Biographical Memorials of James Oglethorpe - Thaddeus Mason Harris
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He had been at Savannah before, for in p. 46, is this remark; "All
which was evident to myself, as well from what I observed, _when here
formerly_, as more especially now, since my arrival." And again, p.
54, mentioning Mr. Fallowfield, "a constable, whose temper I was
better acquainted with, _having lodged at his house during my former
abode here_."
After the departure of General Oglethorpe, he was President of the
Council, and acting Governor from July 11, 1743, to April 8, 1757,
when he was succeeded by Henry Parker, Esq.]
The great mismanagement of the trust-funds which had been sent for
the support of the Colony, rendered it also necessary to retrench
the ordinary issues, "that something might remain for the necessary
support of life among the industrious part of the community, who were
not to be blamed."
On the 11th, Tomo Chichi came to wait upon the General. He had been
very ill; but the good old man was so rejoiced at the return of his
respected friend, that he said it made him moult like the eagle.[1] He
informed him that several Indian chiefs were at Yamacraw to pay their
respects to him, and to assure him of their fidelity.
[Footnote 1: Appendix, No. XXI.]
This embassy consisted of the Micos or chiefs of the Ocmulgees, the
Chehaws, the Ouchasees, and the Parachacholas, with thirty of their
warriors, and fifty-two attendants. As they walked up the hill,
they were saluted by a battery of cannon, and then conducted to the
town-hall by a corps of militia, where the General received them. They
told him that the Spaniards had decoyed them to St. Augustine, on
pretence that he was there; but they found that they were imposed
upon, and therefore turned back with displeasure, though they were
offered great presents to induce them to fall out with the English.
These single-hearted foresters had now come to remove from the mind
of their pledged friend all apprehension of their alienation, and to
assure him that their warriors shall attend his call. They closed
their conference with a pressing invitation to him to come up to their
towns in the course of the summer; and, with his promise to do so,
they took a respectful leave.
On the 17th the General called the inhabitants to assemble at the
town-hall, and "there made a pathetic speech to them;"[1] which he
began by thanking them for the measures which they had pursued for
mutual help and the common good. He apprized them of the great
exertions made by the Trustees to support, protect, and defend the
Colony; but that their being obliged to maintain the garrisons, and
lay in various stores till the arrival of the troops, and the dear
price of provisions the last year, occasioned such an increased demand
upon them, that they would not be able to continue further allowance,
nor assume further responsibilities, unless a supply should be granted
by parliament. This state of embarrassment he greatly regretted,
inasmuch as those whom he addressed were suffering by the failure of
their crops. He told them that, with surprise and great grief, he
found that there was more due from the public store than there were
goods and articles in it to pay; but that he had given orders that all
persons should be paid as far as these effects would go. He said that
he was fully aware of the privations already felt, and of the greater
to which they were exposed; and, therefore, informed those who, on
this account, or for any reason, supposed that they could better their
condition by going out of the Province, that they had his full consent
to do so. At the same time he requested such to come to his quarters,
and acquaint him with their grievances, their wishes, and their
purposes, and he would give them his best advice, and all the aid
in his power. How many, or how far any, availed themselves of this
overture, is not known; but the writer who has given an account of
this address, adds, "It is remarkable that not one man chose to leave
the Province, though they very well knew that they must endure great
hardships before the next crop should come in, for there was very
little money stirring, and very few had provisions sufficient to keep
them till next year. However, they all seemed resolved rather to stay,
than to leave the country now in its distress[2]."
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS'S _Journal_, I. p. 305.]
[Footnote 2: Letter from Savannah, October 22, 1738.]
To lessen the demands upon the Trustees, Oglethorpe made retrenchments
in the public expenditures. He disbanded the troop of Rangers, who
guarded the country on the land side, though they offered to serve
without pay; but he deemed it improper that they should be on service
without remuneration. The garrisons were relieved by the regiments; so
that that expense ceased. He aimed to reconcile the disaffected, by
his good offices; and to gain their affections by unexpected and
unmerited liberalities. With very timely largesses he assisted the
orphans, the widows, and the sick; and contributed towards the relief
of the most destitute; but, adds the writer of the letter above
quoted, "we are apprehensive such contributions cannot last long,
unless assisted from England, for the expenses are too great for any
single man to bear."
The General pursued, with anxious scrutiny, his investigation into the
management of business, and found the charges and accounts to be very
perplexed, and the result evincing mismanagement and unfaithfulness.
