Life and Times Of

LIFE AND TIMES

G N. S M . L E A D A E ,

THE

M I SSI SSIPPI PARTI SAN.

J . F . H. CLAIBORNE .

‘ I L L U S T R A T E D B Y J O H N M L R N A N ,

N E W Y O R K

H R P E B O T H E S P U B L I S H E S A R R R , R ,

F F F F F L I N S Q U A B E ,

1 8 0 6 .

THE SURVIVING VOLUNTE E RS OF M ISSISSIPPI AND L OUISIANA

!AN D I N M E M ORY OF THE D E AD )

WH E E D I HE E E K WA OF 181 3—14 UND E THE O S RV N T CR R , R L TE B IG E L I E HI BI G P Y F . G N . C BO N T S O H O A R A R , RA ONE OF THE I M BE B IE L I L L USTRAT R NU R, R F Y I NG THE I P T IOTI SM G L L NT Y R A R , A A R , AND E I G SUFF R N S,

3 5 Reap ertfnllg im zbim teb . M A LE LA RE A L ABA GIS T U .

An Act e xp r e ssing the g r a ti t ude of the S ta te of Al a ba m a f or t he se r v

d e 1 m u l a l e A r ove D c . 5 1 2 1 i s r e n de r e d b a e D . 8 . ce y S p p ,

e c om osi n t h e of Al Se c . 1 . Wh reas the territory now p g State ou r e u e abama was , during late war with Gr at Britain, s bj cted like wise to th e barbarities of sav age warfare ; and where as ou r v e e D e w a s th e enerable citiz n, Samu l al , ﬁrst to interpose his

u r e i aid for the defe nse of o people, and endur d pr vations and hard ships that have impaired his constitution - and re duced him to i n

e D n dig e n ce ; and Wh reas the said ale, not havi g had it in his pow

of e e er, owing to the situation the country, to pr s rve his papers and vouche rs to establish his claim on the United States gove rn

e e v e m nt, and has failed to receive en justice from that quart r ; a n d e e e of of e e whereas we , the r pr sentativ s the people Alabama, f l it a duty due to them and ours e lves to manife st ou r gratitude for

e his distinguish e d servic s ; therefore ,

B e i t e na c te d th e of Re by Senate and House presentatives, that e e e th 1 the treasurer be and is h r by r quired to pay to e said 0 0 . Samue l Dale half the pay now allowe d by the United State s to An d de colonels in the army . that he is hereby clared a brigadie r

e t h e of g neral by brevet in militia this state, and shall rank as

W v An d t e e such henever called into ser ice . h governor is her by

h im An d th e required to commission accordingly . treasurer is authorized and required to pay to the said brevet Brigadier Gen l l on of era Samuel Da e, the ﬁrst day January in each and every l d u t f year, the ha f pay as aforesaid, for and uring his life , o o any s money in the treasury not otherwi e appropriated . PR E F A C E .

THE histor ic a l p or tion of t his volu m e h a s been

n e t u b ~ c on den sed fr om a u t hen tic M SS . ever y p Iish d e .

Th e person a l a dv en t u r es of G e n . D a le were t a ken d wn r om own F r a n k n S m t E s o f his lips by li i h, q , th H n r A G a r r t t E s a n d m a t dif e a t e . l e y e , q , yself,

T o n t m n — e om fe r e n t per iods . h se ge le e bot h a c p l i sh e d schola r s — t u r n ed over t heir n ot e s t o m e om a r a o a n d I n c or o a t d m m o r of s e ye s g , i p r e a e i “ ” D a w t a H t or of t h e Sou t w t on w c le i h is y h es , hi h I h a d n on n a d n r a d for th e bee l g e g ge . W he e y th M h n k n of a st a m r e SS . r o t t e p ess, we e l s by si i g e n th M s n t t n a fe k er o e i sissippi . U il wi hi w wee s pa st I ha ve n ever h a d leisu r e t o r epr odu ce th e life D a of le .

He wa s m a n of n u a m d t n t a n d r e a si g l r o es y, sile d a n d r r a u d d t o o n d n t u v a e w r e . ser e , ely ll his a ve s

He wa s m a n t r u t a n d o d th e on ﬁd n c e a of h , p ssesse c e a n d t m of m a n m n n t r on A r es ee y e i e pe s s . s o igin a l l wr tt n t h e n a r r at wa s a m st t r a i n h is y i e , ive l o li e lly n r d I n th e r n t m m ow wo s. p ese e oir I ha ve p r e s r d a n u a i h m a n a t a n d a t u e ve his l g ge y p r s, f i hf lly x d n n e p r esse his Opi io s .

He w a s a n u n du c a t e d b u t n o m e a n a n i ~ e , by s g viii PREFA C E .

n or a n t m an c o m e n a n d t n ; a l se observer of hi gs,

w t c a a d t n a c ou m m r a n d a s i h a le r he , a e i s e o y, alw y on d th e oc e t du c t d m I f of s i y of e a e e n . ven t u r e t o

o t a t e a s r wr tt n r n t a h pe h his lif , he e i e , p ese s a f ir

x m a t h e n u n r on t m a n — m od t e e pl r of ge i e f ier es ,

t r u t u a t n t r u a u r ou a t r ou d hf l , p ie , f g l, f ll of eligi s f i h , p

Of u n t m r i n a tt e t r om t t o his co ry, re o seless b le, y p p or a n d r a d t o ar d own a t f give, eve re y jeop his s fe y for th e helpless a n d Oppr essed — a r a ce of m e n -su ch a s n o other cou n t ry h a s pr odu ced — wholly A m er ica n — a feat u r e a s pr om in en t i n ou r socia l a n d poli tica l hi stor y a s th e gr a n d physica l chara c

t e r i stics pecu liar t o this con tin en t . Th e sket ch of th e wa r of 1 81 3 — 1 4 is n ecessar ily u r or a n d r e n c on ﬁn d m a n t o n t c s y b ief, b i g e i ly eve s d n r k n D a a s c on c r n . I o i n whic h G e . le w e e a w n ow i n r e a r a t on a om r n w t p p i , c p ehe sive vie of hose c a m a n w t r n a k e t c th e m n n t p ig s, i h pe so l s hes of pro i e m e n n a e d i n t m w a a r om d r m e g g he , ill ppe , c pile f o t h e pr iva te jou r n als a n d cor respon den ce of severa l d Oﬁi c r d t n u s e . H A ORN s s F C . i i g i he J . . . L IB E

L i s . Bay St . ouis , M ssis ippi C O N T E N T S .

CHAPTE R I .

— — ’ . of V Birth and Parentage The Frontier irginia . Whitesides — e — A Adventure . Intrepidity of Mrs . Dal Massacre and a Wedding — Ann Bush — Removal to Western Georgia — Car ’ — on — michael s Station . The Fort Fire . Extinguishe d by Sam ’ — - e . and Alexander Dal Digging Potatoes The Coon Hunt . ” — “ - — A n exciting Race The Long tail Bl u e . Life on th e

A E CH PT R II .

- — . of l e Move from the Fort Death Mr. and Mrs . Da Despair and Consolation — Prayer at the Grave — Faith in G od — I n di an Troubles — Samuel D a l e volunteers — Equipment of a Georgia Scout — First Battle — Desperate Adventure in a Cane

— — — u l . a ll brake . P rsued by Wo ves Loses his Horses Turns — — Wagoner . Opens a Trade with the Indians Emigration to

— - . T of l the Tombigbee errible Death Doub e head, the great Cherokee Chief 3 2

CHAPTE R III .

Took- a - batcha — Grand Council Of the Creeks — Tecumseh and

the Shawnees . Singul ar Ceremonies . Shawnee Dance . — ’ Colonel Hawkins retires . Tecumseh s Speech to the Big — — r . e . l l War ior Its Eff ct His persona Appearance . Co onel Hawkins deceived — His Character 50

CHAPTE R I V.

' — — ’ — n l l . Sa m Adventur es o the Trai . Narrow Escape . Mose y s Wife ’ - — o . Mana s Deposition . High head Jim The Jerks. Peter ‘ — — — of M Que e m Colonel C ul l en Battl e of Burnt Corn . Death A 2 C N T O E N TS .

— — of s — Ballard Captain Dale wounded . Heroism Glas Colo nel Cal l er and Major Wood Page 65

CHAPTE R V .

— e — The War Department . Its Imbecility and Negligenc Govern

— — 1 l . or 1 8 2 . Holmes . The Mails in Major Genera Flournoy

— ~ — — ﬁtt e 1 81 3 . L a e . Smugglers . New Orl ans in Brigadier Gen eral Claiborne — March from Baton Rouge — Tr ansports his Troops and supplies t h e Sick at hi s own Expens e — Arrives n — o the Alabama . Applies for Orders to march into the Creek — — e — Nation . Is refused Order d to act on the defensive Mans e — a l — the s veral Stockades . Death Of M jor Bal enger . George S . Gaines

CHAPTE R VI .

— — of The Volunteers Unjust Censure . Vigilance General Cl a i

— — — borne . Inspects Fort Mims . Cautions Major Beasl ey Lieu

— — R i F e . tenant Chambliss . epa rs to ort Easl y Last Letter of a e e - of F — M jor B asl y . Fall ort Mims . Dreadful Massacre . ’ e l a — Pick tt s History Of A abam Letter from Judge Toul min . Militar y Precedents

A R CH PTE VII .

- - — . e Captain Dale at Fort Madison Nov l Light house . His Reply

— — . on D to General Flournoy Women Parade . eath of Jack

— — — s il . t r Evan Bill M fort The Canoe Figh Jer y Austin.

— - . W . l Jim Smith eatherford His persona Appearance , Charac

ter, and Death 1 1 6

A E R V CH PT III .

’ of — — — Council War . Dale s Appearance His Opinion General ’ — — i . Tom Claiborne s Dec sion Major Hinds . His Character and e — Pu sh a m t — — . a a h a . e App arance Anecdot s . Extract from the ’ —i - — e . r ff New Orleans D lta Weathe ford s Blu Tort Claiborne . March to th e Holy Ground — The Volunteers — General Glai ’ ’ — — a th f — borne s Dispatch The Battle . W e e 1 or d s Leap Christ — ff e of mas Dinner . E cts this Victory 1 3 0 C ONTE N TS X ;

X CHAPTE R I .

— n l x — s Old Town Expedition . Death of Lieutena t Wi co Distres

' — — - — - r win Of the Troops Rats and Mice . Horse meat . Corn g 9 g — — on Al A . the abama General Jackson . speedy Settlement — — . A Our n e Rides express rapid J y . Arrives at New Orleans . l f the 8th of — of e — Batt e o January . Grandeur the Scen Inter ~ ” — “ - view with General Jackson . By the Eternal . Returns to

. . l l Georgia Colonel Sparks Genera Winchester. Genera ‘ M I n t sh . 1 4 o . Page 3

CHAPTE R X .

— — l . 1 l Merchandising . E ected to the Convention Genera Cow es — — l f l . . Mead . The Legis ature o A abama Savannah Jack — — of . Re Death Captain Butler . Breveted Brigadier General i f — c e p t on o General La Fayette Removal of the Choctaws . l l 1 66 Sett es in Lauderda e County, Mississippi

XI CHAPTE R . General Dal e visits W ashington — Interview with General Jack — — — — . r W e b M r . M . son Their Farewell M r . Calhoun . Clay . — — — f . F . . M r . o ster . . Benton Character General Jackson P — — — - . . Blair . The Oyster supper . Joseph Gales Peter Force — l hi n — Printers in the South . C erks ps at Washingto Boarding

— — — l n s . houses . Scandal . Gal antry . Citize s and Congres men — - of W . A Braggart rebuked . The Ladies ashington Indian ’ — — l e — Girls Peter Hagn er . Dale s ear y Hom The Graves of his Parents 1 77

CHAPTE R XII .

— Ofﬁ ce r s — h of L egisl atu re of M ississippi . State Deat General

— — l 1 83 6. l . Dickson . Legis ature Of Singu ar Mortality The

— — s . great Question of t h e Session S . S . Prentis Adam L Bin - — — . gaman . Colonel George L . Fall . The Mississippian John ‘ — — — . M u r r a n . . T . M The Democratic Leaders Banks Specula

— — — l s . tion . Public Mora The Future of Mississippi Her His — — — fe l n . tory . The Close Of Li His Conso atio Faith in God His Death — Personal Appearance and Character 2 1 4

L I S T OF I L L US TRATI ONS.

PAGE

/THE v r HE W EDDI NG BY THE GRAVE 4 DALE DODGING THE INDIAN ’ 4 D AL E s PRAYER f D AL E A s A SC OUT J TR E F IGHT IN THE J ’ TE CUM SE H S SPEEC H f BAL LARD AVENGED J PL AN OF F ORT M IM S J ’ D AL E S INTERVIEW W I TH 4 DALE STOPPED BY THE SENTINELS I THE UGL IEST M AN J TE R BRAGGART REBUK ED

T H E L I F E A N D T I M E S

GE NE RAL SAM UE L D AL E .

A TE R CH P I .

’ - — a d of V . W Birth n Parentage . The Frontier irginia hitesides — — A e . e Adv nture . Intrepidity of Mrs Dal Massacre and a Wedding — Ann Bush — Removal to Weste rn Georgia — Car ’ — — michae l s Station The Fort on Fire . Extinguished by Sam ’ — — and Alexander D ale Digging Potatoes The Coon Hunt . “ ” - - - u . on An exciting Race . The Long tail Bl e Life the

Frontier .

- fa I AM of Scotch Irish extraction . My ther and mother were natives of Pe n n syl v a

i n nia, the vicinity Of Carlisle, but soon after their marriage removed t o Rockbridge

V . County, irginia, Where I was born In the latter part Of 1 7 75 they again moved to h the forks Of Clinc River, Washington

u County, and p rchased a piece Of land,

n a fe w where, uniti g with neighbors , we 1 6 LIFE AN D TIMES OF G built a stockade called lade Hollow Fort, for protection against the incursions of the

Western Indians . Here the women and

children remained, each family occupying

separate cabins, while the men tilled their -ﬁ e l ds corn , keeping their guns at hand and

- scouts constantly on the look out . It was t i a wild, precarious life, Of en nterrupted by

on e of ambuscade and massacre, but no that hardy frontier race was ever known to r e turn to the settlements . On the contrary,

m they pressed forward fro river to river,

of e n e t r a t crossing new ranges mountains, p

ing new wildernesses, marking their march with blood, encountering privation and dan

of r e ger at every step , but never dreaming

e treat . Even the women and children b came inured to peril, and cheerfully moved forward in this daring exodus to the West . The ﬁrst incident at ou r new residence that I remember occurred when my father

on e and Whitesides left the fort together, on e bound for the mill, the other in search of horses . Soon after they separated White o sides was seized by a party f Indians .

of They tied him to a tree, in the custody GE N ERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 7 two warriors, and hastened forward to sur prise the fort . By this time, however, my father,hard by,had fallen in with a foraging party from a n adjoining settlement who had “ i ” discerned I ndian s gns . At the same m o ment Whitesides came dashing by them, “ ” shouting Indians . He struck for Elk

Garden Station, some ten miles south ,where

ow n his family and others were posted . His

G on shouts put us at lade Hollow the alert, and the Indians, foreseeing this, ambushed themselves in a ravine . In the mean time m y father and the party from Elk Garden of approached, unconscious danger . The terriﬁc war-whoop and the crack Of twenty

Of riﬂes was the ﬁrst they knew the enemy .

They got into the fort, leaving Bill Priest,

Burton Little, and two others dead in t h e hands Of the savages, who scalped them and retired . Whiteside s afterward informed us that u t o his g ards, intending get farther from the fort, were in the act Of untying him . h One sat down ,with his gun across is knees, to unloosen the thongs around his legs ; the

on other had laid his gun the ground . 1 8 LIFE AN D TIM ES OF

Whitesides seized the gun of the sitting I n

n dia , shot the other while he was stooping

n to recover his weapo , and, before the re

maining one could reach him with his knife,

he crushed the riﬂe Over his head . About this time J oe Horn and Dave Cal

n houn went to their cleari gs to plant corn , very imprudently taking their wives and

children with them,who camped in the ﬁeld .

Off n r ow l c Being both hunti g one day, the p ing savages made a clean sweep Of these two

- families . The poor heart stricken husbands ,

m al ost crazy, returned to the fort, and the whole night was passed by all Of us in lam e n t a t i on s and vows of vengeance . F or several months after this we were n ot

e troubled, and my brother and myself wer

m Off boarded about ten iles , at Halbert ‘ ’ M Cl u e s . i on e r , to go to school Return ng

i n morning from a visit home, we fell with

i n Old Mr. Bush , Of Castlewood Fort, who “ ” formed u s that he sa w Shawnee signs

m about, and that we ust go back to Glade

Hollow and give the alarm . Unfortunate l y, father had left the day before for the salt works on Holston Rivel , and mother and

20 LIFE AN D T IMES OF

Barnett and twenty men from Holston, who warned us that Indians were about, and that he was scouting for them . Father, ever for eager a ﬁght, joined this company, and

on we trudged to Clinch Mountain . Instead of - the bridal party, the well spread table, the ringing laughter, and the sounding feet

Of of buxom dancers, we found a pile ashes and Six or seven ghastly corpses,tomahawk ‘ c d u and scalped . Poor Hardy M Cl r e was dead ; several others lay around . One daughter was still breathing, but soon ex ‘ i r e d M l u r e . C p Mrs . , her infant, and three other children, including Sally, the intended

Off t h e bride, had been carried by savages . They soon tore the poor infant from its ’ mother s arms, and killed and scalped it, that sh e might travel faster. While they ‘ M Cl u r e were scalping this child, Peggy , a girl twelve years Old, perceived a sink

a t hole immediately her feet, and dropped silently into it . It communicated with a

d sh e ravine, own which ran, and brought

n the ews into the settlements . The Indians were too apprehensive Of pursuit to search f or . her The same night, Sally, who had

W E D I N G BY TH GRAV THE D E E . GENE RAL SAMUEL DALE . 23 been tied and forced to lie down betw een

t w o warriors, contrived to loosen her thongs

and make her escape . She struck for the

- cane brake, then for the river, and, to conceal

her trail, resolved to descend it . It was

e so sh e de p wading, and the current rapid had to ﬁll her petticoat with gravel to steady o f. n hersel She soo , h wever, recovered con

ﬁde n c e - o , returned to Shore, and ﬁnally reach ed the still smoking homestead about dark

next evening. A few neighbors,well armed,

w a s had just buried the dead . Kincaid

among them . The last prayer had been

said when the orphan girl stood before them ,

h Re and was soon in t e arms Of her lover.

solved to leave no more to chance, at his

of entreaty and by the advice all, the weep a ing girl g ve her consent, and by the grave of the household and near the r u ined dwell

ing they were immediately married . In the mean time Captain Barnett pur

sued the fugitives, and when near the Ohio ‘ M r M l r succeeded in recapturing s. C u e and

her son .

