 place, he had a slight skirmish with the enemy, in which 
 he lost one killed, and eight wounded. 
 
 On the 28th, the army was again attacked on its 
 march, and the firing continued half a day, during 
 which Lieutenant Izard, of the United States Dragoons, 
 fell mortally wounded ; one other was killed, and two 
 wounded. On the 29th another attack took place, the 
 Indians appearing in considerable force, (one thousand 
 five hundred or two thousand.) One man was killed, 
 
320 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 and thirty-three wounded ; General Gaines among the 
 latter, he having received a shot in the under lip. Skir 
 mishes followed till the 5th of March, when Osceola, 
 who commanded the Indians, requested a parley, which 
 accordingly took place on the morning of the 6th, when 
 the Indians were informed that a larger force was 
 coming to the support of the army before them, and 
 that unless they submitted, every Indian found in arms 
 would be shot. They replied, that they would hold a 
 council, and give their answer in the afternoon. At 
 the afternoon conference, they professed to be tired of 
 the war, and asked for further time to learn the wishes 
 of their governor, Micanopy, who was absent. They 
 were told that on condition of their retiring south of 
 the Ouithlacoochee, and attending a council when called 
 on by commissioners on the part of the United States, 
 they should not be molested. To this they agreed; but 
 General Clinch, who had been summoned by express 
 from Fort Drane, coming upon the main body of the 
 Indians, at this moment, they supposed themselves to 
 have been surrounded by deliberate stratagem, and that 
 they were about to be cut off; and they incontinently 
 fled, probably in no humour to renew the negotiation. 
 General Clinch brought five hundred men, and abundant 
 supplies, of which General Gaines's army was in great 
 need, no competent provision having been previously 
 made by the commissariat department. 
 
 General Gaines now transferred his command to 
 General Clinch, and returned to New Orleans. Clinch 
 retired with his whole force to Fort Drane. In this 
 expedition, the whites lost five killed, and sixty wounded ; 
 the Indians acknowledged a loss of thirty men. 
 
 In January, 1836, General Scott was ordered to as 
 sume the chief command in Florida. He arrived at 
 the seat of war in February, and immediately com 
 menced a series of operations, differing in many re 
 spects from any that had formerly been acted upon. 
 After placing his troops in as good a condition as pos 
 sible, he marched them, in three divisions, across the 
 hostile country as far as Tampa Bay, where sickness 
 
TRIAL OF GENERAL SCOTT. gOJ 
 
 and scarcity of provisions arrested their further pro 
 gress. Tn spite of these discouraging circumstances, 
 Scott employed the soldiers who were fit for duty, in 
 scouring the territory and penetrating as far as possi 
 ble into the morasses. But these exertions, though 
 made at the expense of much care and labour, resulted 
 in little good. The Indians if surprised on the plains 
 could glide into the swamps, where they contrived to 
 baffle all pursuit. The general was subjected to the 
 mortification of seeing his plans frustrated, the cam 
 paign failing, and his troops wasting under disease and 
 discouragement. To this was added the loss of the 
 confidence of government. He was superseded in 
 July ; and on receiving the intelligence departed for 
 Washington. A narrative of the subsequent trial to 
 which the general was subjected does not, perhaps, 
 properly belong to a mere sketch of the war ; yet it 
 may be justice to remark that the members of the court 
 expressed their unanimous opinion " that the plan of 
 the campaign adopted by General Scott was well cal 
 culated to lead to successful results, and that it was 
 prosecuted by him, as far as practicable, with zeal and 
 ability until recalled from the command." 
 
 General Scott was succeeded by General Jessup, who 
 during the greater part of his term of command was 
 stationed on or near the Withlacoochee. During the 
 summer and fall the Indians remained quiet ; but in 
 winter they collected in bands, made descents upon the 
 plantations, burning or destroying all grain and other 
 productions, and murdering the inhabitants. A con 
 siderable force of regular troops and volunteers was 
 sent against them, but without success. They were 
 followed by the greater part of the southern army. 
 Exasperated by resistance, the Seminoles united with 
 several other tribes, and began a desperate struggle to 
 expel the army. The Creeks were speedily reduced 
 and transported beyond the Mississippi. The Semi 
 noles continued hostilities, wasting and massacring 
 
 X 
 
322 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 whenever opportunity permitted, and evading pursuit 
 by retiring to the morasses. 
 