"He settled the officers, civil and military, among whom changes had
taken place; filled vacancies; and took the most judicious measures
that the whole municipal establishment should be properly organized.
Then, calling them all to his lodgings, he gave it in charge that they
should do their duties with care and vigilance. He exhorted them to
use their best endeavors to preserve peace; especially at this time,
when ill-disposed persons, taking advantage of people's uneasiness
at those inevitable pressures under which they labored, and must
necessarily for some time be subjected to, might craftily incite them
to insurrection. Withal, he recommended earnestly to them to preserve
unanimity among themselves, which would strengthen and support a due
authority, and restrain the licentious into due obedience."[1]
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS'S _Journal_, I. 309.]
On Wednesday morning, October 25th, Oglethorpe set out for the south,
leaving, as Col. Stephens remarks, "a gloomy prospect of what might
ensue; and many sorrowful countenances were visible under the
apprehensions of future want; which deplorable state the Colony has
fallen into, through such means as few or none of the settlers had any
imagination of, till the Trustees, in their late letters, awakened
them out of their dream; and the General, when he came, laid the whole
open, and apprized them that they were but little removed from a
downright bankruptcy. Now was a time when it would be fully apparent,
who were the most valuable among them, by showing a hearty endeavor to
contribute, what in them lay, to appease the rising discontents, and
wait with patience to see better things, which were not yet to be
despaired of."[1]
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS'S _Journal_, I. 312.]
It appears that Mr. Causton discovered not only reluctance and
perversity in explaining and authenticating his accounts; but, by
disingenuous insinuations reflected on the conduct of Oglethorpe, "as
if he very well knew that extraordinary occasions had created these
great exceedings, which the Trustees approving of, he [Causton] was
given up to be driven to utter ruin."[1] Mr. Jones deemed it necessary
to write to the General to inform him of the reflections which had
thus been cast upon his honor, and of the impediments which he himself
met in the business assigned to him. Upon the receipt of this letter,
Oglethorpe set out on a return to Savannah, where he arrived early in
the morning of Saturday, November 11th, and, as the bell was ringing
for attendance on prayers, he went and joined the orisons of the
congregation. This was more grateful to his feelings than the military
salute and parade of the preceding visit; and the devotional exercises
in which he engaged soothed his vexed spirit, and the petition for
pardon of offences against God produced a livelier disposition in his
heart of lenity and forgiveness towards those who had offended against
him. In the course of the day, he looked again into the concerns of
the store, and despatched some other affairs of consequence. In the
evening he sent for Mr. Causton, when, "in a very mild manner, and
gentler terms than could be expected, upon such a provocation, he
reprehended him for the freedom he had taken with his name, and
advised him to use no delays or shifts in making up his accounts."
[Footnote 1: Ibid. p. 325.]
On Sunday he attended public worship; and after that took boat, and
went back to the south.
In both these visits to Savannah, Oglethorpe discovered among the
inhabitants indications of the prevalence of not only a dissatisfied,
but of a factious spirit; more to be lamented than a failing harvest,
or a stinted market.
It was extremely mortifying to him to perceive that his greatest
exertions and most assiduous services were underrated; his devotedness
to their welfare unacknowledged; and his sacrifices and exposures
that he might establish them in security and peace, were not merely
depreciated, but miscalled and dishonored. While he was zealously
engaged in strengthening the Colony, by locating large accessions of
brave and industrious settlers on the frontiers, and erecting forts,
and supplying them with troops and ammunition, the people who were
"sitting under their own vines and fig-trees, with none to molest or
make them afraid," and who had been best and longest provided for,
were insensible to the hardships and dangers to which others were
exposed; and, cavilling at the circumstances in which they were
placed, complained as if he must be personally accountable for certain
restrictions in the plan of settlement, and subsequent financial and
commercial affairs, to which the Trustees had deemed it proper to
subject them; restrictions which might have been submitted to by them
with as good a grace as they were by the Saltzburgers at Ebenezer and
the Scots at Darien, "who murmured not, neither were unthankful." In
fact, it was very apparent, that by their indolence and improvidence
these dissatisfied ones had brought upon themselves the chief of
the evils which they suffered. Their allegations, therefore, were
unreasonable, and the disposition which dictated them criminally
ungrateful. But Oglethorpe, instead of reproaching the discontented
for their ingratitude, and the murmurers for their unkind imputations,
stifled his own justifiable feelings of displeasure, in the hope that
such forbearance would refute the injustice of theirs. Well might the
poet exclaim:
"What magnanimity!--May ne'er again
Unkind returns thy generous ardor chill,
Nor causeless censure give thy bosom pain,
Nor thankless hearts reward thy good with ill!