About this time, Ann and Maria Bush , Of Castlewood Fort, while milking near by 24 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

were captured . Seven white men followed the trail and overtook the marauders on the

Ohio . Three were in the water constructing * ff a raft, three were butchering a bu alo, and one was repairing the lock Of his gun . At t h e ﬁrst discharge four of the savages were slain ; the three others struck boldly into the river and escaped .

N ot long afterward Ann Bush married, t and in twelve mon hs was again captured,

h ft n wit an infant in her arms . A er traveli g a few hours, the savages bent down a young hickory, sharpened it, seized the child, scalp i t ed , and spitted it upon the tree ; they then scalped and tomahawked the mother, and left her for dead . She lay insensible for many hours, but it was the will Of Provi dence that she should survive the shock . When she recovered her senses sh e bandaged

t a n d her head wi h her apron , , wonderful to tell, in two days staggered back to the settle ments with the dead body of her infant . I have Often heard her relate the dreadful story .

or - e An Indian raft consists Of dried logs drift wood, ti d to

- gether with wild grape vines . E R G N E AL SAMUEL DALE . 25

Toward the e nd Of 1 783 we removed to t h t h e vicini y of what is now Greensboroug , t d Georgia, where father anticipa e more tran quillity than we had enjoyed on Clinch River ; b u t in a few months after we had establish ed ourselves the Creeks and Cherokees b e came troublesome, and we were compelled ’ ‘ to seek shelter in Carmichael s Station . These forts were merely a number Of log cabins built round a small square, with sometimes a block-house In the centre or in an angle of the square, the whole surround ed by a rough picketing Thirty families ’ had forted at Carmichael s, the men going t il l out every day in squads to their ﬁelds, t look af er their cattle, and hunt for game . Several hundred bushels Of corn had been

i n hauled a few days before and husked out, the corn being in a pen and the husks piled

up against the fort . In the dead Of night we were startled by awful yells and a blaze

n oflight . The Indians had sile tly approach ’ ed,bringing ﬁre in a cow s horn to prevent

a n d discovery, had applied it to the Shucks, and retreated to the side Of the square

' whence they had e n t e e d the inclosure . My ig 26 LIFE AN D T IMES O F father and mother each seized a riﬂe and stood in the door, and ordered my brother and myself to keep the fort between us and

ou t the Indians, and put the ﬁre if possible .

- We ran to the corn pen , pulled down the rails, and let the high pile Of corn slip down on the blazing shucks . This soon smother ed the ﬂames . Seeing this movement, the

Indians retreated, but not until two of their number had been killed by shot s from the

ff se t di erent cabins . They then ﬁre to an ou t - house stored with ﬂax, and showed them

i n ou r selves force . But men turned out,

on and the women put hats and overcoats,

n and, deceived by this appearance Of stre gth,

‘ the Indians retired .

of One our best men , Captain Autrey, a

ou t few days after, took his hands to strip fodder, and, while scouting round the ﬁeld, a n d h i s was tomahawked and scalped, bow

o els suspended n a tree .

Father, Jim Stocks, brother Alexander

se t ou t on e myself, and a negro fellow even i n g to dig potatoes a few miles from the fort . We let down the fence and left it so, to facilitate ou r retreat. in the event of a n

28 LIFE AN D T IMES O F t hey gave way under his grasp . He next seized the collar, and tore the whole coat

' e ﬁ or t from his back, and in the fell . This ’ saved the negro s life . While this was tak i n g place the two other Indians had scalped

d u m the ead negro, and were now standing der my tree . I had an Old holster pistol in my belt loaded with buckshot, and it occur

m red to e that I might kill both Of them .

on e I blazed away, and fell dead ; the other

of bolted like a ﬂash lightning, and I saw

n ow no more Of him . The first Indian per c e iv e d me, and, picking up his rifle, which had been dropped in the chase, leveled it at f me . I had Often been ba fled for hours by a

n fox squirrel in a tree watchi g my motions, d and going round and roun , so as to keep the tree between me and him . I played the same game with the Indian . He ﬁred m twice and barked the tree close to y ears,

a when , fortunately, a party from the fort p p e a r e d and he retreated . I shook down my ’ coon and got safely in . We raised a sub scription and bought an Old Continental uni

i n form coat, the best the fort, for the negro fellow. D OD GI N G TH E I ND I AN .

L L GEN E RAL SAMUE DA E . 3 1

Thus passed the days of my youth . Inured

to every hardship , living on the coarsest.

Ou r O u r ﬂ food, earning bread with ri es cock

s ed and primed, often witne sing the ruin Of

homesteads and the murder Of families, my ow n f li e constantly in jeopardy, yet ever

on hopeful, ever relying Providence, ever conscious Of my duty to my fellow-m e n never counting a per sonal risk for others as

b u t of a merit, only as a duty, and, in spite privation and danger, loving the wilderness

t o the last .

of n Great cities are the centres civilizatio , colleges and universities are the nurseries O f learning and reﬁnement, consecrated orators in gorgeous churches teach the solemn truths

Of revelation , but it is only in the boundless

or seas, perhaps, in the deep solitude Of mountain and valley, that the untutored eye “ ’ can look throu gh nature up to nature s

G OD . LIFE AN D T IM E S OF

HAP E C T R II .

— f — . o . l Move from the Fort Death Mr and Mrs . Da e Despair

— — — and Consolation Prayer a t the Grave . Faith in G od I n di an Troubles — Sam uel D ale volunteers — E quipment of a

— — Georgia Scout . First Battle Desperate Adve nture in a Cane e — r — — brak . Pu sued by Wolve s Loses all his Horse s Turns

— — Wagoner. Opens a Trade with the Indians Em igration t o

— - . e the Tombigbee Terrible Death of Doubl head, the great e Ch rokee Chief.

M ANY settlers had n ow moved into Greene

County, and the Indians had ceased to be 1 9 1 . 7 troublesome In November, , father contracted for and moved to a tract of lan d t ’ hree miles from Carmichael s Station , for which he was to pay seven thousand pounds of ou r tobacco . We built cabin and made a clearing, but the blind staggers got among o u r on e horses and killed all but . This was a heavy blow The following Christmas my

on e poor mother died, and in week my dear

- d t o father, broken hearte , followed her the grave . He never looked up, scarcely ever

spoke, after her death, but took to his bed,

b e and never rose from it again . Never

3 6 LIFE AN D TIMES O F

sa d . , but a hopeful and resolute man I felt

of the weight the responsibility upon me, that I must be both father and mother to those orphaned little ones . I had faith in f Providence and in mysel ; and when they

m awoke I met the with a smile, and with

a l l kind words and a cheerful spirit . We went resolutely to work according to ou r

G OD s. strength, and blessed our labor 1 793 In , the Indians being restless and t discon ented by the advance Of the whites, Captain Foote was authorized by the G ov e r n or of Georgia to organize a troop of

‘ fOI e of horse the protection the frontier. Putt ing a steady ol d man in my place on the farm, I volunteered for the service . Our ’ u acco trements were a coonskin cap, bear

- skin vest, short hunting shirt and trowsers of ff homespun stu , buckskin leggins, a blanket

ou r for tied behind saddles, a wallet parched

or corn, coal ﬂour, other chance provision ,

- a long riﬂe and hunting kn ife . After some months ’ scouting we were mustered into the

n . U ited States service, and ordered to Fort r e o Oc On e e . Mathews, n the The pay I c e i v e d a n d ﬁr st - a of , a r te crop tobacco made

GEN E RAL SAMUE L DALE 3 9

n by the childre , enabled me to pay more

of ou r than half the price land, besides having an abundant supply of provisions .

Next year we extinguished the debt, and our household grew up with thankfu l hearts t o an overruling Providence . I n 1 794 the Creek Indians renewed their

’ d d b II r n i n epre ations, g houses and driving off horses and cattle . Our company was

u w ordered o t . We follo ed them to the

- - Ch a t t a h ooch i e . Oke fus kee village, near the

n Crossi g the river before daybreak, we got

t h e Silently into town just as the Indians, having taken the alarm , were rushing from t heir cabins . We killed thirteen warriors, captured ten , and then set ﬁre to the village . Scouting in front of my com pany on ou r

m u return arch, I came pon an Indian lodge

on e occupied by two warriors . I shot dead ;

- the other jumped into the cane brake . One ‘ O N e a l w h o , came up just then , and myself pursued him . The cane was very thick, and d we wormed along slowly, when the In ian ‘ O N e a l d ﬁred, and fell ead by my side . By t his time our troop had come up , and see in n o a n d t t g one, supposing ha Indians were 40 LIFE AN D T IMES O F

concealed in the thicket, they began a gener

a l ﬁre, cutting the cane all about me . I

t on hrew myself the ground, drew up ‘ ’ O N e a l s d w a s corpse as a shiel , and it rid

dl e d of with balls, two them inflicting slight wounds upon me . It was some ti me before the fire slackened sufficiently for me to a p

m of prise the my position . At the same moment a party began to ﬁre on the oppo

of site side the thicket, and the Indian , who

n ot off all this time was twenty yards , but s invi ible,took the bold resolution to advance th Upon me and escape . Gliding through e cane like a serpent in an almost horizontal posture, he briskly approached me . I cock

ot of ed my riﬂe, and the instant I g sight h i s head I pulled trigger, but missed ﬁre ; before I could r e -prime he was upon me !for

w a s on I sitting the ground), with his knife at my throat and his left hand twisted in

on e of ou r my hair. At the instant troop

!Murray) ﬁred, and, leaping to my feet, I ’ plunged my knife into the Indian s bosom . But he was already dead ; Murray had shot t him through the heart, and,wi hout a spasm or f t a groan , he ell heavily in o my arms . F IGHT I N THE CA E RAKE THE N B .

44 LIFE AN D T IMES OF

t h e earth and gnawed the bark from the

sa n ot trunk, but, strange to y, did molest

my horse, who stood quivering with terror.

of I dared not shout, for fear Indians in the

~ vicinity. At daybreak the wolves di sa p a r d I u r su d p e e . p e the Indian trail within i of h a m le Oconee, w ere the trail entered the t swamp , and I presumed the party, eviden ly

on e for a large , would camp the night . I

therefore turned up the river, crossed at

m another ford, and reached my far late in

the night, intending to report to my colonel

next morning. When I rose, my horse and

m three others, all that we owned, were iss

of ing . With three my scouts I followed the back trail eighty miles, but never over took them .

1 796 ou r In company was disbanded . I

- procured a four horse wagon , went down to

Savannah, and engaged in wagoning during the winter, returning in the spring to put my horses in the plow and aid my brothers

n t of in making a crop . Thrivi g in his line ” t h e 99 t t business, in year I inves ed my lit le

a d capital in goods, and went on a trading

t n m e r ven ure among the Creeks, barteri g G E N E RAL SAMU E L DALE 45 c h a n di se t for cat le and hogs, peltry, hides, w and tallow, which I carried do n to the sea board and sold .

About that period, a brisk emigration from Georgia and the Carolinas, through the Creek and Choctaw country, to the Mis

si ssi i . p p Territory, begun I put three wag o n s and teams in the business, contracting

t h e of a n db r i n for transportation families, g i ng back with me to Savannah return loads of Indian produce . 1 803 In , Colonel William Barnet, Buck B ner Harris, and Roderic asely were com missioned by the President to mark ou t a E l highway through the Cherokee nation .

- lick Saunders, a halfblood, and I were se

s l e ct e d as guides . The road having been e t a b l i sh e d Bu fﬁn t on , I united with Jo g , a half

- on blood, and set up a trading post High tower River, among the Cherokees . We

ou r chieﬂy exchanged goods for peltries,

“ which we wagoned to Charleston . While thus engaged I witnessed the death of - of Double head, the great chief the Cher

k s - o e e . I had gone with several pack horses,

t o - loaded with merchandise, a great ball play 46 LIF E AN D T IM E S O F

w t on Hi assee River, where more than a hou

ofﬁce r s sand Cherokees, the from Hiwassee

Fort, and numerous traders had assembled . The chief affected to receive me with severi t ” y, and said, Sam, you are a mighty liar .

I demanded why he insulted me in public . “ You t He smiled and said, have never kep

s Y o your promise to come and e e me . u ” ou know y have lied .

of He then produced a bottle whisky, and f invited the o ﬁcers and myself to drink . When we had emptied it I offered to r e p l e n “ ish it, but he refused, saying, When I am in the white man ’ s country I will drink your

ou liquor,but here y must drink with Double ” head . When the ball-play ceased I was standin g

- by the chief, when the Bone polisher, a cap tain , approached, and denounced him as a

of traitor for selling a piece the country, a large and valuable tract near the shoals of

Tennessee River, to a company Of specula tors . The great chief remained tranquil and

- silent,which only aggravated the Bone pol isher, who continued his abuse with menac

- ing gestures . Double head quietly remark GE N ERAL SAMUEL DALE . 4 7

Y ou ed, Go away. have said enough . ” - or ou . Leave me, I shall kill y Bone pol isher rushed at him with his tomahawk,

on which the chief received his left arm, and h r . drawing a pistol, shot him t ough the heart

t for Foreseeing trouble, I lef immediately

Hiwassee Ferry. Some time after night

- i Double head came in , ev dently under the

of . inﬂuence liquor One John Rogers, an ol d n i n white man ,who had lo g resided the nation , was present, and began to revile

of - t h e chief in the manner Bone polisher. “ - You Double head proudly replied, live by

n sufferance amo g us . I have never seen you

- Y in council nor on the war path . ou have no place among the chiefs Be silent, and

o interfere no more with me . The l d man

- e still persisted, and Double h ad attempted to shoot him, but his pistol missed ﬁre ; in fact,

was . it not charged Ellick Saunders, and

. e xt i n Ridge, a chief, were present Ridge

u i sh e d of g the light, and one them ﬁred at Double-head When the light was rekin dl e d , Ridge, Saunders, and Rogers had dis

on appeared, and the chieflay motionless his face . The ball had shattered his lower jaw, 48 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

d of and lo ged in the nape his neck . His

ou t friends set with him for the garrison but,

of apprehensive being overtaken , they turn

f of on ed aside, and concealed him in the lo t e

Mr. Black, a schoolmaster . In the mean

of time, two warriors, of the clan the Bone

t o polisher, who had been designated avenge

d - his eath , traced Double head, by his blood, t o the house where he had been concealed . At the same moment Ridge and Saunders

- came galloping up , shouting the war whoop .

of Colonel James Blair, Georgia, and I fol lowed them . The wounded chief was lying on h i s the ﬂoor, jaw and arm terribly lac d c rated. Ri ge and Saunders each leveled their pistols, and each missed ﬁre . Double head sprang upon Ridge and would have

e d overpowered him , but Saunders discharg

h i m his pistol and shot through the hips . Saunders then rushed on him with his t om a h a w k ; b u t the dying chief wrenched it from him and leaped upon Ridge, when Saunders seized another tomahawk and drove it into his brains . When he fell, another Indian crushed his head with a spade . It was a dreadful spectacle and most c ow R GENE AL SAMUEL DALE . 49

- a r dl y murder . Double head was a renown ed chief. In single combat he never had a superior. He wielded much inﬂuence by his oratorical abilities , and was Often compared “ with his predecessor, the Little Turkey, the most famous and popular of all the Cher

of okee chiefs . The cupidity speculators who have so often robbed and ruined the

of Red Men, tempted him to sell a portion

m his country. Fro that moment his death was resolved upon . The rencounter with the

- Bone polisher, where he acted strictly in self defense, merely precipitated his fate . He perished apparently u pon t h e Indian max i m of for wa s i c blood blood, but really the v f tim o conspiracy. 50 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

CHAPTE R I I I .

- - — of — Took a batcha. Grand Council the Creeks Tecumseh and

e . . the Shawne s Singular Ceremonies Shawnee Dance .

— ’ Colonel Hawkins retires . Tecumseh s Speech to the Big — . E ff . l l Warrior Its ect His personal Appearance . Co one d — Hawkins deceive His Character .