 Toward the close of 1837, the Indian chiefs amused 
 General Jessup by overtures of treaties, and proposals 
 to accept the mediation of a delegation from the 
 Cherokees. The general's hopes of effecting, what so 
 many of his predecessors had failed to effect, were 
 cruelly disappointed ; and on the 19th of December, 
 he communicated that fact to Colonel Taylor, then sta 
 tioned at Fort Gardner, south of the Withlacoochee. 
 The colonel was instructed to proceed with the least 
 possible delay against any portion of the enemy he 
 might hear of within striking distance, and to destroy 
 or capture it. 
 
 Next day Colonel Taylor marched with about one 
 thousand men in pursuit of the enemy. In the even 
 ing of the same day, he was met by sixty-three Indians, 
 headed by the chief Jumper. They surrendered. Next 
 day he received information of a large body of Indians 
 in his front ; but soon after, twenty-two of all ages and 
 both sexes met and surrendered. But the Indian chief 
 Alligator, having sent a message of defiance, Taylor 
 laid out a small stockade fort, where he left his heavy 
 baggage and artillery with eighty-five sick. These 
 were guarded by Captain Monroe with his company. 
 The colonel then pushed forward, and early the next 
 day reached Alligator's encampment, situated on the 
 edge of Cabbage-tree hammock. It had been deserted, 
 but at some distance in advance several Indians were 
 taken, from whom important information concerning the 
 enemy was obtained. Another deserted encampment 
 was reached next morning, and about noon of the same 
 day the colonel came up with the main body of the 
 enemy. They were hidden in a hammock, which was 
 protected in front by a swamp three-quarters of a mile 
 broad and covered with saw-grass five feet high. It 
 was knee deep in mud and water, and totally impassa 
 ble to cavalry. 
 
 On reaching the swamp, the colonel dismounted his 
 
BATTLE OF OKEECIIOBEE. 323 
 
 cavaby and formed the order of battle. The whole 
 force then pressed through the swamp, wading the 
 whole distance to the edge of the hammock. Here 
 the advance guard, volunteers and spies, under Colonel 
 Gentry, received a heavy fire, and were put to flight 
 with the loss of their commander. The regulars 
 pressed forward in good order. The Indians concen 
 trated their fire on six companies of infantry, killing 
 the commander, Lieutenant-colonel Thompson, and kill 
 ing or wounding every other officer except one. When 
 these companies retired, one of them had but four men 
 untouched. The Indians were however charged, and 
 driven from the hammock to the lake of Okeechobee, 
 on which their encampment extended for more than 
 a mile. The colonel ordered their right flank to be 
 turned, which was executed in a handsome manner ; and 
 the Indians, after delivering another fire, broke and fled 
 in all directions. They were pursued until sundown. 
 The action, from its commencement until the time when 
 the enemy began their retreat, lasted nearly three hours. 
 
 In the battle of Okeechobee the Americans lost 
 twenty-six killed and one hundred and twelve wounded, 
 including some of their most valuable officers. The 
 loss of the Indians is supposed to have been about the 
 same. 
 
 The results of this expedition, Colonel Taylor sums 
 up as follows : " This column in six weeks penetrated 
 one hundred and fifty miles into the enemy's country ; 
 opened roads and constructed bridges and causeways 
 when necessary, on the greater portion of the route ; 
 established two depots and the necessary defences for 
 the same, and finally overtook and beat the enemy in 
 his strongest position. The results of which move 
 ment and battle have been the capture of thirty of the 
 hostiles, the coming in and surrendering of more than 
 one hundred and fifty Indians and negroes, the cap 
 turing and driving out of the country six hundred 
 head of cattle, upwards of one hundred head of horses, 
 besides obtaining a thorough knowledge of the country 
 30 
 
324 INDIAN WANS OF TIIK UNITED STATES. 
 
 through which we operated, a greater portion of which 
 was entirely unknown except to the enemy." 
 