"But honoring gratitude its column raise,
To bear inscriptions of deserved praise;
And when through age the record is obscure,
A nobler let posterity procure."
CHAPTER XIII.
Oglethorpe goes to Charlestown, South Carolina, to open his
Commission--Comes back to Savannah--Gives encouragement to the
Planters--Returns to Frederica--Excursion to Coweta--Forms a Treaty
with the Upper Creeks--Receives at Augusta a delegation of the
Chickasaws and Cherokees, who complain of having been poisoned by the
Traders--On his return to Savannah is informed of Spanish aggressions,
and is authorized to make reprisals.
As Oglethorpe was appointed General and Commander in Chief of the
military forces in South Carolina, as well as Georgia, he deemed it
proper to pay a visit to Charlestown, in order to have this assigned
rank duly notified to the Governor and people of the Province. He,
therefore, set out for that metropolis on the 10th of March, 1739;
arrived on the 15th, and, on the 3d of April, had his commission
opened and read in the Assembly. In reference to the exercise of
the authority which it conferred, some regulations in the military
establishment were adopted. On the 11th he returned to Savannah. To
encourage the industry of the planters, he proposed to those who would
persevere in doing what they could in the culture of their lands,
"a bounty of two shillings per bushel for all Indian corn, and one
shilling per bushel for all potatoes, which they should raise over and
above what the produce could be sold for after the next harvest[1]."
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS, I. 460.]
On the 18th he went to Frederica; but was obliged, in the summer, to
renew his visit to Savannah; and, on the evening of the 10th of July,
was received, under a discharge of cannon, by about forty of the
freeholders under arms, which, he was pleased to say, was more than he
expected. "His stay, being very likely to be short, many successively
sought audience of him, whose affairs he despatched with his usual
promptness."
"On the 17th he set off on his Indian expedition to Coweta: he
proceeded up the river, in his cutter, with Lieutenant Dunbar, Ensign
Leman, and Mr. Eyre, a cadet, besides attendants and servants. At
the Uchee town, twenty-five miles above Ebenezer, he quitted
water-conveyance, having appointed several of the Indian traders to
wait his coming there, with a number of horses, as well for sumpter as
riding, and also some rangers to assist."
On this journey, computed to be over three hundred miles, both he and
his attendants met with many and great hardships and fatigue. They
were obliged to traverse a continuous wilderness, where there was no
road, and seldom any visible track; and their Indian guides led them
often, unavoidably, through tangled thickets, and deep and broken
ravines, and across swamps, or bogs, where the horses mired and
plunged to the great danger of the riders. They had to pass large
rivers on rafts, and cause the horses to wade and swim; and to ford
others. During most of the way their resolute leader was under the
necessity of sleeping in the open air, wrapped in his cloak or
a blanket, and with his portmanteau for a pillow; or, if the
night-weather was uncomfortable, or rainy, a covert was constructed of
cypress boughs, spread over poles. For two hundred miles there was not
a hut to be met with; nor a human face to be seen, unless by accident
that of some Indian hunter traversing the woods. At length they
arrived at Coweta, one of the principal towns of the Muscoghe, or
Creek Indians, where the Chiefs of all the tribes were assembled,
on the 11th of August. "Thus did this worthy man, to protect the
settlement, which with so much pecuniary expense and devotedness of
time, he had planted, now expose himself to the hazards and toils of a
comfortless expedition, that would have proved unsurmountable to one
of a less enterprising spirit and steady resolutions." Oglethorpe,
and his suite, were received with great cordiality; and, after the
necessary introduction to individuals, and a little refreshment and
rest, a grand convention was formed. The assembly was arranged in due
order, with the solemn introductory ceremonies prescribed for such
occasions. A libation of the _foskey_,[1] or black-drink, followed; of
which Oglethorpe was invited to partake with "the beloved men," and of
which the chiefs and warriors quaffed more copious draughts. Speeches
and discussions followed; terms of intercourse and stipulations of
trade were agreed upon; and, after smoking the calumet, they unitedly
declared that they remained firm in their pledged fealty to the King
of Great Britain, and would adhere to all the engagements of amity and
commerce heretofore entered into with Oglethorpe as the representative
of the Trustees. They then renewed the former grants, in terms
more explicit and full, confirming the session of territory on the
sea-coast, with the islands, and now extending the southern boundary
to the river Matteo, or St. John's. And Oglethorpe, on his part,
covenanted that the English should not encroach upon, nor take up,
other lands, nor intrude upon any reserved privileges of the Creeks;
but would cause their rights to be respected, and the trade with them
to be conducted upon fair and honorable principles. This important
treaty was concluded on the 21st of August, 1739.