I N 1 808 of , the State Georgia distributed by lottery a large body of land acquired

m fro the Creek Indians . I drew an excel

— on lent water power, the Flat Shoals, Com ’ se t of missioner s Creek, and erected a mills ; but the calling was not to my liking, and I

of m disposed them, and opened a far in

w a s Jones County, which for several years my home . 1 81 1 In October, , the annual grand coun cil of the Creek Indians assembled at Took a - on batcha, a very ancient town the Talla

oosa p River. At those annual assemblies the United States Agent for the Creeks a l

m ways attended, besides any white and half breed traders, and strangers from other tribes . I accompanied Colonel Hawkins,

52 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

a assembly there was dead silence . At

of length the Big Warrior, a noted chief the Creeks and a man of colossal propor

h i s tions, slowly approached, and handed

pipe to Tecumseh . It was passed in succes sion to each of his warriors and then the Big Warrior— not a word being spoken

pointed to a large cabin, a few hundred

yards from the square,which had previously n bee furnished with skins and provisions .

n Tecumseh and his band,in si gle ﬁle, march

e ed to it . At night they danced, in the styl

of peculiar to the northern tribes, in front this cabin , and the Creeks crowded around,

n but no salutations were excha ged . Every morning the chief sent an interpreter to t h e council-house to announce that he would

t h e appear and deliver his talk, but before council broke up another message came “ that the sun had traveled too far, and he ” would talk n ext day. At length Colonel i Hawkins became impat ent, and ordered his horses to be packed . I told him the Shaw nees intended mischief ; that I noted much irritation and excitement among the Creeks, de and he would do well to remain . He GENE RAL SAMUEL DALE . 53 r ide d my notions, declared that the Creeks were entirely under his control and could ’ n ot be seduced, that Tecumseh s visit was

on e of merely show and ceremony, and he “ ou laughingly added, Sam, y are getting ” h i m womanly and cowardly . I warned that there was danger ahead, and that, with

n de Ot of his permissio , as I had a p goods in

n the ation, I would watch them a while longer . We then packed up and publicly left the ground, and rode twelve miles to the Big Spring, where Colonel Hawkins

or r e agreed to halt for a day two, and I turned a t night to the vicinity of the coun cil ground, where I fell in with young Bill

t - Milfor , a handsome halfblood,nearly white, whom I had once nursed through a danger

— ous illness . Bill alas ! that he should have been doomed to perish by my hand — was

a strongly attached to me, and agreed to p prise me when Tecumseh was ready to de liver his talk . Next day, precisely at twelve,

s w Bill summoned me . I a the Shawnees issue fro m their lodge ; they were painted black, and entirely naked except the ﬂap about their loins . Every weapon but the AN D OF 54: LIFE TIMES war-club — then ﬁrst introduced among the

— Creeks had been laid aside . An angry scowl sa t on all their visages : they looked

. l e d like a procession of devils Tecumseh ,

on e the warriors followed, in the footsteps of i n the other. The Creeks, dense masses,

on of stood each side the path, but the Shawnees noticed no on e ; they marched to

of the pole in the centre the square, and then

of turned to the left. At each angle the square Tecumseh took from his pouch some h tobacco and sumac , and dropped it on the ground ; his warriors performed the same ceremony . This they repeated three times as they marched around the square . Then

ﬂa - they approached the g pole in the centre, circled round it three times, and, facing the north ,threw tobacco and sumach on a small

n of ﬁre, burning, as usual, ear the base the pole . On this they emptied their pouches . They then marched in the same order to the ’ or council, king s house !as it was termed in ancient times), and drew up before it . The Big Warrior and the leading men were sit ting there . The S hawnee chief sounded his war-whoop — a most diabolical yell — and GENE RAL SAMUEL DALE . 55

each of his followers responded . Tecumseh then presented to the Big Warrior a wam

- of ff - pum belt ﬁve di erent colored strands, which the Creek chief handed to his war

riors, and it was passed down the line . The Shawnee pipe was then produced ; it was large, long, and profusely decorated with

shells, beads, and painted eagle and porcu

I t m pine quills . was lighted fro the ﬁre in the centre, and slowly passed from the Big

ot Warrior along the line . All this time n a word had been uttered every thing was

: still as death even the winds slept, and there was only the gentle rustle of the fall ing leaves . At length Tecumseh spoke, at ﬁrst slowly and in sonorous tones ; but soon

he grew impassioned, and the words fell in

avalanches from his lips . His eyes burned with supernatural lustre, and his whole frame trembled with emotion : his voice r e sounded over the multitude — n ow sinking m in low and usical whispers, now rising to

ou t its highest key, hurling his words like a succession of thunderbolts His c ou n t e nance varied with his speech : its prevalent expression w a s a sneer of hatred and de ﬁ 56 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

ance ; sometimes a murderous smile ; for a brief interval a sentiment of profound sor

row pervaded it ; and, at the close, a look of concentrated vengeance, such, I suppose,

- of as distinguishes the arch enemy mankind . v I ha e heard many great orators, but I n ever sa w on e with the vocal powers of Te

c u m se h or of , the same command the mus

of cles his face . Had I been deaf, the play of h i s countenance would have told me what

ff su r s i . e t he said Its e ect on that wild, p

a n d w tious, untutored, arlike assemblage m a : s b u t y be conceived not a word was aid, “ ” st oI cs of stern warriors , the the woods,

n h shook with emotio , and a t ousand toma hawks were brandished in the air. Even the Big Warrior, who had been true to the whites, and remained faithful during the f war, was, for the moment, visibly a fected, and more than once I saw h i s hu ge hand

h . clutc , spasmodically, the handle Of his knife

e ﬁ e ct of for All this was the his delivery ; , though the mother of Tecumseh was a Creek,

t h e n and he was familiar with la guage, he

spoke in the northern dialect, and it was aft erward interpreted by an Indian lin g uist

60 LIFE AN D TI MES OF

of Muscogees, brethren my mother, brush from your eyelids the sleep of slavery ; once more strike for vengeance— once more for your country. The spirits of the mighty

dead complain . Their tears drop from the weeping skies . Let the white race perish . “ They seize your land ; they corrupt your women ; they trample on the ashes of your dead ! “ w Back, hence they came, upon a trail of blood, they must be driven .

! a Back back, y, into the great water whose accu rsed waves brought them to ou r shores ! “ Burn their dwellings ! Destroy their stock ! Slay their wives and children ! The

Red Man owns the country, and the Pale faces must never enjoy it. “ War now ! War forever ! War upon the living ! War upon the dead ! Dig their Ou r very corpses from the grave . country ’ must give no rest to a white man s bones . “ i s of r e This the will the Great Spirit,

Pr O h vealed to my brother, his familiar, the p e t of the Lakes . He sends me to you . “ All t h e t ribes of the north are dan cin g GENE RAL SA M UEL DALE . 61

- Two the war dance . mighty warriors across the seas w ill send us arms . “ Tecumseh will soon return to his coun

M ou . try. y prophets shall tarry with y They will stand between you and the bullets

a of your enemies . When the white men p proach y ou the yawning earth shall swallow them up . “ Soon shall y ou see my arm of ﬁre

sk stretched athwart the y . I will stamp

e my foot at Tippecanoe, and the very arth Shall

When he resumed his seat the northern pipe wa s again passed round in solemn si lence The Shawnees then simultaneously

on e leaped up with appalling yell, and

- h danced their tribal war dance, going t rough

of At the battle the Holy Ground, which occurred some time after, the prophets left by Tecumseh predicted that the earth would e yawn and swallow up G neral Claiborne and his troops . Tecum of l seh refers to the Kings England and Spain, who supp ied the f Indians with arms at Detroit and at Pensacola . The British o

ﬁ ce r s had informed him that a comet would soon appear, and the earthquakes of 1 81 1 had commenced as he came through Ke n

. t o tucky Like a consummate orator, he refers them in his

. W b e speech hen the comet soon after appeared , and the earth h im s l gan to tremble, they attributed to upernatura powers, and e i mmediat ly took up arms . 62 LIFE AND TIMES OF

s of a m the evolution battle, the scout, the

bush, the ﬁnal struggle, brandishing their

- an d war clubs, screaming in terriﬁc concert an infernal harmony ﬁt only for the regions

of the damned. I It was now midnight,and left the ground and made the best of my way to Colonel ’ Hawkins s camp at Big Spring, reporting faithfully to h i m wha t had occurred ; but he appeared to attach little importance to

on ow n it, relying too m uch his inﬂuence t h “ over e Indians . Colonel Hawkins “ of a says Pickett, in his History Al bama, “ n seems to have been stra gely benighted, slowly allowing his mind to be convinced ” that any thing serious was meditated . He

a had resided many years mong the Creeks, and early conceived the laudable notion of

of teaching them the arts civilization . In his communications to the War Department he ﬂattered himself that they emulated the t progress of the whi es, and that the whole “ fa nation , with the exception of a few ” naties without inﬂuence, sincerely desired

a nd peace . Even after the Creeks Shaw nees had visited Pensacola t o procure a m N R GE E AL SAMUEL DALE . 68

I n munition, and informed Forbes and e r a r ity that they meant to attack the Tensaw

settlements, Colonel Hawkins assured Gen

eral Flournoy that there was no danger .

- ow n He over estimated his inﬂuence, and I ventured to tell him so as we rode from Big

Spring . It was under this unfortunate a d

it G e n e r a l vice, will be seen, that Flournoy subsequently refused General Claiborne ’ s urgent application for orders to march into of the heart the Creek nation , and directed him to remain on the defensive a n d turn h i s ” t o attention chieﬂy the security of Mobile .

of The correspondence General Wilkinson ,

General Flournoy, Judge Toulmin, Colonel M ‘K . e e George S Gaines, Colonel John , and

on all the leading men the frontier, refer to

of H e this opinion Colonel awkins . He b l i e v e d that it would be a mere civil war for power among the chiefs and tribal factions, and that he would be able to restrain them . He continued to cherish this opinion until menaced with danger that compelled him to remove his family into Georgia and with ol d draw from his post. He was an and faithful oﬂi c e r — a m a n of ﬁne sen se — a ster 64 LIFE AN D TIME S OF

of u n ling patriot, and cool and nﬂinchi g courage . He loved the Indians ; they had great conﬁdence in h i m ; but he was unhap

d on eceived this occasion . GENE RAL SAMUEL DALE . 65

CHAPTE R I V.

’ on — e — l W e — Adventures the Trail . Narrow Escap Mose y s if Sam ’ — - — — M a n a s . e e c Deposition . High head Jim The J rks . P ter

‘ — — - M Qu e e n . Colone l Caller . Battle Of Burnt Corn . Death Of d — — of s — Ballar Captain Dale wounded . Heroism Glas Colo l nel Ca ler and Major Wood .

I W AS still en gaged in moving immigrants to the Mississippi Territory through the

of 1 81 2 Creek nation . Toward the close , after having moved Colonel J0 Phillips and

on i family to Point Jackson , the Tomb gbee,

I started my teams back to Georgia, and went d own to Pensacola . I learned there that the Indians of the lower towns were becoming d every day more hostile and discontente , and that the Spanish authorities were secretly

supplying them with arms and ammunition . Returning from Pensacola to get on the

of Georgia trail, I met a party white men who had just buried one Daly, who had been

murdered by the Indians . They exhorted me to return to the settlements on Tom b ig bee My business , however, compelled me 66 LIFE AN D TIMES C F

t o I ~ c on cl u de d proceed, and to lay by dur ing the day and travel by night About

of - midnight, near the forks the Wolf path a noted trail in those days — I p e r c e e d a

light, and at the same moment a dog gave

the alarm . It was very dark, but, distinct l off y hearing footsteps approaching, I rode

m so e forty steps and dismounted, placing my horse between me and t h e Indians in the

of event their ﬁr ing, and at the same time transferring from my saddle-bags to my per son a pocket-book containing eight hundred dollars, resolved to save my life and money

t oo . , if I could They advanced within thir t y paces, and paused ; but,hearing no sound, “ ” on e ou t an d cried , He has gone back, they

on went rapidly the path I had traveled .

t oo Fortunately,it was dark to note the foot

of prints my horse, and to this circumstance, . under Providence, I owe my life . As soon as they were out of ear-shot I pushed cau ’ t i ou sl M a n a c s y forward, and got to Samuel ,

- a friendly half breed,on Catoma Creek, about daybreak . He informed me that the road ff was beset, and that it would be di icult to l get through . The Shawnee poison had a

68 LIFE AN D TIMES C F

d in safety, and ispatched a runner to Colonel Hawkins with the news ; but he was even then ﬁrmly persuaded that the hostilities of the Creeks would only be directed against

— of each other that it was a war factions, ‘ headed by M Qu e e n on on e side and the Big

on n ot Warrior the other, and would be di r e ct e d w against the hites . He appreciated

n of b u t the many oble traits the Indians,

e r ﬁd never understood their p y in war, nor the skill with which they can disguise their intentions . My n ext enterprise w a s to move Judge

’ S a ﬂ ol d and family to the Tombigbee in June,

o 1 81 3 . I knew that a detachment f troops had been ordered from Fort Mitchell to M O

c on bile, and my plan was to obtain their

ou r voy. When party reached the fort the detachment was two days in advance ; but

on we pushed in their wake, and I had the satisfaction of lodging the judge and his e s timable family safely at their new home . On this journey I sa w enough t o satisfy me that the Indians had determined on war.

M a n a c - n a Sam , a noted half breed Of the

m a n d n t h e tion, ade to me Joh E . Myles fol GENE RAL SAMUEL DALE 69

n on 1 3t h of 1 81 3 lowing stateme t the July, , which I forwarded to Colonel James Caller,

1 5t h m of commanding the regi ent militia,

Mississippi Territory .

’ M ANAO S STATE M E NT .

About the last of October thirty north

r n e Indians came with Tecumseh, who said he had been sent by his brother the Prophet,

f a the servant o the Great Spirit . They t

- - tended our great council at Took a batcha .

r e I was there three days, but every day he ‘ su n fused to deliver his talk, saying that the ’ oo had traveled t far . The day after I left the ground he delivered it. “ It was n ot until about December follow ing that our people began to dance the war dance . It has been the practice of the Mus c o e e s t o e g dance aft r war, not before . In December about forty of ou r warriors begun

-i n - this northern custom , and my brother law, t o Francis, who pretends be a prophet, at n ow the head of them ; , more than half of the Creek nation engage in this dance . I drove some steers to Pensacola not long

i since, and dur ng my absence my brother 70 LIFE AND TIMES O F i n - w a r law and sister, who have joined the party, came to my plantation , and carried away my best horses and cattle, and thirty six negroes . A few days since I fell in with a party from the A u t a sse e towns on the Tal l a oosa - p , led by High head Jim , bound for

c a Pensa ol for ammunition . He came up,

b e Shook me by the hand, and immediately gan to tremble and jerk in every part of his

of body. Even the muscles his face and the

of calves his legs were convulsed, and his whole frame seemed to be drawn up and knotted by spasms . This practice was ﬁrst taught to Francis by a Shawnee prophet, and began to be practiced by the war party

- in May last . High head Jim asked me what of I meant to do . In apprehension my life, ‘ I answered, I will sell my property and join ’ you . He th en said they were bound for Pensacola with a letter from a British gen eral to the Spanish governor, which would enable them t o get all the arms they needed ; that this letter had been given to the Little W arrior when he was in Canada last year, and when he was killed it was sent t o the h prophet Francis . He said t at, after get GE N ERAL SAMUEL DALE . 71 ting what was wanted from Pensacola, the

Indians on the Coosa, Tallapoosa,and Black Warrior would attack the settlements i n the forks of Tombigbee and Alabama ; that the

Cherokees would attack the Tennesseeans,the

Seminoles the Georgians, and the Choctaws

on . the settlements the Mississippi He said, likewise, that the war party had resolved to kill the Big Warrior, Alexander and James ‘ Cu r n e l l n M I n t osh , Captai Isaacs,William ’ son the Mad Dragoon s , the Little Prince

S oko-Ka n e e Ta l l a se e - e - -co ot h p g , Thi si , and ers who ha d listened to the talk of the whites . ‘ - J i m M u e e n High head said that Peter Q , when all the parties for Pensacola got to gether, would have three hundred warriors, and on his retur n would destroy the Tensaw settlements .

The effect that my communication had may be seen fr Om the following letter

r i r G e n e r a l Cl a i bor n e or o cer c om m a n d To B ig a d e , ﬁ i n g M i ssi ssip p i Vol u n te e r s

SI R — , Inclosed is a copy of letters from

Pi t ch l n Judge Toulmin, John y , and Mush a l a t ub b e e !Choctaw chief) , and the state 72 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

of ment Sam Dale and John E . Myles . In

consequence of this information, we have deemed it advisable to ca ll ou t the militia ‘ ’ and attack M Qu e e n s party on its return

from Pensacola . Unless this decisive st ep

ou r is taken, settlements will be broken up .

ou t on n We set Thursday morni g, and will have a battle before you can possibly arri v e . d We are ba ly provided, but well disposed .

Pray, sir, send us such relief as you can . “ J A ALL R ol . Com m a n da n t . MES C E , C ‘ M RE L l l a r lce W M . w ol on e C G , i e a t . C , R M l 5 . M . T. o. th e C g ,

At this time the settlers about Point

on a Jackson , Tombigbee, were building

r o stockade, called Fort Madison, for the p t t i on f t h s I e c o their families . Among e e s raised about ﬁfty men, and joined Colonel

Caller and his command, the whole compris

on e ing about hundred and eighty men, the ff principal o icers being Major Wood, Capts .

Ben . Smoot, Bailey Heard, David Cart

- wright, Bailey Dixon !half breed), Lieut .

. Rob . Creagh , Pat May, Wm . Bradberry, Z ‘ . M F a r l a n e Caller, ach Philips, Jourdan , , a n d others . GENE RAL SAMUEL DALE . 73

We m arched on to what was known in

- those times as the Wolf path, and crossed

- Burnt corn Creek . Here I volunteered to

of I n go ahead, and ascertain the force the ﬁ dians, and the proper position to ght them . My offer was treated lightly ; on e officer “ swore that we could whip the d— d red

h — l l skins any where, and whip them to . “ h — l l I replied, Sam Dale can go as near as

of ou any y ; you are on the road there, and ” — may go ahead and be d d. I then walked

off. After much debate, it was decided that

d on e I should go ; not, as I wishe , with trusty comrade, but with ﬁfteen others . I

of disapproved the order, but course obeyed .

We moved cautiously, and in about an hour the ofﬁcer who had so contemptuously de r i de d of my proposition rode ahead me,most probably construing my caution as coward I t “ ice ﬁred me in an instant . Halt,

si r . or , I shouted Fall back, I will blow you through . On this scout no m a n goes of ahead me . He slunk back . We soon fell in with an advanced party of the I n

- dians,with pack mules . They dropped back, a n d di s a t ch l , having p g a messen ger to the 74 LIFE AN D T IMES OF

rear, we were soon joined by our main body, who came rushing up in confusion . In a few minutes the war-whoop was sounded

- s for from the reed brakes, the Indian being, t h e ou r most part, invisible, while men were

e n in the open pine woods . Early in the

a e m e n t g g I shot a very stout warrior, and while reloading my piece I received a ball in my left side, which ranged round the ribs,

m and lodged against y backbone . I vomit

a of ed good deal blood, and felt easier, and on of e my men reloaded my riﬂe for me . By this time ou r men had secured many of

- the pack mules, and would have Obtained a

on e u n for t u complete victory, when some nately, in a loud voice, sounded the word “ ” r e tr e a t , a word that can never be uttered among raw and undisciplined troop s in the presence of an enemy without fatal cou se

n qu e ce s. On this occasion a general panic

u — ens ed, and the militia who had fought bravely, and would have charged into the swamp had they been ordered so to do hearing the fatal word, ﬂed from the ﬁeld .