 The importance of this battle was duly appreciated 
 by government. Colonel Taylor was raised to the 
 brevet rank of brigadier-general, and subsequently in 
 trusted with the chief command in Florida. He es 
 tablished his head-quarters at Tampa Bay, from which 
 he directed the remaining operations of the war until 
 1840. He was, however, unable to bring the Indians 
 to a second general engagement. They had been dis 
 couraged by the affair of Okeechobee, and, as is gene 
 rally the case with their tribes, entertained strong ap 
 prehensions concerning the good luck of the officer 
 who had defeated them. Hence the operations of the 
 war at this period were merely predatory incursions on 
 the part of the Seminoles, on villages or single plan 
 tations, which they could rob or devastate in a night 
 and escape before news of the depredation reached the 
 American head-quarters. Still the American forces, by 
 separating into small parties which scoured the open 
 country, were enabled to prevent much mischief and 
 to keep the savages in awe. 
 
 In May, 1839, General Macomb, commander-in- 
 chief of the United States army, arrived at Fort King 
 in Florida, and invited the Indian chiefs to a confer 
 ence. They consented, and arrangements were entered 
 into, which, as the general supposed, were about to 
 terminate the war. The futility of the supposition 
 was speedily apparent. Early in July, travellers and 
 trains were attacked on the highway, plantations ra 
 vaged, and settlers murdered or driven northward. At 
 Charlotte's harbour, Lieutenant-colonel Harney, with 
 thirty dragoons, was surprised while asleep by two 
 hundred and fifty Seminoles. Twenty-four were killed 
 in their beds, or while escaping. Harney saved his life 
 by swimming to a fishing-smack. This disaster 
 might probably have been avoided, but for the feeling 
 of security inspired by the previous treaty. Soon 
 after, the legislature of Florida authorized the employ- 
 
COL. WORTH COMMANDER. 325 
 
 ment of blood-hounds to track the Indians to their 
 lurking places. The attempt was made with thirty- 
 three dogs imported from Cuba, but failed completely. 
 
 In 1840, General Taylor requested and obtained per 
 mission to retire from the command in Florida. He 
 was succeeded by General Armistead. The end of the 
 war seemed distant as ever. On the Tth of August a 
 party of Spanish Indians in boats attacked Key Island, 
 murdered several of the inhabitants, among whom was 
 Dr. Perrine, a distinguished naturalist, and set fire to 
 the buildings. They then retired with their scalps and 
 booty. The American troops, on account of sickness, 
 the great heat of the weather, and their totally insuffi 
 cient numbers, were obliged to remain tame spectators 
 of these outrages. On the 28th of December, Lieu 
 tenant Sherwood and twelve men, acting as an escort 
 to Mrs. Montgomery, were attacked at Martin's Point. 
 The lady and two privates were instantly killed, and 
 the lieutenant, with his remaining men, after fighting 
 hand to hand with the savages, was overpowered by 
 numbers. The attacking party were soon afterwards 
 captured. In March, 1841, two slight skirmishes oc 
 curred with celebrated chiefs, in which the Indians 
 were worsted. A few then surrendered, but every 
 thing was as yet uncertain and desultory. In the same 
 month, the great chief Coacoochee surrendered to 
 Colonel Worth. 
 
 On the 31st of May, Worth received the chief com 
 mand in Florida. He was instructed by government 
 " to terminate as speedily as possible the protracted 
 hostilities in Florida." The duty, as may easily be 
 imagined, was one of no easy execution. Forty-seven 
 thousand square miles were occupied by Indians, and 
 they kept that immense extent of country in alarm, 
 without once appearing in an open battle, or, to any 
 great extent risking their personal safety. Hitherto, 
 owing to the heat and unhealthfulness of the climate, 
 no campaign had been carried on during the summer. 
 Worth resolved on adopting a new plan, by pursuing 
 
INDIAN WARS OF TIIE UNITED STATES. 
 
 the Indians during the entire year. He determined 
 also to change the mode of action to that of partisan 
 warfare his commands being " Find the enemy, cap 
 ture or exterminate." The first act, in obedience to 
 this order, was the destroying of the Indian corn-fields, 
 so that during the month of June destruction wfts 
 carried into a large portion of the enemy's country. 
 In July, Coacoochee's band, consisting of seventy-eight 
 warriors, sixty-four women, and forty-seven children, 
 surrendered. Soon after, another great chief witli 
 eighteen warriors was decoyed on board a vessel, by 
 promises of a conference, and secured. Other cap 
 tures or surrenders followed ; and a large number of 
 the Indians were sent to the West. They now appeared 
 discouraged, especially as their provisions had been 
 destroyed, and their swampy fastnesses invaded. Yet 
 for several months they maintained a kind of guerrilla 
 warfare, ravaging the remote borders, shooting the 
 unguarded traveller, and harassing the soldiery. The 
 Americans suffered greatly from sickness, especially 
 yellow fever and dysentery, brought on by the heat. 
 Many died of sheer exhaustion. 
 