[Footnote 1: This is a decoction of the leaves of the YAUPON, _prinus
glaber_, and is of an exciting, and if taken freely, an intoxicating
effect. It is prepared with much formality, and is considered as
a sacred beverage, used only by the Chiefs, the War Captains, and
Priests ("beloved men") on special occasions, particularly on going to
war and making treaties. For an account of its preparation and use,
see LAWSON'S _Carolina_, p. 90; BERNARD ROMAN'S _Natural History of
Florida_, p. 94; ADAIR'S _History of the American Indians_, p.
108; CATESBY'S _Natural History of Carolina_, II. 57; and BARTON'S
_Elements of Botany_, part II. p. 16.]
Oglethorpe ingratiated himself highly with the Creeks on this
occasion, by his having undertaken so long and difficult a journey to
become acquainted with them, and secure their favor; trusting himself
with so few attendants in a fearless reliance on their good faith;
by the readiness with which he accommodated himself to their mode of
living; and the magnanimity of his deportment while among them.
The chief business being finished to mutual satisfaction, the General,
with his attendants, set out on their return; and, after enduring
the like hardships, exposures, and fatigue, arrived, on the 5th of
September, at Fort Augusta, an outpost on the Savannah, where he had
placed a garrison on his first expedition to Georgia; and under the
protection of which, a little settlement was now formed, inhabited
mostly by Indian traders. There he was waited on by the chiefs of the
Chickasaws, and the chiefs of the Cherokees;[1] the last of whom came
with a heavy complaint that his people had been poisoned by the rum
which had been brought to them by the traders. At this they expressed
high resentment, and even threatened revenge. As this was an affair of
quite an alarming nature, the General made strict inquiry into it; and
ascertained that some unlicensed traders had, the preceding summer,
carried up the small pox, which is fatal to the Indians; and that
several of their warriors, as well as others, had fallen victims to
the distemper. It was with some difficulty that he convinced the
Indians that this was the real cause of the calamity. At the same time
he assured them that such were the precautions and strict examination
used, before any applicant for leave to trade could obtain it, that
they need not apprehend any danger from such as came to them with a
license. With this explanation and assurance they went away satisfied.
[Footnote 1: By some early writers of Carolina these chiefs are called
"Caciques." Whether this be the same as Mico, I know not; but the
title, though often used so, does not seem to be appropriate.
Where justly applied, it is the title of the legislative chief, in
distinction from the war chief.]
On the 13th of September, while yet at this place, an express arrived
from Savannah to acquaint him that a sloop from Rhode Island had
brought the intelligence, that the Governor of that Colony had,
by orders from Great Britain, issued commissions for fitting out
privateers against the Spaniards. This was not a little surprising to
him. He could not conceive how a distant Colony should have any such
orders, before they were sent to him who was most in danger of being
attacked, in case of any rupture with Spain. However, he deemed
it expedient to hasten his return, in order to obtain more direct
information. On the 22d he reached Savannah, where he received and
published his Majesty's orders for reprisals. In consequence of these,
a stout privateer of fourteen guns, was immediately fitted out by
Captain Davies, who had suffered by having had a ship and cargo,
to the value of forty thousand pieces of eight, captured and most
unjustly condemned by the Spaniards; and, therefore, felt that he had
a right to avail himself of the present opportunity for obtaining
redress.[1]
[Footnote 1: _London Magazine, for_ 1757, page 592.]
For several years, the British trade to America, particularly that to
the West Indies, had suffered great interruption and annoyance from
the Spanish _guarda-costas_, which, under various pretences, seized
the merchant ships, and carried them into their ports, where they were
confiscated. This piratical practice had increased to such a degree
that scarcely any vessels were safe in those seas; for the Spaniards
pretended that wherever they found logwood, cocoa, or pieces of
eight on board, the capture was legal. Now, the first two of those
commodities were the growth and produce of the English islands, and
the last was the current specie of all that part of the world; so that
there was hardly a ship homeward bound but had one or other of these
on hoard.