My boasting bully was the ﬁrst to ﬂy . I hailed him as he passed, and would have

GEN E RAL SAMUEL DALE . 77

shot h i m if I could have raised my arm . off h or S Some fugitive had carried my e . I

n d. mounted a pony a was riding away, when I saw a friend named Ballard closely pur f sued by a party o Indians . I resolved to

a n d save h i m or perish . Captain Bailey Jack Evans — t w o of the bravest men that

of ever lived, and both whom afterward fell,

on e on the at Fort Mims, the other the

Al a b a m a h sw or e it was madness ; but I dashed back, followed by a bold fellow named Glass, whose brother had been killed by my side at the moment I was shot . The savages were in full chase Of “ ' Ba l l a r d and

k ° Lenoir, the latter ma ing rapid headway r Balla d, who had been wounded, running slowly. I told Glass to save Lenoir ; I would go to Ballard I had got within

u t h i m abo t ﬁf y yards Of , the Indians being

n of withi ten feet him, when he suddenly leaped aside and shot down the foremost savage ; the others instantly dispatched him . In the mean time Lenoir h a d vaulted up

t o . behind Glass, and they rode me Seeing

of the fall poor Ballard, and the Indians “ n ou t scalpi g him, Glass cried , O Lord 78 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

’ Jesus I f my gun was loaded ! Here s “ mine, said Lenoir, with fourteen buck

i n shot her . Glass made for a tree within

ﬁfty yards, and ﬁred . The warrior with the

r of eeking scalp Ballard in his hand fell,

r and we made good ou retreat . ff r The following O icial lette s, illustrating th e state of the country and the causes that

of r led to the battle Burnt Corn, have neve been published

“ Can t on m e n t Mou n r n n u t Ve o J 29 1 81 3 . , , ly ,

D AR R - or E GENE AL, Agreeably to your ders, I proceeded to this place yesterday, i n and found the whole country commotion . A large majority of t h e Creeks have declared s o for war, and the settlement here will d ubt ‘ M n . u e e less be speedily attacked Peter Q ,

u n with some three h ndred warriors, has bee of to Pensacola, and obtained large supplies ammunitio n from t h e Spanish governor. Thi s we have on the testimony of David

m r Tate and Willia Peirce, espectable citi

i n n . zens, who were secretly the tow To ‘ obtain this large supply M Qu e e n handed the governor a list of the towns ready to GENERAL SAMUEL DALE . 79

48 00 . take up arms, making warriors Hear 1 80 ing this news, Colonel Caller collected

ou t on men, and set Sunday last to intercept them . “ I have dispatched an express to L i e u t e n ant Colonel Bowyer, Mobile Point, to send up the volunteers to this place . About ’ twenty families have forted at Mims house, on Tensaw, and I have sent Lieutenant Os

— born, with sixteen men all I could spare to assist in erecting the stockade . All com m u n i c a t i on between this and the eastward

o has been cut ff. The Indians have shot

- the post rider, and seized the mails and sent them to Pensacola . “ With great respect and friendship , R V J O A O ol . ol u n te r SEPH C S N, C e s.

n . a b or n . Br ig . G e Cl i e “ S — I P . . have this moment received the inclosed letter from Lieutenant Osborn

’ M m s St ocka de J u 2 8 1 8 1 3 i , ly , .

D E AR OLO L -I C NE , am sorry to inform you that ten men of the detachm ent that

l l fﬁ e W l u This ga ant young o c r was from i kinson Co nty, and s f oon after ell in the attack on Fort Mim s . LIFE AN D T IMES O F

‘ lately marched against M Qu e e n have r e

turned, and report that they were yesterday

d o efeated . The battle took place n the east d of a ern si e the Escambia River, ne r Burnt corn Creek, about forty miles in a right line w from this post, and belo it . It commenced ’ at on e o clock and lasted until three P. M . Our men fought in a very disadvantageous position . Colonel Caller and Major Wood are missing, supposed to have been killed ; and Captain Sam Dale, Robert Lewis,

Alex . Hollinger, Wm . Baldwin, and others, wounded ; number of kil led not reported . ‘ This stockade is in good condition, and

I am sure will be well defended . We are G od all i n good health and spirits . bless you . L ’ OR t. Com m O . S . M SB N, y

Col . J OS . Ca r son .

As soon as General Claib orne !who was then advancing by forced m arches from Baton Rouge with a regiment of M i ssi ssip pi and Louisian a volunteers) reached Fort t Stoddart, and learned the uncer ainty that hung over the fate of Caller and Wood, he GE N ERAL SAMUEL DALE 81 wrote to Dickson Bailey, David Tate, and

M a n a c - Sam , friendly half breeds, and they dispatched parties in all directions . The fﬁ unfortunate o cers were found, about the

h of l 0t August, almost dead and partially deranged . Colonel Caller was long a con sp i c u ou s man in the politics of the Missis sippi Territory, often representing Washing ton County i n the Legislature His son -i n

of law, the late Gabriel Moore, Madison , was afterward Governor of Alabama and United

States Senator. No man who knew Caller and Wood intimately doubted their courage ; but the disaster drew down on them much wh o s scurrility. Major Wood, was as ensi

n ot tive as brave, had fortitude to despise

of u the sneer the world, and sought forgetf l

a s i n ness, too many good men do, habitual intemperance .

This was the ﬁrst battle of the war . There was no com m anding ofﬁcer then on the fron tier to give orders The movement origi nated with Colonel Caller, and the patriotic settlers promptly responded to his summons .

u n They fought bravely, and, but for that ” fortunate word retreat — never ascertained D 2 82 LIFE AN D TIMES or with whom it originated— they would have ‘ ’ M u e e n s annihilated Q party, secured all his supplies, and, in all probability, prevented the war . It is ungenerous to sneer at such an error among untrained militia, who never afterward retreated against any disparity of force, when similar errors and disasters have

- often happened to the best trained armies .

AN D O F 84: LIFE TIMES

of and fanatics, notoriously in the pay the

British government . They allowed British and Span ish functionaries to supply the sa v ages with arms and ammunition ; the local

i n agent, Colonel Hawkins, exhibited the

ﬁr m i t of m y his e ployers, and was blind and deaf to what was transpiring arou nd him ; and not until the patriotic people of Tom b ig ‘ n bee,led by Colonel Caller, attacked M Quee ,

i i and, though worsted, succeeded in se z ng a

of large portion his supplies, could the inter position of government be obtained . The condition of the settlements had become de

o a l p l r b e . Immigration was suspended ; the mails cut off several murders had occurred ; t h e ﬁelds were abandoned ; houses burned ; cattle and crops destroyed, and the citizens crowded into ill-constructed stockades with fﬁ ou t insu cient supplies, afraid to venture t for provisions, and scourged within with y

h u s S . p , carlatina, and dysentery The Creeks ow were in arms ; and the Choctaws , then a p

r fu l e and warlike tribe, extending from the

Tombigbee to the Bayou Pierre, and from

- n ear the sea shore to the Tallahatchie, were d g r ow m g discontente . GEN E RAL SAMUEL DAL E 85

of At length Governor Holmes, the Mis

si ssi i - p p Territory, whose head quarters were

at Washington, in Adams County, between which and Tombigbee there was only a * monthly post, received authority to call for volunteers to be mustered into the service

u of the United States . He promptly iss ed

w a s the call, and it promptly responded to . The governor made every effort in his p ow

of The mails were proverbial l y sl ow . The merchants New e - e 1 81 2 e Orl ans, in a memorial to the Post mast r General in , stat d “ e v i a - that letters from the eastern citi s Fort Stoddart, post marked

on 22d of . m early in November, arrived the January The mail fro v i a Natchez, Fort Adams, arrives once a fortnight , sometimes not ” - once in three wee ks . Even steam boats were slow subjects at that “ ” Ne e a t . w day The Orleans, low pr ssure, the ﬁrst steamer that on 23 d of tempted to ascend the river, left the city for Natchez the “ ” 1 81 2 t h e January, ; a week afterward Louisiana Advertiser ex “ u l ti n l e th e g y said , W are enabl ed to state that she can stem current at the rate of three miles an hour ; she went from this city

” 5 e 23 to the Houma, 7 mil s, in hours . 1 81 2 F In March , , Livingston ulton completed a new boat at “ v e e Pittsburg, and the Ad ertiser states, as a r markabl fact, that “ e 1 40 of c on a d she was tri d, with tons mer handise board, and v a n ce d at the rate of three miles an hour against a current of two and a half.

Th e e on e e K ntucky boatmen, returning home foot aft r s lling out ﬂa t - or e their boats and cargo in New Orleans Natch z , often made

e e . wagers to beat the post to Nashvill , and g nerally won The e of celebrated walking Johnson, the greatest p destrian his day, l on a nd beat the mai three times, a wager, between Natchez Nash e vill . 86 LIFE AND T IMES OF

of er. He was a native Frederick County, V “ a . , and represented the famous Tenth ” Legion district in Congress when he r e c e i v e d his commission from President Je f

a of ferson . He was man sterling virtue, and rendered eminent services during the war .

. of Colonel F . L Claiborne, Adams Coun t y !who had served under Wayne in the ﬁrst regiment U . S . infantry, commanded by Col

on e l . r o John F Hamtramck, and had been p moted for gallantry in the great battle of the

20th of 1 7 August, was appointed briga dier general of volunteers on the 8t h of 1 81 8 March , , and ordered by General Wilkin son to repair to Baton Rouge . He was kept 28t h of there until the June,when Major Gen }I< eral F l ou r n oy !who had succeeded Wilkin

G e or Major General Thomas Flournoy resided at Augusta, f He e e o . gia, a distinguished m mb r the bar was a gallant and

of e e accomplished gentleman, high p rsonal character . He has b en

n e much ce nsured for inaction and indecision o the frontier . H

e was in fe e ble health . His force was wholly inad quate to the de

of of mands upon it . His means obtaining information , and com m u n i c a t i n t h e W a r e g with D partment, and with the state and ter r l itoria authorities in his extensive district, were precarious and

He e of . slow . was oft n destitute money and military stores He was early misled by t h e illusive dream of Colone l Hawkins of th e RA GENE L SAMUEL DALE . 87 son in the command of the seventh military district) ordered h i m t o march for M ou n t Ve r

“ ” advanced civilization and paciﬁc intentions of the Creeks and even after the massacre of Fort Mims he did not entirely dis n of card the illusion, but held o to it until the term service of the

of f volunteers had expired . The prime source his dificulties , how

— a t . E e n ever, was Washington ven General Jackson the most e r g e ti c Ofﬁcer ever in th e service of the United States— was scarce l of y a match for the apathy, ignorance, and neglect the War De f l r p a r t m e n t . To this the failure o General F ou noy may be main l a d y attributed . A few years since, shortly before his death , he l of dressed me the fo lowing letter, giving some curious details the a n d ff I n famous Laﬁtte , the state of a airs New Orleans

I know of no on e now I n life acquainted with the difﬁ culties I had to contend with when in command of the seventh mil i tary Y district . our father !General Claiborne) defended me against f S O Com the calumnies o my enemies . did Governor Claiborne, m odor e s oth Patterson and Shaw, Edward Livingston , and many er distinguished men with whom I acted in the public service , My of of a ll conduct received the sanction the President, and to whom

l . I was accountab e That I had enemies in New Orleans is true, m of - but they were likewise the ene ies their country Frenchmen , i ff l — Spaniards, and Engl shmen disa ected to the repub ic hating or

— not comprehending our institutions willing to give , and , in the ’ . Be hour of trial, actually giving aid and comfort to the enemy f l sides, there were pro essed smugglers and capita ists engaged in t r a ﬁi c on illegal , who carried a commerce with our enemies, and ,

u li e he m w h r o si on s ni s d t it vi . at every opportu ty, p p p “ Soon after I repaired to N e w Orleans I perceived that I must of i or submit to this state th ngs , apply even stronger measures than l a w — strict would authorize . Governor Claiborne who was almost enthusiastic in his Americanism— advised me to decl are martial l a w own , and take every thing in my hands . I believed, however, that I could put matters right by adopting l ess objectionabl e meas 88 LIFE AN D T IMES OF

on . non , Mobile River No arrangements had been made to enable h i m to execute this

r e . u s I posted guards at suitable places, and issued an order that

no vessel should leave port without my written passport . They

or e soon began to f g my signature, and became so expert that I i could scarcely distinguish it myself. I then d rected Colone l ‘ M a Re , in command at the Balize, to examine every vessel, and wi t detain them if suspicious, my passport to the contrary n ot h di stan ng . Soon after, a Spaniard, ostensibly bound for Vera Cruz, m arrived at the Balize . He was brought to , and presented y pass

e l or of port and his manif st . It cal ed for some three four barrels e flour only, but in his vessel was found over three hundr d barrels f i o flour, and other prov sions, for the enemy, who lay not far from f the mouth o the river. He was sent back to New Orleans . The owner, a resident citizen, brought an action against me, and oh t a in e d l l sub se judgment for severa thousand do lars , which was f f quently paid out o the treasury o the United States . “ Whil e the British fleet of observation lay off the mouth of the

fi vi river, a British of cer sited the city, and actually dined, several d ays in succession , at the public table where I was present . His presence in the city was know n to and and but on ly came to my kn owledge after he had le ft . I will state anoth

scou n er incident to show how I was beset, within and without, by

dr e l s . e e and traitors A man called Laﬁtte, r put d to be connect h sm u l e r sa m ed wit g g and pirates , I deter ined to ap prehend . I - we ﬁ a had a consultation with the governor, and xed upon plan .

on e I learned that he kept a mistress Conti Str et, and that he was r a expected to visit her on a c e rtain night . I sent a co por l and six men to arrest him, but failed . The next day I ascertained that

Laﬁtte was in the house and in bed at the time, but, on hearing

8 I n 1 812 t h e Gr a n ur of Ne w Or e a n s i n e r r e or t r e se n e s u , d J y l , th i p , p t d m g

n a s on e of t h e r e a e v i s of t h e e s c a r r e on a l os u c . Th e g li g g t l tim , i d m t p bli ly W a u r wa s c o ose of t h e ﬁ r s m e n in t h e c v i z . D a v Ur u a r j y mp d t ity, , id q h t, illi m ‘ n . W il W id r st r a n dt A e . M i n e se il B r w . N o ose M Ne e v e e e . e tt, J ph , l y Ch , J C , l x l , , s Row a n r a u a Siin son L . M . Sa or M. F or e r se n . G . D u b u li m p , g y , ti , , y , l d C ig, J W a n n e r Ke . S e r d S. S a c ou se H. da h Tou r s R. D e , h ph , t kh , illi m GEN E RAL SAMUEL DALE . 89

order. He had ﬁve hundred and ﬁfty men , with their baggage and camp equipage, to transport through an unsettled country, and

or a c neither teams, forage, money, supplies companied the order. The War Department seems to have expected the Territory to de i t s fend itself, and pay Own troops, though they had been regularly mustered into the service of the United States . The following letters will Show the miser

l ou t of the approach of my guard , had eaped a window and into a

‘ W hi s ou t of well close b here he remained , with head only water,

u . ntil the guard retired I likewise received a message from him, stating that he knew me well ; that he crossed me on my walks or l every night, and could slay me, have me s ain, at any moment,

t h e or either in streets in my quarters ; but that , as he knew I was

of h e i f ul a cting from a sense duty, would spare me I wo d take no

n of . farther cogniza ce him Having failed in my plan, Governor Claiborne said he woul d see what he could do in the matter ; that

Laﬁtte had comrades who would betray him . He Offered a r e

Of . ward ﬁve hundred dollars for his apprehension Next day, a

ff v e thousa nd dol proclamation, signed Laﬁtte, appeared, o ering ﬁ ’ l a r s f r ! o the governor s head He added a postscript, however,

a a te l He stating that this was mere b g le . was subsequently par c loned by the governor, and assisted in the defense ofNew Orleans . f l I know not what became o hi m thereafter . I cou d mention many t l b u . incidents of a simi ar character , I forbear These I have thought ﬁt to name in thankfulness for your sentiments for me, for of and the respect I feel the memory your father and uncle . I ol d ff am an man, indi erent to fame,but alive to the im pressions of friendship , and under that inﬂuence I tender you my best wishes for your happiness and prosperity here and hereafter . 90 LIFE AN D TIMES O F

’ of - able condition the U . S . Quarter master s Department of that day

’ Bull e r s P a n s 2 1 m e s r om Bat on l i , il f

Rou e J u 8t h 1 8 1 3 . g , ly ,

SI R — I n , arrived here last eveni g, pre ’ ceded by 250 men of Colonel Carson s regi V ment, Mississippi olunteers . The rear will

- be up to morrow, under Lieutenant Colonel

Ross , who will proceed with the re giment to

- Liberty, where he will meet a wagon train a from Natchez . I shall join the comm nd at

for six Liberty. It has rained every day weeks ; the waters are very high , and the n roads intolerable . Already the two hu dred dollars advanced by the quarter-master have

- e n been expended for wagon hire . I will de a v or ,however, to provide for the necessary disbursements of the march . “ V &c . &c . ery respectfully, , , “ V LA R e n l . i . O Br . G o s F . L . C IB NE, g ” M a . G e n . F ou r n o j l y .

To th i c r i n m m a n t r t M i ssi ssi i e Qﬁ e co d a L ibe y , p p

N e a r F or t St odda r Au u st 1 3 1 81 t , g , S IR — I , write for the express purpose

92 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

t ascertain its condi ion, and the points that should be occu p I e d for the security O f the settlements . Although ordered to march from Baton Rouge for the express purpose “ ” of c o- of operating in the defense Mobile, his attention was immediately drawn to the

m frontier. The communications fro the United States Agent to General Flournoy had unfortunately persuaded the latter that the agitation among the Creeks was wholly an intestine feud, and would only, in the worst contingency, occasion civil war among themselves ; and this delusion, it will be

of seen, inﬂuenced the decisions the com

o manding general . The citizens n the fron

' u n i v e r sa l l de r e c a t e d s tier y p thi Opinion , and

General Claiborne adopted their views . He wrote Colonel Hawkins, United States

: Agent, as follows

“ m n n r Ca n t on e t , Mou t Ve n on ,

dda r Au . 1 4 1 1 3 n r F or t o t 8 . e a t S , g , h On the 3 0t ult . I arrived here with the

h O r e - Volunteers . I p e to be enforced by the

f w . . e 7th regiment U S . Infantry in a days I can n ot say what will be the determination N R U E GE E AL SAM EL DAL . 93 of Major General Flournoy, under whose orders I act, but I hope to receive permis sion to str ike f or the he ar t of the Cr e e k na

ti on .

In reply to his application, General Flour

- of noy, in a letter dated Head quarters, Bay “ 1 0 1 81 3 : St . Louis, August , , wrote I shall send the 7t h regiment by water to Mobile . I fear that it is the design of the Spanish government to draw ou r force to the upper country by playing off the Indians against

r e us there, and then to make an attempt to

TO take Mobile . guard against this, Major Gibson will be directed to remain with the

7t h at Mobile till farther orders . I have to entreat you not to permit your zeal for the public good !which I know you have at heart as much as any man) to draw you into

Y u r wi sh to e n e tr a te acts of indiscretion . o p i n to the I n di a n cou n tr wi th a v i e w o c om y, f m e n ci n the wa r doe s n ot m e e t m a r o g , y p p b i ou r o e r a ti on s a t on ; and I again repeat, p ” m u st be conﬁn ed to def e n si v e op e r a ti on s. General Claiborne had likewise urged the commanding general to call out the militia 94 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

for the defense Of the menaced settlements, but, in the same communication, General Flournoy said “ I am not authorized to make the call .