 On the 20th of December, the settlement of Man 
 darin was attacked by seventeen Indians. Two men, 
 tjyo women, and an infant, were butchered ; and the 
 dwellings burned. Reports of other atrocities roused 
 the jaded soldier to further duty. In April, 1842, 
 Colonel Worth set out on an expedition to scour the 
 swamps in the vicinity of St. John's river. On the 
 17th, it was ascertained that a party of Indians were 
 concealed in the Palaklaklaha hammock ; and at day 
 break the troops, in order of battle, were in full march 
 for that station. After a march of several miles, 
 through mud and water, they reached the enemy's po 
 sition. It was defended by a mass of foliage, seem 
 ingly impenetrable. The American fire was immedi 
 ately returned with the war whoop and a volley of rifle 
 shots, but the troops pressed on steadily with the 
 bayonet. The Indians defended themselves obsti- 
 
AFFAIR OF PALAKLAKLAHA. 327 
 
 nately, keeping up a continuous discharge of fire-arms. 
 Seeing this, Worth attacked their rear, when a desper 
 ate struggle ensued. It was maintained until the 
 troops gained the hammock, when the Indians separ 
 ated into small parties, the better to effect their escape. 
 They were followed, as far as the nature of the ground 
 permitted, yet with indifferent success. Their camp, 
 containing great quantities of meat and clothing, fell 
 into the hands of the victors. In this affair the In 
 dians lost two killed, three wounded, and one captured. 
 The Americans, one killed and four wounded. Eleven 
 days after, Halleek-Tuttenuggee, the chief who had 
 commanded in the battle, visited Worth's camp, and 
 expressed his desire for peace. Some time after, 
 twenty-five of the most influential chiefs were invited 
 to a feast, and made prisoners while partaking of it. 
 Halleek was taken in the same manner. He contrived 
 various stratagems to effect an escape ; but, baffled in 
 all, he consented to emigrate, and employed his influ 
 ence with the Indians to persuade them to do the same. 
 In July, he and his band sailed for Arkansas. Billy 
 Bowlegs and other chiefs from the south came in dur 
 ing the following month, with full power from the In 
 dians who remained there, to negotiate a treaty of 
 peace. On the 14th, Colonel Worth announced that 
 hostilities in the territory had ceased. The Indians 
 surrendered or captured were to be sent to the West ; 
 and those who remained were temporarily assigned a 
 portion of Florida, south of a specified boundary. 
 Three days after, Worth resigned the command, and 
 repaired to Washington to make final arrangements 
 with the government. Colonel Vose assumed the 
 command. 
 
 The Florida war was not yet ended. Even before 
 Worth left the territory, hostilities had recommenced 
 at San Pedro. The exasperation and chagrin of the 
 inhabitants broke forth into loud murmurs against the 
 government and the army. Colonel Vose was ordered 
 to take the field immediately, and another series of 
 
328 INDIAN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 negotiations, skirmishes, butcheries, and hollow truces 
 ensued. The details might well fatigue, but could not 
 please or instruct the reader. It may be sufficient to 
 know that in November, Colonel Worth, lately breveted 
 brigadier-general, resumed the command ; that a few 
 more chiefs were captured, a few driven into the ever 
 glades, and a few decoyed and afterwards retained ; 
 that several hundred Indians, desolate, friendless, and 
 heart-broken, were despatched to the West ; that the 
 military force was now reduced, and now augmented, 
 according as the war- temperament dictated the ther 
 mometer-like policy ; and that, November, 1843, has 
 generally been regarded as the time when this whole 
 affair, dignified by the appellation of a national contest, 
 may be supposed to have been concluded. That fact 
 was duly announced by General Worth in a despatch 
 to the adjutant-general. 
 
 Since that time peace has, with few interruptions, 
 been maintained. The Indian warriors now in Florida 
 number, perhaps, one hundred and fifty. Recently 
 Borne outrages were committed, which caused some 
 anxiety least the war was about to be renewed ; but it 
 is believed that no plot for that purpose exists among 
 the Indians. 
 
 THE END. 
 
* ~R > 
 
 s 
 
*