These depredations were also aggravated by circumstances of great
inhumanity and cruelty; the sailors being confined in loathsome
prisons, at the Havana, and at Cadiz; or forced to work with irons on
their legs; with no sustenance but salt fish, almost putrid, and beds
full of vermin, so that many died of their hard captivity[1].
[Footnote 1: _History of the Colonies planted by the English on the
Continent of North America_, by JOHN MARSHALL. 8vo. Philadelphia,
1824. Chap. X.]
The increasing complaints of the merchants, and the loud clamors of
the nation, at length forced the British minister to abandon his
pacific system; and war was declared against Spain on the 23d of
October, 1739. A squadron, commanded by Admiral Vernon was detached
for the West Indies, with instructions to act upon the defensive; and
General Oglethorpe was ordered to annoy the settlements in Florida.[1]
[Footnote 1: _Historical Review of the Transactions of Europe, from
the commencement of the War with Spain, in_ 1739, _to the Insurrection
in Scotland, in_ 1745, by SAMUEL BOYSE. 8vo.. Dublin, 1748. Vol. I. p.
27.]
It now became necessary for Oglethorpe to take the most prompt and
effective measures for the protection of the Colony; and, as his
settlement had, from the beginning, been opposed by the Spaniards
at St. Augustine, and would now have to encounter their resentful
assaults, he must put into requisition all his military force, and see
to their adequate equipment. He immediately took measures for raising
a troop of thirty rangers, to prevent the Spanish horse and Indians at
St. Augustine from making incursions into the Province; and likewise
to intercept the runaway negroes of Carolina, on their way through
the country to join the Spaniards. At the same time he summoned four
hundred Creeks, and six hundred Cherokee Indians to march down to the
southern borders. He then viewed the arms of the militia, to ascertain
that they were all in good order, and gave directions that powder,
balls, and flints, should be issued out of the magazine, for supplying
each member with a proper quantity. But aware that all this would be
too inconsiderable for effectual resistance, he perceived it to be
expedient to seek the protection of the West India fleet, and to apply
to the Assembly of South Carolina for cooeperation in a cause, in
the event of which their own safety was involved. Accordingly he
immediately sent up to Charlestown to desire assistance, and to
consult measures with the commanders of the men of war then on the
station, in order immediately to block up St. Augustine before the
Spaniards could receive supplies and reinforcements from Cuba; which,
if properly executed, the place would, in all probability, be soon
reduced.[1] This application was laid before the General Assembly,
and, on the 8th of November, a Committee was appointed to take the
same into consideration. Their Report was discussed in both Houses of
Assembly; but no decision was obtained.
[Footnote 1: See his letter in the _History of the Rise and Progress
of Georgia_, HARRIS'S _Voyages_, II. p. 338, dated 21st of September,
1739.]
Having taken these preparatory measures, he returned to Frederica to
make all the arrangements which the exigences of the case required,
in the equipment of his own forces, and by calling upon his Indian
allies; waiting, with impatience, however, the result of his
application to the sister Colony.
Towards the middle of November a party of Spaniards landed in the
night time upon Amelia island, and skulked in the thicket till
morning, when two Highlanders, unarmed, went into the woods for fuel;
upon whom the Spaniards fired, first five and then ten shot; which was
heard by Francis Brooks, who commanded the scout-boat upon the coast.
He immediately made a signal to the Fort, which was then garrisoned
by a detachment of General Oglethorpe's regiment. Upon this a party
instantly went out, but they arrived too late, for they found their
comrades dead, and that the assassins had taken to their boat, and put
out to sea. The bodies of the soldiers were not only rent with shot,
but most barbarously mangled and hacked. The periodical publication
from which this account is taken, has the following remarks:[1]
"Whence it was apparent that the Spaniards had first, out of
cowardice, shot them, and then, out of cruelty, cut and slashed them
with their swords. If they had not been most scandalous poltroons,
they would have taken the two unarmed men prisoners, without making
any noise; and then they might have lurked in the wood till they had
found an opportunity of getting a better booty, or at least of making
more prisoners. And, if they had not been most barbarously cruel, they
would have been satisfied with simply killing these unresisting men,
(which might have been without such a volley of shot,) and not have
so mangled their bodies after they were slain. From such cowardly and
cruel foes no mercy can be expected; and every one sent against them
must despair if he finds himself in danger of being overpowered, and
wrought up to desperation and revenge when he finds himself any thing
near upon an equal footing."