Under these restrictions, General Olai borne adopted the only measu re of relief in h i s power by distributing his command among the several stockades to which the

d on inhabitants had fled . He dispatche e hundred and fifty men to Fort Mims, under Major Beasley ; on e hundred and fifty to

Fort Madison, under Colonel Carson ; a

m company, under Captain Abra M . Scott, ’ to St . Stephen s ; and a detachment, under

-a on Captain Ben . Dent, to Oke tapa, the

of Choctaw line, to observe the disposition

n that powerful tribe, whose junctio with the Creeks was generally apprehended, and would have been fatal to the whole territory . This distribution of troops — made by

on own General Claiborne his responsibility, in consideration of the exposed condition of the citizens— has been censured by some fﬁ critics ; but no humane O cer, seeing hund of reds families forted in feeble stockades, eighty and a hundred miles apart, and R GENE AL SAMUEL DALE . 95 t w hreatened every day with the tomaha k, could have hesitated . The force thus dis tributed was required not only for the de f n se of n e n e the wome and children, but to able the men to gather their corn and cattle, without which famine would have swept i away the whole population . This d str i b u tion wa s according to immemorial usage in

on Indian wars this continent, and he had ordered more men to each stockade t han had ever been assembled at any on e post in the ’ or Northwest in Wayne s campaigns, during

or the last war with Great Britain, in the sanguinary settlement of Kentucky and Ten

n e sse e .

On the 2d of August he wrote General “ Fl ournoy : The inhabitants have all taken of shelter in stockades . Few them are now

of capable defense . They are crowded with women and children, who are every day

- threatened with the scalping knife . I have taken the responsibility of distributing my

for small force their defense . I have but

- eighty men now at head quarters, and the of 7t h presence the is highly desirable . Should you conclude to r e -enforce me with 96 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

a n d it, will authorize me to enter the nation ,

so I will do in ten days, and give to the fron t iers peace, and to the government as much of the Creek country as it desires . A strong force should enter the nation before they are every where in arms . With a thousand men , and your authority to march , I pledge myself to burn the principal towns . Three months hence it may be difﬁcult to effect with three thousand men what may now be ” o f done with a third that number. “ General Flournoy answered : You may dispose of your volunteers according to your

t a t d r e a son s s e . judgment, but, for the , viz , a fear that the Spaniards design attackin g

Mobile and Mobile Point, I must enjoin you not to give any orders or interfere with the f instructions to the o ﬁcers at those posts . Having intercepted several letters from ff n disa ected Choctaws, and bei g apprised by

George S . G aines, then United States Fac

of of tor, the growing discontent that tribe, General Claiborne took the responsibility of 24t h of dispatching Major Ballenger, the

United States Infantry, to visit the Choc taws, who were then balancing between war GE N E RAL SAMUEL DALE . 97

and peace . He had an interview with Push ’ a m a t a h a at Pierre J u g a n s on the l 5t h of

August, but, unfortunately, died there three days afterward. By the inﬂuence of Mr . ‘ M Ke e Pit ch l n Gaines, Colonel , and John y ,

n United States Interpreter, this disti guished V chief was induced to visit Mount ernon, where he was received by General Claiborne with military honors, and presented with the

of uniform and accoutrements a brigadier .

t c o- This ultima ely secured his Operation ,

of with a chosen band warriors, against the

th e of Creeks, and neutrality the rest Of his * n ation . Had the Choctaws taken up arms

n h agai st us, in less t an thirty days the whole country from the Tombigbee to the Missis sippi would have been steeped in blood .

e . v Colon l George S Gaines is still li ing, a citizen of Perry t e e e e County , Miss . Modest, unob rusive, int llig nt, a mod l citiz n ,

w e w e e e e . e th e hos hol lif has b en pass d, without r proach, in service

of r He e . his count y . rendered emin nt services during the war

i l e e Of John P t ch yn is de ad . He was ev r the faithful fri nd t h e w e own e v hit s , and the best friend of his countrym n . Our go ern

e e . e ment r li d implicitly upon him He has left s veral sons, who

e t h e m e n of o resid in Choctaw nation west, of talents and high p si ti on e on e n e , who reﬂect cr dit the ir ancient and honorabl am .

‘ M Ke e ﬁn e Colonel John , agent for the Chickasaws , a man Of e e e e e v e sense, n rgy, and patriotism, x rted great inﬂuenc o r the Choc

w . ta s and Chickasaws, and secured their aid or neutrality 98 LIFE AND T IMES OF

The consternation in the western portion of the Territory was such that many of the citi zens abandoned their homes and crossed the

Mississippi . In Claiborne County commit tees of safety were established ; in Natchez alarming rumors prevailed ; even at Baton

n Rouge there was a general panic. The e

ot i a t i on s Pu sh a m a t a h a g with , and the visit of of t h e Colbert, principal chief Chickasaws,

r e to General Claiborne,who induced him to main in camp , restored conﬁdence .

1 00 LIFE AN D T IMES O F

emy. Impartial history at length unfolds

f n d the o ﬁcial correspondence, a vindicates

of ri those brave men , most whom are ow

of beyond the reach ﬂattery or reproach . We have seen that the commanding gen eral was restrained by his instructions from vigorous measures . His apprehensions were of the Spaniards, not the Indians ; and the

of brigadier general, in the face positive

m u orders, dared not ove, even tho gh he had

on had an adequate force, without trampling f every law o military subordination . Nor did General Claiborne have any authority to call for the militia . Governor Holmes had standin g i n st r u ct i on s t o comply with any requisition for drafted m e n ' w h i ch the com m a n di n g g e n e r a l of the seventh milita r y district should make . 2d As early as August , only two days a V after he re ched Mount ernon , General Claiborne had written to General Flournoy “ ” G e n for authority to call for the militia . “ u eral Flournoy wrote, In answer to yo r request that I would authorize you to call

ou out the militia, I have to inform y that I N R GE E AL SAMUEL DALE . 1 01

so am not myself authorized to do , and if ‘ you will turn to the regulations of the War D e partment of the 1 st of May last you will at once perceive it . Such authority had formerly been vested in the general com

n . mandi g, but had been withdrawn f O Thus ba ﬂed at every point, General lai borne had to rely exclusively on his own 7t h limited resources . On the of August ’ he personally inspected Mims stockade, and issued a n order to strengthen the pickets and

- r e build two additional block houses . To ” m spect an ene y, says the order, and pre

i n h i m pare the best possible way to receive , ” i s of the certain means success .

E R IF I A E F L E E A AM L C T C T O I UT N NT CH B IS S . “ on 7t h of I certify that I delivered, the O Aug ust last, an order from General lai

c om m a n di h borne to Major Beasley, g Fort

Mims, instructing him to strengthen the

on e or pickets, and to build two additional

- block houses . And I farther certify that Major Beasley received a letter from General Claiborne !who was then on h i s route to Fort Easley) one or two days before the attack on 1 02 LIFE AND T IMES OF

of Fort Mims, advising him the movements

of the enemy . “ * W M A L L M i V l . t . ss. o R . CH MB ISS,

J u 1 6t h ly ,

General Claiborne likewise assumed the resp onsibility of authorizing Major Beasley to receive any citizens who would assist in

of the defense the station , and issue rations to them with the other soldiers of his com

mand . Under this regulation , the brave half

breed, Dixon Bailey, who had distinguished

of himself in the action Burnt Corn,was re

This gallant ofﬁ cer was on e of the few that escaped the mas

e e e n sacre . He saw Major B asl y, Captain Jack , Captain Middl to , e n e Captain Bail y, Lieutenant Osbor , and, ind ed, all his comrades , e on fall . When the main building had been seiz d and set ﬁre,

e e v and there was no long r hope, though bl eding with two se ere

h e v e t . wounds, he contri ed to escap through pickets He received

- t wo more arrow heads in his body a s he retreated . He took ' f h f e o o . shelter in a large pil brus , and fainted from loss blood Whe n he came to himself again a party of savages were smoking

- on e around his hiding place, and had actually kindled a ﬁre at

e n th e e e Off . He d Of it . Just as heat became intol rable th y went e e t e contriv d to g to Mount V rnon, and afterward to General ’ e w e Claiborne s residence near Natch z , h re the balls and arrow

D r . He v e heads we re extracted by . John Cox ne er ntirely re h e v e of e e s covered , though li ed a numb r y ars afterward, highly

i n . teemed, and died Claiborne County, Miss Perpetual honor to e his m mory .

1 04 L IF E AN D TI M E S OF

the Choctaw nation . Mr . George S . Gaines,

for U. S . Factor the Choctaws , in a letter to

r u Judge Toulmin , communicated the same

m or . The women and children in Fort Eas ley were almost without defenders ; n ot more

t or w a s han ten ﬁfteen men remained . This ,

of n then , the post danger . The other statio s were commanded by tried and intelligent of ’ ﬁ r s ce . Easley s was sixty miles nearer the

m t ene y than For Mims, and the general de

t e r m i n e d o to repair to that point . He c m m it t e d Mount Vernon to the charge of Cap w tain Kennedy, and with t enty mounted dra t ’ goons, and hirty men from Captain Scott s ’ company, and thirty from Captain Dent s, ’ m he arched for Easley s Station . From Fort Madison he dispatched an express to m Major Beasley, again enjoining the ut ost vigilance This letter was received on the 29 f 3 0t h t t h o August. On the For Mims

of fell, and the gallant Beasley, the victim a t fatal increduli y, fell with it. On the morn

of t t t - ing ha bloody day, soon af er roll call,

Major Beasley addressed .to General Olai borne the following letter, which will be read now for the ﬁrst time with melancholy i n t e r e st : GEN E RAL SAM UEL DALE . 1 05

’ M -h Au 3 1 1 3 m s B ock ou se . 0 8 . i l , g ,

“ — I r e SI R, send inclosed the morning port of my command . I have improved the fort at this place, and made it much stronger ’ than when you were here . Pierce s Stock h a s ade is n ot very strong, but he erected

- three substantial block houses . h c om On the 27t Ensign Davis, who ‘ : mands at Hanson s Mills, wrote We shall,

- of by t o morrow, be in such a state defense that we shall n ot be afraid of any number ’ of Indians .

There was a false alarm here yesterday.

n n Two negro boys, belongi g to Mr . Rando

ou t were some distance from the fort, mind

- ing some beef cattle, and reported that they sa w of a great number Indians, painted, run ’ ning and whooping toward Pierce s Mill . The conclusion was that they knew the mill fort to be more vulnerable than this, and had determined to make their attack there ﬁrst .

I dispatched Captain Middleton, with ten

t o of mounted men , ascertain the strength

if t oo the enemy, intending, they were not

ou t of ou r numerous, to turn the most force ’ of here, and march to the relief Pierce s E 2 1 06 LIFE AN D TIME S OF

. h m Mill But t e alar has proved to be false . What gave some plausibility to the report at ’ of ﬁrst was, that several Randon s negroes had been previously sent up to his planta t ion for corn, and had reported it to be full

of of Indians, committing every kind havoc ;

of but I now doubt the truth that report . “ I was much pleased with the appear ance of my men at the time of the alarm yes

t e r da y, when it was expected every moment

that the Indians would appear . They very

s generally seemed anxious to e e them .

Two hours later, the express having been

by some accident detained, Major Beasley l of again wrote to the genera , assuring him “ h i s ability to maintain the post against any ” number of Indians . Fatal delusion ' When the express rode

r a out, the enemy lay concealed in a deep vine in the immediate vicinity of the fated ! 80t h of fort On that terrible August, pre ’ ci se l M y at twelve o clock . , eight hundred

warriors, with terriﬁc yells, rushed upon the

— gate . The awful conﬂict that ensued the

t h e f o n e heroic gallantry of o ﬁcers, who fell,

1 08 LIFE AN D T IMES O F

of General Claib orne at Fort Easley deterred d the Indians, as was afterward ascertaine , from their contemplated attack on that st a

t oo . tion , and Fort Madison was strong By express from Captain Kennedy he received the astounding intelligence of the fall of

t m — a stou n di n For Mi s g , because his last cautions had been received by Major Beas ley on the day preceding t h e attack ; because the morning report only the day previo u s showed the effective force to be on e hundr ed i ’ -ﬁv e Pi e r c e s and ﬁve men , besides thirty at

Mill !in the Vicinity), who received orders d from the fort ; and because, in a letter ated on l two h ou r b e or e the a ssa u l t y s f , Beasley had declared himself able to repel any force that might appear ! As far back as the 28t h

of c om July, before Major Beasley and his mand had entered Fort Mims , Lieutenant d Osborn, in a letter to Colonel Carson , sai , t This s ockade is in good condition, and I ” am sure will be well defended . And it would have been successfully defended but for the fatal conﬁdence and contempt of t h e w enemy that prevailed, hich rendered all

subsequent gallantry unavailing . N R GE E AL SAMUEL DALE . 1 09

u m The awf l massacre at Mi s, says

Cl a i Judge Toulmin, in a letter to General borne, will long, I trust, teach the people of this country a useful lesson . It will teach the m that courage without caution is of little avail . Never men fought better ; but such was the advantage given to the enemy by neglecting the most obvious precautions, that all their bravery w a s thrown away.

on e Mr. Fletcher Cox ! who escaped) tells me that th e I n di a n s we r e wi thi n thi r ty step s w ” of the g a te bef or e th e y e r e se e n .

ol d In the Cherokee war, ﬁfteen men, in a e of fort near Nashville, r pelled the assault four hundred savages . ’ — on In Wayne s campaign, Fort Recovery

-ﬁ e l d the battle of the unfortunate St . Clair,

of - far in advance Grenville, the head quar ters of the general— was garrisoned by on e company of infantry and a small detachment f o artillery.

n . ff n Forts Hamilto , St Clair, and Je erso seldom had more than one company of i n fa n t r su b y, and were often left with only a altern ’ s command They were considered secure against a n y attack made by small arms . 1 1 0 LIFE AN D T IMES O F

on t h e Fort Chicago, the Illinois, in heart of the savages, was defended by ﬁfty men

of against an overwhelming force Indians , until it was evacuated by order of General

Hall .

Fort Madison, besieged by over four

Pot a w a t om i e s hundred , was successfully de fended by thirty men ; and about the same time seventeen regulars, in a small post at t Bellefontaine, resisted a similar a tack .

— a Fort Wayne mere picket stockade, garrisoned by only on e company— resisted for several days a combined attack led by

G e n Tecumseh , and was ﬁnally relieved by eral Harrison .

1 81 2 I n In September, , Fort Harrison , diana Territory, was besieged by a large f body o Indians led by the Prophet . A breach was made in the defenses by the

- of . burning a block house One company, of which only ﬁfteen men were able to do ﬁf duty, defended it for ten days . Of the teen men, two attempted to escape, leaped the wall,and were shot . This heroic defense was made by Captain !afterward President)

Taylor.

D RAW G or R S IN FO T MIM ,

’ F u n a on e n a or n e s a n u sc r a r s. o d m g G . Cl ib m ipt p p e

R E FE RE NCE S.

B oc E n s n h a m ’ Hou s 1 4. C b li ss s n Te . l k e . ig t P c ’ e s c u t a wa t h I n di a n s 1 5. E n s n G s . i k t y by e . ig ibb ’ G u a r s S a ’ Ra n on s. on 1 6. d t ti . d Gu a r - ’ ou se 1 . a a n M on s d h . 7 C pt i iddl e t . W e s a ’ e rn G e b u t n ot u . 1 8 a a n a c s S a on . t t , p . C pt i J k t ti T s a w a s s Por - o s a n a e u b u t a h o e 19. e e I n d n s hi g t h t, l t h l t k by i . wa s c u t r ou t h 20 21 Por - o n n a n s I n d n s. . e s a e I . th gh by e ia , t h l t k by di a a n B a ‘ ’ e s S a or B n . a on 22. M e a s e s a C pt i il y t ti . j l y C bi S e a dh ‘ H ’ t a m s ou se 23 a a n a c s o a n . . . C pt i J k C mp y ’ ' M r s. D H a n . e r s ou s . a a n M e on s o y e 24. C pt i iddl t C mp y K c e n r a r B l 25 W h e e M o e a s e e . it h . . j l y f l ‘ M 3 Hou s . 2 s r n a n s e 6. E a e Ga e w e r e t h e I n d im t t , h i ’ Ra n on s Hou s . n r d e e te e d . Ol d Ga te wa y— ope n GEN ERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 1 3

ow n L i e u t e n On our frontier, the brave ant Bailey, with twelve men, successfully ’ i n kﬁe l d s defended S house, in the Forks,

on e against over hundred Indians, under the

Prophet Francis . of on e of Educated in the tactics Wayne, the most impetuous yet cautious command

of t t ers modern imes, and wi h these prece

of dents Indian warfare in view, General Claiborne could scarcely credit the fall of

n Fort Mims . With a bleedi g heart he gave orders to Captain Kennedy to bury the dead .

on of The fort, the morning the attack, mus t e r e d on e ff hundred and ﬁve e ective men ,

fﬁ of under picked o cers, all them educated

t of men , wi h an abundant supply provisions, iﬁ . for t arms, and ammunition The original

a of on e cation was line pickets, with block house, a large dwelling, kitchen, and meat house, and two bastions, placed in position to throw upon an enemy a cross ﬁre, in whatever direction he might approach . These works had been strengthened by a d di ti on a l - block houses and other defenses, as the engraving will show . Had the gates been kept closed and the men properly post 1 1 4 LIFE AN D TIME S OF

ed in the bastions, all military history teach es that such a force might have kept at bay ‘ any number of Indians . The courage of Major Beasley amounted almost to despera t tion . Although of en warned, he turned a

n deaf ear to any notion of da ger . At the

of of onset the enemy, in the blaze three

of w hundred rifles and a cloud arro s, he rushed to close the front gate, that Opened into the outward work, not yet completed . There he fell— too soon to perceive his i n ability to repel a superior force, by his neg lect now fighting on equal terms — too late to enable the gallant officer who succeeded him to gain possession of the bastions and

- block houses, which were now occupied by the enemy. The whole number in the fort, of se x every age, and , and color, was two

" -ﬁv e of hundred and seventy , whom only t on e twen y escaped . The bodies of hundred and nine Indians were found around the

of of fort, and upward ﬁfty died their w wounds at Burnt Corn Spring, to hich * they retired after the massacre .

i e e Major Daniel Beasley was a Virg nian, settl d at Greenvill , ' e ff e He sh e r iﬁ of t h e J erson County, as a lawy r . was likewise

1 1 6 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

I I CHAPTER V .

l i n — - — e . Captain Da e at Fort Mad so . Nov l Light house His Re ply

e F — on e — of to Gen ral lournoy . Women Parad Death Jack s — — t — Evan Bill Milfort . The Canoe Figh Jerry Austill — — Jim Smith . Weatherford . His personal Appearance , Charac

ter, and Death .

I REPAI RED to Fort Madison after the ff ff a air at Burnt Corn, and su ered much

on from my wound . The fort stood a divid

of ing ridge, in the forks the Alabama and

m m To bigbee, not far fro the line between the Ch octaw and Creek territories . I took charge of Fort Glass, a small stockade about a quarter of a mile from Fort Madison some ﬁft een families were in it . The mas sacre at Fort Mims had alarmed the whole country, and Major General Flournoy, dis

t h e approving stockade system, determined to concentrate his troops at Mobile, St . ’ V Stephen s , and Mount ernon . Colonel Carson was ordered to abandon Fort Madi

son . He obeyed the order reluctantly, and

h i s m h i s as dru beat for men to march, I N R GE E AL SAMUEL DALE . 1 1 7 beat mine for volunteers, being determined to remain if I could get ten men to stand

of by me . As the last the volunteers in the

of ou t service the United States marched , I, at the head of ﬁfty bold fellows, marched in . During the day sentinels were posted around

a the fort . At night I illuminated the p

r oa ch e s of on e p , for a circuit hundred yards,

of . t by a device my own Two poles, ﬁf y l feet long, were ﬁrm y planted on each side of the fort ; a long lever, upon the plan of a

- well sweep , worked up on each of these poles ;

' to each lever was attached a bar of iron about ten feet long, and to these bars we

- u of fastened, with trace chains, h ge fagots

- light wood . The illumination from such an elevation was brilliant, and no covert attack could be made u p on my position . As a precaution against the Indian torch, I had my block-houses and their roofs well plaster ed with clay. We displayed ourselves in f arms requently, the women wearing hats

i m and the garments of their husbands, to press upon the spies that we knew were l u rking around an exaggerated n otion of

n our stre gth . F or provisions w e shot such 1 1 8 LIFE AN D TIM E S O F cattle and hogs as fed within the range of o u r guns, but I carefully noted the marks and brands, and afterward indemniﬁed their owners . Major General Flournoy sent me a very kind note, advising me to repair to Mount

V n erno , as I was certain to be attacked by a n overwhelming force . I replied that there were many women and children under my charge, and I had sworn to defend them ; t of hat I had a gallant set boys, and, when

of he heard of the fall Fort Madison, he

of would ﬁnd a pile yellow hides to tan, if he could get his regulars to come and skin them ! 1 st 1 81 3 About the of November, , Tandy

of Walker and Jack Evans, two General ’ Claiborne s scouts, brought me a note from

tw o of him , requesting me to send my best woodsmen with them to reconnoitre the

- Wolf path . I sent Bill Spikes and George

Foster . Returning, Evans shot an Indian in ’ -ﬁ l d a corn e . They then camped at Moore s

on Ferry, the Alabama, Walker and Evans lying on the bank, my men in the cane . Weatherford !the renowned chief who led

1 20 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

n bank, we discovered two I dian canoes, laden

with corn , paddling up stream . I ordered Jerry Austill to lay his canoes under the bluff and conceal his men from the Indians Of U until I could get ahead them . n for t u

n a t e l y, the path left the river bank on a o

of a n d n - c on count swamp ca e brakes, and so t in u e d two and a half miles before it again

. h a d approached the river The Indians , d t oubtless, perceived my canoes from the ﬁrs

sa w and I now them moving rapidly up , still far above us . We pushed on at a live l y rate, George Foster and myself being a hundred yards in advance of the others . At an abrupt turn of the path we su ddenly e n

fil e - countered five warriors . The leader lev e l e d u his rifle, but, before he could p ll trig ger, I shot him down . Foster shot the next,

- and the rest broke into the cane brake . The leader of the party was Will Milfort —three quarters white, tall, handsome, intelligent,

n and prepossessing, and a stro g attachment

w m e existed between us . He camped ith at

Of -a - the great council Took batcha, and pri v a t e l y informed me when Tecumseh was

n of W a t h about to speak . By the inﬂue ce e GE N ERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 21

w a s on erford he joined the hostiles, and his

‘ - ﬁrst war path when he met his fate . We recognized each other i n a moment ; there was a mutual exclamation of surprise— a

— pang of regret, perhaps but no time for parley. I dropped a tear over his body, and often bewail the destiny that doomed him to

of fall by the hand his best friend . Such

of are the dreadful necessities war. Some time after I sought a n d i n t e r r e d his ﬂe sh l e ss bones ; they now moulder on the banks of the river he loved so well ; and often since,

s of in my olitary bivouac, in the dead night, have I fancied that I heard his wailing voice

n ow in the tops Of the aged pines . Even m y heart bleeds for poor Will . After this ren counter I put thirty of my men on the east bank where the path ran di r e ctl w y by the river side . With t enty men

r o I kept the western bank, and thus we p ’ c e e de d to Randon s Landing. A dozen ﬁres were burning, and numerous scaffolds for o drying meat, den ting a large body of I n n dians ; but no e were visible . About half

’

a st t n A . M p e . we discerned a large canoe coming down stream . It contained eleven 1 22 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

w warriors . Observing that they ere about

- to land at a cane brake just above us, I call ed to my men to follow, and dashed for the

- cane brake with all my might. Only seven of I n my men kept up with me . As the

d. dians were in the act of landing, we ﬁre t h Two leaped into e water . Jim Smith shot on e as he rose, and I shot the other . In the h ad mean time they backed into deep water, and three Indians were swimming on the Off

of side the canoe,working her as far from the

e t shore as they could, to g out Of the range

f i n o our guns . The others lay the bottom of odd the canoe, which was thirty feet long, four feet deep , and three feet beam , made of

- an immense cypress tree, specially for the

of . transportation of corn . One the warriors

' shouted to Weatherford !who was in the vi ci n i t t y, as it af erward appeared, but invisi “ h ” “ Yos-ta -h a h os-ta - a h I ble to us), y They ” are spoiling us . This fellow was in the

hi s on of t h e water, hands the gunwale pi f rogue, and as o ten as he rose to shout we

ff . ﬁred, but ine ectually He suddenly show

- s ed him self breast high,whooping in deri ion , “ ’ ou and said, Why don t y shoot I drew

1 24 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

t at me a furious blow, which I par ially par

ried, and, before he could repeat it, I shiver

u n n ed his skull with my g . In the mea

m ti e an Indian had struck down Jerry, and

was about to dispatch him , when I broke my

. t w o riﬂe over his head It parted in places .

The barrel Jerry seized, and renewed the

on e of ﬁght . The stock I hurled at the sav

a ages . Being then disarmed, C esar handed * me his musket and bayonet . Finding myself unable to keep the two

canoes in juxtaposition , I resolved to bring

m a n d t h e atters to an issue, leaped into

Indian boat. My pirogue, with Jerry, Jim,

ae off and C sar, ﬂoated . Jim ﬁred, and slight l y wounded t he Indian next to me I now stood in the centre of their canoe— two dead

— a - at my feet wounded savage in the stern , who had been snapping his piece at me dur ing the ﬁght, and four powerful warriors in

t on e front. The ﬁrs directed a furious blow at me with l l l S riﬂe ; it glanced u pon the

of barrel my musket, and I staved the bay h onet through his body. As e fell the next

on e repeated the attack . A shot from Jerry

See Fr ontispiece . GEN E RAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 25

Austill pierced his heart . Striding over them, the next sprung at me with his toma hawk. I killed him with the bayonet, and his corpse lay between me and the last of

— - - the party. I knew him well Tar cha chee, a noted wrestler, and the most famous ball

o player f his clan . He paused a moment in expectation of my attack, but, ﬁnding me motionless, he stepped backward to the bow of the canoe, shook himself, gave the war “ of ou t whoop his tribe,and cried , Sam t h ol occ o I a n a da hm a sha i a -l a n e stha — Zi so , p * — Zi so— l a n e tha Bi a an ! I a m a m a n p s . g S ” I a m com i n — com e n ! A S g o he said this, with a terriﬁc yell he bounded over the

of dead body his comrade, and directed a

blow at my head with his riﬂe, which dis t located my lef shoulder . I dashed the bay

h i m onet into . It glanced around his ribs,

- and the point hitching to his back bone, I

A S n pressed him down . I pulled the weapo

o u t of , he put his hands upon the sides the

ou t and endeavored to rise, crying , ‘ canoe Ta r -ch a -che i H r d e s a m a n . e i s n ot af a i

l I can not vouch that this is good Muscogee . I spel it as e General Dale pronounc d it . 1 26 LIFE AN D TIMES OF to di e ! I drove my bayonet through his heart. I then turned to the wounded villain in the stern, who snapped his riﬂe at me as u I advanced, and had been snapping d ring

- the whole conﬂict . He gave the war whoop ,

of n and, in tones hatred and deﬁa ce, exclaim “ I a m a w a r r i or — I t a r a id t o ed, a m n o f di e . As he uttered the words I pinned him down with my bayonet, and he followed his

of eleven comrades to the land spirits .

During this conﬂict, which was over in ten minutes, my brave companions, Smith

A u st il l and ,had been struggling with the cur

of rent the Alabama, endeavoring to reach me . Their guns had become use less, and

their only p a ddl e had been broken . Two ’ A u st il l s braver fellows n ever lived . ﬁrst * shot saved my life .

- Jerry Austill is still living, a highly esteemed commission f Al l o e . merchant Mobile , and lat ly a senator from that district t h e of circumstances this remarkable ﬁght, as here detailed , were

veriﬁed before the Alabama Legislature .

S a e of Al a a a E e cu v e D e a rt e n D e ce e r 1 8 1 821 . t t b m , x ti p m t, mb ,

J M IA USTI L L E S : S i r — I e ERE H A , Q , have much pl asure in of of transmitting , as the organ the Legislature this state, a copy of e ou their r solution, approved this day, giving y their thanks for

e t h n your h roic exertions during e l a t e Creek war, in compa y with

e e G e n e r a l D e on Br v t Brigadier ale, in the cano action the Ala

1 28 LIFE AN D TIME S OF

Hickory Ground in the Creek nation ; his father,Charles Weatherford,was a Georgian , who established a trading-house and race track on the ﬁrst bluff below the junction of 1 the Coosa and Tallapoosa in 792 . His

-si s mother, the beautiful Sehoya, was half ter of the famous Creek chieftain General ‘ M G il iv r a of y, a man remarkable attributes, of a diplomatic turn, and alternately !and, as sa some y, at the same time) a Spanish pen si on e r u n , a British colonel, and a brigadier

n der George Washingto . William Weather

of h is ford had not the education grandfather, but nature had endowed him with a noble person, a brilliant intellect, and a command ing eloquence . He was, in every respect, the

of peer Tecumseh , who, though a Shawnee ’ on on his father s side, was born the Talla

oosa h i s p , in the Creek nation ; mother was of a Creek . Through the inﬂuence Tecum s h a t e he joined the war party, and led the

o tack n Fort Mims . He Often deplored to me his inability to arrest the carnage on “ ” that occasion ; but my warriors, said he, “ were like famished wolves, and the ﬁrst taste of blood made th eir appetites i n sa t i a GENERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 29

ble . He fought like a hero, and with great military tact, until his towns were burned, his country ravaged, and his warriors slain ; when, moved by starving women and chil dren all around him , he surrendered to Gen

on eral Jackson . His speech that occasion h a s become history. Some time after peace was restored h e moved in to the white settle

n m ments ear Montgomery, where he arried,

n and I was his groomsma . He said that

ol d t his comrades, the hostiles, ate his cat le fro m starvation ; the peace party ate them from revenge ; and the squatters because he “ “ — - d d . S O was a Red skin , said he, I have come to live among gentlemen . He died,

1 83 0 - I think, in , in his thirty sixth year, of

a oa a brief but violent ck of pneumonia . g‘ 2 1 80 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

V CHAPTER III .

’ l — — - . . O in iOn Counci Of War Dale s Appearance His p . General ’ Claiborne s Decision — Major Tom Hinds — His Characte r and — P h m t — — . u s a a a h a . E Appearance Anecdotes . xtract from t h e ’ ’ — - . e BI u ﬁ . e New Orleans Delta W atherford s Fort Claiborn . March to the Holy Ground — The Volunte ers — Gene ral Cl a i ’ ’ h — — e — borne s D ispatc The Battle . W atherford s Leap Christ

’ -E ﬂ ct s of mas Dinner . e this Victory .

S OR Y of H TL after this, by invitation Gen

of Ofﬁ eral Claiborne, I attended a council

on cers at Point Jackson , the Tombigbee, to deliberate on the expediency and m eans Of ’ ff building a fort at Weatherford s Blu , where

corn and cattle were abundant, and from whence the war party procured their su p plies . The prevalent opinion was that the contemplated post was too near the seat of war for a force S O weak and inadequate . I was a t length called on for my Opinion . I

of was a stranger to most the council, and my appearance did not recommend me . I

- was smoke tanned, and gaunt from fatigue and protracted anxiety ; I wore a hunting

13 2 LIFE AN D TIMES O F b e n built. Ge eral Jackson is advancing, ” for and supplies must be secured him . “ h ’ He then said, Captain Dale, t ere s a duty to perform— a difﬁ cult and dangerous o n e . May I ask you to undertake it “ w or General, I ill do what you wish, die for it ; and every fellow I have will do the ” same for y ou . “ — a Thank you, Captain Dale thousand

Y ou s t of thanks . have a noble e boys .

Proceed up the river in canoes, reconnoitre

of both banks, and secure the march my

Pu sh a m a t a h a troops . General , with his ” on warriors, will accompany you the scout .

Pu sh a m at a h a of , the great chief the Choc taws, then came forward, and the general invited the whole company to dinner . He introduced me particularly to Major Thomas

Hinds, Of the Mississippi Dragoons,and said, “ Tom fﬁ on , if you get into di culties this

on . ou frontier, call Dale Dale, if y are hard

t h e pressed, and want a man who will ﬁght ” devil himself, send for Hinds . The major

- - was a small, square built, Swarthy complex i on e d - , black eyed man , moving rapidly, speaking imperatively, beloved by his troops, GE N E RAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 3 3 and on e of the most intrepid men that ever lived . Pu sh a m a t a h a on this occasion appeared with great pomp . General Claiborne had presented h i m with a splendid suit of regi m n t a l s e , gold epaulettes, sword, silver Spurs,

r and hat and feather, ordered f om Mobile at

w a s a cost of three hundred dollars . He a

of - man imposing mien, perfectly self possess ’ a t ed, entirely home in the general s tent, fearless as a lion in the hour Of dan ger ; in

n o single combat he had superior, and he ruled the Choctaws by the thunder of his “ e l oqu e n ce f

The following account of Pu sh a m a t a h a and of incidents in the M ississippi Territory during the war appeared in the New Or e 1 9 1 849 leans D lta, August , n e Tur ing to the north ast from Williamsburg, I was soon in a

— country formerly the favorite hunting grounds Of the Choctaws, a

e dl e - e e powerful tribe, always fri n y to the Pal fac s . They were clos l ll e y a i d with the French , and in the memorable battle at White

A l e i e of p p Village !twelve m les b low the city Natchez) , so fatal to of f the tribe that name , they fought under the ﬂag o the sil ver

. t h e of 1 81 2 of ff v lilies During war , when most the e ecti e men of the Mississippi Te rritory had been concentrated on the Alaba e e o e w ma to d f nd that fr ntier, the ﬁd lity Of the Chocta s was for a

e brief period suspected . Tecums h and Weatherford had passed

s through their towns, and Spanish emissaries from Pen acola sought

n . of to i ﬂuence them The scent blood, so seductive to the savage,

on as was every breeze that swept from the southe t, where the 1 34 LIFE AN D T IMES OF

1 3t h of O On the November, General lai borne and his command marched for W e a t h

Creek Indi ans were desolating the settlements with ﬁre a nd toma At hawk . that time the Choctaws occupied the entire country

Of b R east and north Clai orne County to the Tombigbee iver, and ol d e of running as far south as the counti s Wayne and Hancock .

Had they seized the Opportunity, Natchez , with the sur rounding

n e country, must have fallen . Ge eral appr hension prevailed, and of to such an extent in the county Claiborne, which lay along the i l ne, that many families abandoned their homes and took refuge

. 1 8 of t 1 81 3 t h e in the swamps On the th Sep ember, , such was of anxiety the public mind, a meeting was called at Port Gibson,

. m i Colonel Daniel C Burnet in the chair, and it was deter ned to m i d erect three stockades . The following com ttees were appointe ,

a f - v , composed o well known citizens, only two Of whom now sur ive “ F r on tie r Com m i tte e — Major Clarke, Captain Johnson, Captain ‘ . M Ca l e b P . Briscoe, D , John Boothe, Gibson Clarke, Moses

Shelby . “ Com m i tte e o S e t — ll f af y Thomas Barnes, Wi iam Tabor, Sam

l Ha r m a n B l en n e r ha sse t uel Gibson, Wil iam Briscoe, , Colonel L . R R agan , James Watson, Thomas Farrar, Judge Leake, obert

Cochran, J . H . Moore . “ f of F Finding it di ﬁcult, after the fall ort Mims, to restrain the F Choctaws , the late General . L . Claiborne, then at Fort Stod

o f L ou dart, on the Alabama, in command the Mississippi and i si a n a a n d Volunteers, dispatched Major Ballenger into the nation, ,

E . f of . s s o through the inﬂuence George S Gaine , q , Mobile !then of a a young man in charge the Choctaw f ctory) , induced Pusha

- w mataha, the most celebrated war chief of the Chocta s , to visit

’ m h e e his ca p . W en the chi f approach d the general s tent, he was

e th e l on r ceived by ieutenant guard , who invited him to drink .

“ a a a n n ow Ge n e r a Br scoe a n d W i a Br scoe o h s n u i s e C pt i ! l) i ill m i , b t di ti g h d

c z n s of a or n e ou n . Bl e n n e r h a ss t t h e sa wh o wa s a ssoc a e iti e Cl ib C ty e , me i t d w Aa r on Bu r r wa s e n r e s i n n e a r Por t G son on a a n a on n ow t h e ith , th id g ib , pl t ti r e s e n c e of Sa u e C ob n n E s id m l , q

1 3 6 LIFE AND T IMES O F block-h ouses and a half-moon battery which commanded the river. It was chieﬂy for the Se curity of magazines intended for Gen eral Jackson , and Of a large quantity Of stores already ordered there by Major Gen eral Flournoy. Without this seasonable

- movement, strongly urged by General Jack son , the Tennessee troops could not have kept the ﬁeld . General Claiborne advised General Jackson Of the stores in waiting for him, acquainted him with the outrages com m i t t e d by British emissaries and the Spanish authorities in Pensacola, and added that “ he w ished to God he was authorized by General Flournoy to take that Sink of i i de Ot of n quity, the p Tories and instigators

l ow t h e last agony, and his comrades, in tones, were chanting ‘ ’ - e r a r r ior t h e e e wha t i s our death dirge in his a . W , said g n ral y

’ ‘ r e t he bi u n s ov e r m e t h e wi sh ? Whe n I a m de a d,ﬁ g g , were last

c e words of the dying hief. General Jackson compli d with his

Th e of Pu sh a m a ta h a th e request . remains were committed to earth in the Congress burying-g round amid the roar Of artillery f s d e e e and t h e music Of mu ﬂe d drums, and his la t wor s w r engrav d

e u . t h e e on e pon his tomb Thus closed care r Of who, in civilized lif , h e e e would have adorne d t e senate , and b en r garded by post rity as we now re gard the h e roe s of antiquity ; a man Of the noblest

h a d e ul attributes, who it in his power to d pop ate our territories, but whose arm was always extended for the protection of t h e

F AI O whites . J . . H . CL B RNE . GENERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 3 7

” of on 5" disturbances the southern frontier. 26t h On the ,Colonel Russell, with the 3 d

m . regi ent U. S infantry, came up , and the general resolved upon an expedition t o E c

‘ h a ca c a n a c , Or Holy Ground, east Of Ala

of on e bama, in the heart the enemy, hund red and twenty miles from the new stockade .

w a s - It the strong hold Of the Indians, in a

of n position great strength , had bee partial l y fortiﬁed by Weatherford, and consecrated r by the Shawnee p ophets, who assured their followers that if the white m e n dared to

‘ tread u pon it the earth would Open and swallow them up ! Indian fugitives in great numbers, from all parts Of the nation, when c pressed by the whites, had oncentrated

t ff b e there . It stood upon a lof y blu , just ’ i n low what is now Powell s Ferry, the

of . county Lowndes Prisoners , both whites and friendly Indians, were taken to this holy

of ground, by order the prophets, and burn

i n ed the great square . The fanatics and prophets of the tribe made it the scene of their sorceries and incantations .

’ ’ of l 3 20 Va l Pickett s History A abama, vol . p . ; Monette s ’ l e of y the Mississippi ; Waldo s Life of Jackson . 1 38 LIFE A N D TIMES OF

The enterprise was deemed S O hazardous the Ofﬁcers presented a memorial to the gen eral against it, Signed by nine captains, eight lieutenants, and ﬁve ensigns of the Missis V sippi olunteers, urging the feeble condition of t their men, without provisions, clo hing,

or of blankets, Shoes, the inclemency the

of . weather, and the want transportation They represented truly that there was not

E c ca n a ch a ca even a path leading to , but de cl a r e d their willingness to follow him if h e should resolve to proceed . “ ” O Their Objections, says General lai

i n borne, a dispatch published in the Mis ” “ si SSI i p p Republican soon after, were stated in the memorial with the dignity, feeling, and respect eminently conspicuous among the Ofﬁcers Of that corps pending the Opera

on . d tions the frontier But those abuse , calumniated defenders Of their country, in a

su situation to try the stoutest hearts, rose

O perior to misfortune and want. S soon as

m the order for arch had been issued, each man repaired with promptitude to his post ; and even many whose term Of service had expired, and who had not received a dollar

1 40 LIFE AN D TIME S OF

of their traducers on the banks of the M i s

si ssi i on e p p , with voice they swore they

or would follow him die in the wilderness . The general Shed tears at these demonstra

tions Of patriotism . He grasped us all by

d ou t the han , and we marched Of Fort Olai “ borne to the tune of Over the hills and

on ou r far away . Eighty miles march, at

Of Double Swamp , in the present county

Butler, we built a stockade for the sick and

on e the baggage, and left a guard Of hundred

of men . An advance thirty miles brought us near ou r point of destination . More than two thirds Of ou r march had been through a pathless forest . The Holy City had been

a s purposely located, a place Of refuge, in a d f position Of i ﬁcult access, and no trail led t o 29t of 1 81 . h 3 it It was the December, ; the weather was very wet and bitter cold * o m ff n r . we had neither eat, co ee, spirits In three columns we made the attack— drove ou t of the Indians, killing many them, and Weatherford with difﬁculty escaped on a

w h . po erful c arger, making his famous leap of twenty feet over a deep ravine, and down ff h i s the blu into the Alabama, which gal GENE RAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 41

r o lant cou ser swam , the chief h lding his riﬂe

- above his head, and shouting his war whoop

n as soon as he ascended the ba k. The Choc

s n taw plundered the tow , and then set ﬁre to it . Next day we killed several Indians,

m and among the three Shawnee prophets, who had been left by Tecumseh to inﬂame

-a the Creeks . I had noted them at Took

batcha, and recognized them immediately. On Christmas eve we lay shivering in ou r ’ ' ol d -ﬁe l d blankets in Weatherford s corn , and fﬁ General Claiborne,his O cers and men, dined

on next day boiled acorns and parched corn . The lit tle ﬂour and spirits on hand he order

m ed to be distributed a ong the sick . We

were ﬁve days on the return march, and

ou r parched corn constituted only food, the contractor having wholly failed to comply with the timely requisition made for su p

plies . The moral e ﬁ e ct of this bold movement

into the heart of the nation, upon ground I t held sacred and impregnable, was great . taught the savages that they were neither i n accessible nor invulnerable ; it destroyed their conﬁdence in their prophets, and it proved 1 42 LIFE AND TIMES OF what volunteers, even without shoes, cloth

or o u ing, blankets, pr visions wo ld do for their country. Soon after this the Mississippi Volunteers di a ou t sbanded, h ving served their time, and beyond their time . Only sixty remained at

V t o Mount ernon, who had a month longer serve, and the general bitterly complained that his brave men had been permitted to return home without Shoes, and with eight ’ months pay due them . Such were the difﬁculties encountered in that campaign ; these the pri vations endured by patriots in the public service . I was an

- eye witness Of what I relate . Most Of those gallant fellows have gone to their lon g

n ow homes, and are deaf alike to praise and

n censure ; but, in reciting the i cidents Of my ow n f li e, it cheers my heart to render this homage to their memory.

1 44 LIFE AN D T IMES OF ou t in a small pirogue, and capsized near the

Ca h a wb a of mouth Of the , wetting most their ammunition they righted her, however, and proceeded . Next day they had a brush with twelve Indians in a boat ; but, their powder

n bei g damp , they were compelled to retreat .

on e of m e n Wilson , my , got into the cane brake and came near starving, but ﬁnally

n joined the detachment . Wilcox, Simpso ,

on and Armar crossed the river a raft, to make their way to Fort Claiborne ; but, after

- wandering all day in the cane brakes, they got back to the very point they had started

r 1 r on a from . To de scend the v e the r ft was now their only chance . At that moment a boat with eight Indians hove in sight . Wil cox and his comrades got into the cane .

sa w When the Indians the raft they landed, and advanced into the cane to the very spot where Wilcox and his two men stood . The nearest on e was struck down by Wilcox with a paddle— h e split his Skull Open with the blade . Simpson was then shot, and

n Wilcox was seized a d overpowered . Ar mar got Off into the cane and witnessed all that occurred . The savages dragged their GEN ERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 45 priso n ers into the canoe and pinioned them down . At this moment the barge appeared close at hand . The Indians hastily toma hawked and scalped their captives, and took to the woods . The poor lieutenant and

Simpson were found Speechless, and soon expired ; Armar left his hiding-place and got upon the barge . Next day a party of ou r men were ﬁred

on and on e man killed . Colonel Russell

d - d was in a tight place, and roundly his

luck . He could ﬁnd no Indians, had lost

on ou r h his barge, and return marc we lived

a n d . on acorns hickory nuts, rats and mice

To catch these, the soldiers would set ﬁre to

the Indian cabins, and catch the rats as they

d o came ou t . I saw a sol ier offer t w dollars

r a t f for a , and the o fer was rejected ; the

owner demanded ten dollars . We camped the ﬁrst night near the present town Of

Greensborough . I bought a horse Of on e

' on e h u n dr e d Of the detachment for dollars ,

on e Colonel Russell bought , and the troops subsisted on h or se ﬂe sh until we arrived at

Fort Claiborne . Exposure on this unfortunate expedition

T 1 46 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

ff ol d d on i n a ected my woun , and brought

ﬂa m m a t i on . . Dr Neal Smith, a surgeon at

Fort Claiborne, skillfully extracted the ball, which had been in my body and deranging my health ever Since the battle of Burnt n of Cor , the beginning the war. My brave

w of fello s now took leave me, every man de cl a r i n g they would rally again whenever I gave the word .

1 81 4 — In March, , Peter Randon a very clever fellow, who had escaped from Fort

— Mims, where his father perished proposed to m e to take possession Of his farm on the

Alabama River, ten miles below Claiborne, as he was apprehensive that in his absence some on e might get hold of i t whom it might

a om be troublesome to oust . Nine men cc

i d : p a n e me . We planted corn each got his share mine was a thousand bushels, which Subsequently was consumed by the famished

on Tennessee troops their route to Mobile . About this time a friendly Indian report M ed that George Foster, Abram illstead, and a negro, while hunting horses, had been killed . I took my men and went in pursuit.

off The Indians had ﬂed, after chopping

1 48 LIFE AN D T IMES OF Learning that General Jackson was about t o Ba r a n c a s attack the Spanish post, the , near Pensacola, I collected twenty men and set ou t to serve under him . I encountered him returning, the Spaniards having hauled down their ﬂag . On arriving at Fort Mont

of gomery, the resignation Major General

ow n t Flournoy, and his appoin ment to the t command Of the seventh military distric , was communicated to the general . Having

. r e a claim which the U S . Quartermaster

or t o fused to settle examine, I complained

General Jackson . He said nothing, but went to his table and brought me a slip of t paper . I was about to say some hing, when “ d he exclaimed, Not a wor , major. Pre

sent that note . He had written only three “ ” : i D words S e ttl e w th a l e . In half an hour

the money was in my pocket . 1 81 4 Toward the close Of December, , I was

on at the Creek Agency in Georgia business . Late at night an express arrived for Gener

a l Jackson from the Secretary Of War . The general was supposed to be in or near New

n t h e Orleans,preparing for its defe se against

rumored British invasion . Colonel Haw GENERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 49

‘ t kins,the Creek Agent, and General M In osh,

of in command the Georgia troops, then in

of that vicinity, urged me to take charge the dispatches . An inhospitable wilderness and a p e r ﬁdi ou s and revengefu l people lay on the

on route,but I accepted the trust . Mounted

- a compactly built horse, noted for his wind

t h e and muscle, which I purchased at Agen c se t o u t y for the trip , I the same night, tak ing with me only a blanket, my ﬂint and

of steel, my pistols, and a wallet Indian ﬂour for d myself and horse . In seven ays and a

on half I reached Madisonville, the Tche fon ct a ﬁ sh River, and forthwith engaged a ing-smack to carry me across Lake Pont

h r r a i n L c a t . . anding at Fort St John, I

- - found Quarter master general Piatt,who put

on me a ﬁne horse, and directed me to head

of A t quarters, under charge an orderly .

- on head quarters, Royal Street, I learned that the general was below, with the army, in

on front of the British, the plains Of Chal mette Galloping through the city, down the river side, I heard the roar Of artillery . t t The ba le was in full blast . I gave my

i n horse to the orderly, and rushed to the 1 50 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

r h m s t e n c e n t s. w a n s It a magniﬁce t vi ion . On each side ou r men stood silent and reso

lute . The enemy were advancing i n col

u m n s . a , with loud cheers Their martial p proach to the American lines— the fearful

recoil, as whole detachments were swept away by the discharge from ou r works and t h e of broadsides the Carolina, then anchor ed On ou r right— t h e heroism of their Ofﬁ cers, who rushed to the front, waving their swords, and rallied their men into the very

of — jaws death, and, cheering, died was a

so spectacle sublime, that it silenced for a

of -ﬁe l d moment the clamor the battle , and inspired every on e with awe and admiration . There was a si m ultaneous pause in ou r ranks ; for several minutes a dreadful still ness prevailed ; n ot a gun was discharged ; not a shout was heard ; and then there burst

ou r of forth, along whole line, a blaze ﬁre, a crash Of small arms, a deafening roar of artillery, and, when the dun smoke rolled away, the ﬁeld was covered with dead and wounded, and the British columns were in

— n b u t full retreat not ﬂying i gloriously,

t u u n s aggering back, like men reeling nder expected and overpowering blows .

1 52 LIFE AN D TIMES O F The general asked “ if I was broken down ” by my rapid ride .

N O , sir ; but I desire to be near you . e Holding up the dispatch s, and my cre de n t i a l s from Colonel Hawkins, he turned “ t o f his o ﬁcers and said, This express has

e i ht been brought from Georgia in g da ys. From Mobile ou r expresses are often four ’ d on teen ays the route . Chotard, don t

of N O si r speak to me stopping Dale , . You must return to the Agency and to Mil l e d e v il l e on e g as fast as you have come . In hour Major Reid will deliver you your p a pers . ‘ ’ He then inquired as to M I n t osh s and

’ ‘ Nixon s c om m a n dsﬁ the disposit ion of the

Indians, etc . While answering these ques

w a s u tions,I frequently interr pted by the ex

f e n e r a l on e of Colonel !a t e rward G ) Nixon , the most active

e e e e f Ofﬁcers in th e se rv ice . He protect d the fronti r v ry ﬁciently

e during the de sultory war to which it was expos d , and was after t h f . e e e w ard statione d n e ar t h e Bay o St Louis to observe n my,

e e a e the n Off Ship Island . G n ral J ckson and G neral Claiborne e h e re posed the utmost c onﬁd e nce in him . In privat life was a

He e most e stimable and use ful citizen . died some ight years

e . after the war, in P arlington , Hancock County, Mississippi At e a v e ry cr i ti ca l period, his inﬂuenc among the Choctaws contrib

e e h e u t e d gre atly to ke p th m in c ck .

1 56 LIFE AN D T IMES OF

He is like myself, general, very tough . “ ’ ou Well, said he, I know y don t talk N ow with a forked tongue . tell me, how far can you ride that horse in a day ? ” “ or Seventy eighty miles, from daybreak ” to midnight, with light weights . “ Light weights

si r — a n Yes, empty belly and no saddle ” bags . “ V . ery well, major, that will do Cho

d m u tar , give Major Dale y authority, sho ld

t o m a n m his horse fag, ask any he eets to

Off light, and, if he refuses, to knock him

— d m . G and seize his horse And, by , ajor,

I know you will do it .

se t off t I at daylight, and, af er crossing

f a the lake, I met an O ﬁcer, who, as he p h d r oa c e . p , demanded where I was from

- Head quarters .

Well, you must stop and tell me the ” news . “ ’ I can t stop ; if you want news you must travel my way .

“ ’ ' ’ Sir, you don t know me . I m Colonel

of Y o u Sparks, the United States Army. m u t s stop . GENERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 57

And I, sir, am Major Samuel Dale, and

’ when I m under orders I stop for no man .

The colonel bit his lip, but wheeled and

. W rode with me several miles hen parting, I asked him whether I was right or wrong in refusing to halt . “ Right, major, and I ask your pardon . When Colonel Sparks related this incident

- to Old Hickory at the dinner table, the gen “ ’ d of eral sai , There isn t a man this side h — l l G — d can stop Big Sam, and, by , Sparks, if you had stopped hi m I would have had ” you Shot . f In former times it was ashionable, even

n - I t amo g high bred gentlemen, to swear.

of was peculiarly the vice the camp . Gen eral Jackson discarded the vulgar and abom inable habit long before he professed religion .

True, he would,to his latest day, when under “ of B the excitement strong emotions, say y ” the E te r n a l . But in the sense in which he

ts of n used those words, not in burs passio ,

of of but patriotism, they partook more f prayer than Of pro anity, and may be classed ’ with Mr . Erskine s expression in his cele b r a t e d speech o n the t rial of Lord George 158 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

“ n I sa Gordo , y, by God, that man is a ruf

ﬁa n t who shall, after his, presume to build upon such honest, artless conduct as evi ” ’ f L r d r k o . o E s i n e s S e e ch e s dence guilt p , l i 2 Vo . . . 1 . , p The sensation produced i n that high tri bunal by these words, and by the voice, the

fi u r e — b face, the g y all we call the manner — with which they were pronounced by the great advocate, is related to have been elec t r i ca l ; but not more, I fancy, than when Jackson concentrated the fires of his clear “ ” B t r h e E te n a l . gray eye, and exclaimed y Thi s was his exclamation when his men mutinied, and it awed them back into the ranks to atone by a harvest Of glory for a n momentary defectio . Thi s was his exclamation when he left h i s quarters on Royal Street on the 23 d Of 1 81 4 i n December, , to attack the British vaders at t h e first moment Of their approach . “ on ou r By the Eternal,they Shall not sleep

t h e of Se e narrative the Honorable Alexander Walker, the most eloquent and graphic a ccount ever writt of t h e b a t t l e of Ne w Orle a ns a n d its i n cide nts z

1 60 LIFE AND TIMES OF commerce of the country and the a dm i n i s t r a t i on Of the government . Thi s was his exclamation when Louis Philippe was juggling and huckstering i n stead Of paying the indemnity due to us by

of the French . His outburst patriotic reso l u t i on resounded across the Atlantic, and the money was paid .

Thi s t , too, was doubtless his exclama ion in his last wrestle with the tempting ﬁend

of of in the dark valley the shadow death, when his thoughts were upon that God . n whom he had , so lo g worshiped in spirit

u and in tr th .

On the third day after crossing the lake, past midnight, I halted at General Win ’ O chester s quarters in Mobile, and an rderly

h i m roused him up . I handed his dispatch, and he said he wo u ld be ready for me at day light . At sunrise he was not ready, but

A . M sent word to me to come at ten . At t hat hour he said it would be twelve before he could be ready. I replied that if he was n ot ready then I should g O wit hout them .

A t a twelve precisely I rode by, and the p

o f pers were handed to me . For the want D AL E STOPPE D B Y THE S EN TI N EL S .

1 64 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

h o s and some t whisky e t before me . He would not let me speak until my exhausted energies were restored and I had drunk a

of f pint strong co fee, and then he asked for

ou t the news . I pulled my dispatch, but he “ t Y ou hrew it on the table, and said, must ” of tell it . When I related the incidents t h e Of great battle and the ﬂight the enemy, t his veteran soldier wept like a child, and t hen shouted like a madman . Such huzzas

or f I never heard before since . The O ﬁcers

w n s came cro di g in half dres ed, and then the men in masses around the door, and I was obliged to stand there a n d repeat t h e story

t on till daylight . The general then insis ed my taking some rest, and had to place a

’ of guard at the door, such was the desire all t o hear more of the glorious 8t h of January I shall never fear for my country while such a spirit prevails .

st a Next day, Major Woolfolk, who was t i on d t o e at Fort Jackson, applied General ‘ M I n t osh w a s for supplies, as his garrison starving. The general pleaded that he had d barely enough for his Own comman , and t h e t d major urned away in tears . I sai , GE N E RAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 65

General, you are on your way to Mobile . I have a thousand bushels of corn housed

on near Fort Claiborne, your route ; supply

ou Major Woolfolk, and take Of mine what y ” need . He directed me then to examine his stores and report what could be spared, and I reported twent y barrels Of ﬂour and Th ﬁve thousand pounds of p ork . e general afterward told me that this was on e of t h e most gratifying acts of his life .

m on d Next orning, my faithful Pad y, n ow se t ou t d quite recruited, I for Mille ge

. a t ville On the third evening, sunset, I

m a on arrived there, and im ediately w ited d Governor Early with my ispatch . He

warmly . invited me to be his guest, but,

- travel worn and fatigued, I preferred to go

b e to the inn , but had scarcely got in bed fore I was serenaded, and the whole city was

of in a blaze light . I was treated with great kindness and civility by the public-spirited citizens Of that

- high toned city . There was joy and exulta tion all over Georgia .

’ Soon after, I returned to Dale s Ferry and resumed business . 1 66 LIFE AND TIME S O F

X CHAPTER .

- l — Merchandising . E ected to the Convention . General Cowl es — of — Mead . The Legislature Alabama . Savannah Jack . — — e . i D ath of Captain Butler Breveted Br gadier Gene ral . Re c e ti on of e e — p G neral La Fayett Removal Of the Choctaws . n s Settles in Lauderdal e Cou ty, Missi sippi . W HILE thus engaged merchandising and ’ farming at Dale s Ferry, Monroe County, which then composed almost a territory of itself, Governor Holmes appointed me col on e l Of the militia, assessor and collector for the county, and commissioner to take the

or t census and organize beats precincts, wi h

of blank commissions for justices the peace,

ff oﬂi ce s. sheri , constables, and other civil

a d On receipt of these, I requested him to dress them directly to the persons he prefer ‘ red ; but he wrote back that he would rely

o wholly n my discretion . I accepted these

difﬁde n c e di s trusts with , and endeavored to charge them faithfully . In 1 81 6 I w a s elected a delegate to a con v e n t i on called to divide the Mississippi Ter

1 68 LIFE AN D TIMES O F moved into the county of Je ffe r son ; w a s Oft

u u su en elected to the Legislat re, where he ’ ally occupied the speaker s chair, and was

Offic e r I e v e r sa w t the best presiding . Promp , courteous, yet decided, and often imperative, f he not only preserved order, but di fused the dignity Of the chair over the whole House . t He was a fluent and graceful debater, ra her pompous, impairing the force of his logic by t h e of redundancy Of his rhetoric . He was elevated and noble sentiments ; Of u n qu e s t i on a b l e courage irritable, but generous ; fu ll of anecdote and wit ; a delightful com t n . panio , and a fai hful friend He finally

‘ M i ssi ssi died in Clinton , Hinds County, p

i n t h e pi , the communion Of Presbyterian

Church, and at peace with all mankind . My mercantile Operations at Dale ’ s Fer

r 1 8 1 7 . y, especially in , were disastrous The inﬂux of immigrants was incessant, and, Of

s course, they came destitute ofprovision , and hundreds of them without m eans . The sup

i n t h e a n d wh ol ply country was very small, l y inadequate to the demand . From Line

Creek to the Escambia, from the Warrior,

a a h a w b a Tallapoos , and C , and far to the R GE N E AL SAMUEL DALE . 1 69

m north, they ca e with their wagons to me

for . supplies Bread was the ﬁrst demand .

With tears, with persuasions, even with threats they demanded it. Human nature was n ot proof against such distress . I had h saved four thousand dollars in cas , the re

Of sult long years Of toil, p ublic service, and

of privation , and, taking every dollar it, I went to Mobile, and invested it, and staked

a m my credit, to s ve the country fro fam

on ine . These supplies I distributed, twelve ’ of months credit, among thousands people,

of many them utter strangers to me, and it m ended in y ruin . I n 1 81 7 I was a delegate t o the ﬁrst Gen

of eral Assembly the Alabama Territory, at ’ St . Stephen s, and while there, owing to some manifestations Of Indian hostility, Governor Bibb conferred on me the commission of col

n l of o o e . n e Shortly after, the family Ogle and several other persons were murdered, in what is now Butler County, by a party led

on e Of by Savannah Jack, the bloodiest vil lains that ever infested any country . It was

ot h a horrid butchery, and was followed by

e r s m . , until the whole country beca e alarmed 1 70 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

About the same time, Captain Butler, Cap ff tain Sa old, and party, were attacked . The of former, and several his men,were killed .

ff m a n a l Sa old, a brave and very collected , * r most miraculously escaped . Hastily e

cr u it i n m g thirty volunteers, I arched in the “ ” of direction the Flat and Fort Bibb, and

of interred the bodies the dead . These had been shockingly mutilated ; and poor But ’ ou t ler s heart had been cut , and suspended

on a stake . I was engaged in this desultory

war several months, during which I strength

ened Fort Bibb, and erected Fort Dale, and otherwise provided for the security Of the

o settlements . It was impossible t bring these Indians— not more than sixty or se v — of e n t y warriors to action . In the dead

n or of ight the Silence the ambuscade, in

u n small parties, they would murder some

guarded family, and retreat into the impen e t r a b l e swamps and cane brakes of Chu

latchee, Bogue Chito,Warrior, and Sipsey.

of The remains Captain William Butler and Gardner Shaw, wh o on 4th of 1 81 8 were killed the March , , by Savannah Jack a n d of G v l e his party, thirteen miles west reen i le, Alabama, w re

- removed last summer and interred in the vill age grave yard . w Their skul l s stil l showed the marks of the murderous tomaha k .

1 72 LIFE AN D TIME S OF

* committee . We met him and his suite at the Chattahoochee, and, with an imposing

e of cort ge, conducted him to the seat govern ment . The most remarkable feature Of his reception was the e nthusiasm manifested by

on t h e the Creek warriors the route . At ‘ Chattahoochee we found Chilly M I n t osh ‘ of M I n t osh !son the famous General ) , with

of a large party warriors, who marched past the general in single ﬁle, each one giving him their hand . They then , at his request,

of - went through the exercises the ball play, a display Of strength a n d activity such as

of the nations antiquity never witnessed, and only to be seen amon g the Southern tribes, who, by the way, are superior, phys i c a l l y and intellectually, more warlike, and capable Of a higher civilization than any Of the Northern or Western races . I refer more particularly to the Choctaws, Cherokees,

of u I can not, course, en merate all the distinguished men wh o e e f e w r o this party . The military scort was commanded by

e e . e my old fri nd Gen ral Thomas S Woodward , a man whose lif has bee n ful l Of incident and adventure of startling interest . Cap

e e tain Abercrombi and Captain Moore, Colon l James Johnson,

- ex Governor Murphy, John D . Bibb, John N . Freeman, Dan i dr d e . g Bibb, and others, were along N GE E RAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 73

s Chickasaws, and Creeks, whose experiment

a dm i n i s~ in republican government, and the

i on of t r a t an enlightened system Of laws, are now attracting the admiration Of man kind . Ca l l a b e e When we reached the swamp , usually very bad, the Indians had preceded

m us, and had laid down poles, and across the heavy transverse logs to prevent them from

ﬂoating, themselves in the water, and hold ing down the logs until the procession pass ed over. They escorted the general to the

of conﬁnes their territory, evidently regard ing him as a great warrior, deserving this spontaneous homage to his fame . From 1 825 to 1 828 I served in t h e Ala 1 8 1 . 3 bama Legislature In , Colonel George

S . Gaines and myself were commissioned by the Secretary Of War to remove the Choc taws to their new home on Arkansas and

Red Rivers . By the treaty Of Dancing Rabbit Creek they had ceded all their ﬁne domain in Mississippi and Alabama, except a few special reservations and contingent claims . This treaty was brought about by pressure . The Indian is ever averse to the 1 74 LIFE AND TIMES OF

surrender Of land . Though only tenants in common,they have a superstitious reverence

p for the soil Of their birth and the ashes of their ancestors The Southern Indians fought long and bravely for their homes ; the achie vements of the Creeks rival the prodigies Of antiquity. At an earlier p e r i od - , the Chickasaws, single handed, deﬁed and defeated the science and power of the

of f French Louisiana, directed by O ﬁcers

of trained in the armies Europe . The Choc taws did not resist the cession of their coun try by force Of arms ; their chiefs concerted

n Of it, and, appeali g to the tradition their tribe that they had never shed the blood of a white man , silent submission was readily

Obtained . The Legislature Of Mississippi b y an act of consummate policy and of a h

c on solute sovereignty, but Of controverted st it u t i on a l it y in respect to her relations with the federal government and its relations to the Indian tribes— had extended her juris

n diction Over the Choctaws, attachi g their whole territory to her coterminous counties, and taking cognizance of crimes and mis demeanors committed within the same

1 76 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

on f dead sca folds for a certain time, during which they spen d many hours every da y weeping round their remains — absolutely refused to go until the allotted time for these ceremonies had expired . We left

i n them their country, and they afterward removed . I purchased of Ia-cha-hopa his reserve of two sections Of land, being my present resi dence, near Daleville, Lauderdale County,

Mississippi, and removed to it immediately . I was n ow authorized to collect and trans port the Indians that remained on the ceded

se t ou t for lands, and that purpose ; but

on a when I got some ten miles from home, d trail through the woo s, my horse fell, and

on rolled over me . My shoulder was badly S O e dislocated, and my other injuries sev re that I was compelled to aban don the e m i g r a t i on service . GENERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 77

I CHAPTER X .

— l a ck General Dale visits Washington . Interview with Genera J

— — — — W e b ~ M r . M r . M r . n son Their Fare well . Calhou Clay

— - — F . . M r . e e e . ste r . . Benton Charact r Of G n ral Jackson P

— - — — F Th e e . e e s e . Blair . Oyst r supper Jos ph Gal Pet r orce — e n — Printe rs in the South . Cl rkships at Washingto Boarding

— — - n . houses Scandal . Gallantry . Citize s and Congressmen — — I A Braggart rebuked . The Ladies Of Washington . ndian ’ — — e — of Girls Peter Hagner . Dale s early Hom The Graves

his Parents .

A BOUT this time I resolved to visit Wash i n t on g City, to attend to my claim for a large amount due me for corn and other supplies furnished to the troops in the service Of the

on United States at various times, and the

expedition to Fort Dale, in Butler County. ’ On arriving, I put up at Brown s Hotel, and n ext da y went to the quarters of the Alaba da m a . delegation The third y, Colonel Wil

n liam R . King, Of the Se ate, brought me word that President Jackson desired to see “ ” me . Tell Dale, said he to Colonel King, “ e that if I had as littl to do as he has, I should have seen him before n ow The gen H 2 1 78 LIFE AN D TIMES OF eral was walking in the lawn in front Of his

n . mansio as we approached He advanced, and grasped me warmly by the hand . ” No introduction is needed, said the col

h Oh no, said the general, s aking my “ n ha d again, I shall never forget Sam Dale .

- We walked into his reception room , and I

t o n was introduced Colonel Bento , and ﬁve or Si x n other distinguished m e . They were a l l very civil, and invited me to visit them . They were talking over the d engrossing subject at that perio , and the “ President, turning to me, said, General

on Dale, if this thing goes , our country will be like a bag Of meal with both ends open .

u or Pick it p in the middle endwise, and it will run ou t I must tie the bag and save the country . The company now took leave,

e but when I rose to r tire with Colonel King, the general detained me, ordered up some whisky, and directed his servant to refuse all ’ u o visitors ntil n e o clock . He talked over ou r campaigns, and then Of the business that d brought me to Washington . He then sai , “ ou u Sam, y have been true to yo r country,

1 80 LIFE AND TIMES OF

- do to look at . I still smoke my corn cob

Sam, as you and I have Often done together ” it i s the Sweetest and best pipe . - e d When I rose to take leave, he press me “ ou to accept a room there . I can talk to y ” at night ; in the day I am beset . I declined on of the plea business, but dined with him

di n i several times, always, no matter what g taries were present, sitting at his right hand .

He ate very sparingly, only taking a single

of w a s m a n iﬁ glass wine, though his table g cent . When we parted for the last time, he “ se e said, My friend, farewell ; we Shall each ” other no more ; let us meet In heaven .

I could only answer him with tears, for I

On felt that we Should meet no more earth . The Alabama delegation each I n v I t e d me to a formal dinner, and introduced me very generally to the members . Mr. Calhoun was particularly kind . It was from him that I ﬁrst received the assurance that the n u l l iﬁca t i on trouble would be settled . He

m a n of was a simple manners, very plain in

of h his attire, the most moral abits, intense l n of y intellectual, somethi g an enthusiast, a n d n m t u , if perso ally a bi ious , nquestionably G N R E E AL SAMUEL DALE . 1 81 equally ambitious for the glory of his coun

Of try. His style speaking was peculiar l fluent, Often vehement, but whol y without ornament ; he rarely used a figure of speech his gestures were few and simple, but he spoke with his eyes— they were full of con c e n t r a t e d fire, and looked you through ; he

n was earnest in every thi g . He found his

n way very soon to my heart, and I the , and now, deeply regret the dissension sowed by intriguers between h i m and General Jack

son . When I visited Colonel Benton at ﬁve ’ O clock in the evening, I was conducted to him in a room where he was surrounded by his children and their school-books — h e was t teaching them himself. Tha very day he had presented an elaborate report to the

o Senate, the result f laborious research, and had pronounced a powerful speech , yet here he was, with French and Spanish grammars, globes, and Slate and pencil, instructing his children in the rudiments : he employed no teacher. The next morning I was stroll ing, at sunrise, in the Capitol grounds, when whom should I se e but the colonel a n d his lit 1 82 LIFE AN D TIME S OF

n tle ones . Shaking me by the ha d, he said, “ i cka n i n i e s — m These are my p , general y n only treasures . I bri g them every morning among the ﬂowers, Sir ; it teaches them to

sir love God . Yes, , it teaches them to love ” — God love God, sir. I was struck with the h sentiment, and with t e labor this great man performed ; and yet he never seemed to be fatigued . He was not a man Of conciliatory manners, and seemed to me to be always braced up for an attack . He Spoke with a sort Of snarl— a protracted sneer upon his

' — face but with great emphasis and vigor .

e s His manner toward his Opponen ts, and

e c i a l l p y his looks, were absolutely insulting, but it was well known that he was ready to

or stand up to whatever he said did . It is wonderful how he and Mr . Clay avoided personal collision ; they hated each other mortally at on e period ; they spoke very harsh and cutting things in debate ; both were proud, ambitious, obstinate, and imper

of ative ; both were fearless consequences, t and, though habitually irascible and impe u ou s of , perfectly collected in moments emer

o . ff gen y They di ered on almost every point,

1 84 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

n As a companio , especially after dinner, he was most delightful ; at other times he was saturnine and repulsive . Mr. Clay was haughty, and only cordial to his friends .

f on Colonel Benton was sti f with every e . ff Mr. Calhoun was a able and conciliating,

t n and never failed to a tract the you g . But for for grace Of manner, the just medium Of

ff for dignity and a ability, and the capacity of m e n inﬂuencing , no one Of those great men , nor all of them together, may be com pared with General Jackson : the u nt u tored savage regarded him as a sort of avenging deity ; the rou gh backwoodsman followed him with fearless conﬁdence ; the theories of politicians and juri sconsults fell before his intuitive perceptions ; systems and states men were extinguished together ; no measure

n o n and man survived his Oppositio , and the verdict Of mankind awards him precedence over all . He had faults, but they are lost in the lustre of his character ; he was too

i arbitrary and pass onate, and too apt to em brace the cause Of his friends without i n quiring into its justice ; but these were l faults incidenta , perhaps, to his frontier GEN E RAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 85

i n life and military training, and to the justice he had experienced from his oppo

n e n t s.

of I saw Blair, the Globe ; Amos Ken

O of dall and Colonel J Gales, the National

Intelligencer . Blair has the hardest face I ever inspected . The late General Glass

on e - cock, Of Augusta, Of the noblest heart ed men that ever lived, told me that a mess of Georgia and Kentucky members, dining

on e - together day, ordered an oyster supper for thirty, to be paid for by the mess that

m a n produced, for the occasion, the ugliest

n from their respective states . The eveni g came, the company assembled, and Georgia

u presented a fellow not naturally gly, but wh o had the knack Of t h r ow m g his features

o all on n e side . Kentucky was in a peck o Of troubles . Their man, wh m they had cooped up for a week, was so hopelessly drunk that he could not stand on his legs .

At the last moment, a happy thought occur red to Albert G . Hawes . He jumped in f a hack, drove to the Globe O ﬁce, and brought

Blair down as an invited guest . Just as he

n n entered, looki g his prettiest, Hawes su g 1 86 LIFE AND TIMES OF

“ o u t Bl a i r l ook a s N a tu r e m a de ou a n d , , y , ” the o ste r s a r e ou r s b G— d I y , y It is hardly necessary to add that Georgia paid for the oysters .

sa w The ﬁrst time I Blair, about eleven ’ o clock at night, he was writing an editorial on his knee . He read it to Colonel King

on and myself. It was a thundering attack ” — “ Mr. Calhoun what is called a slasher for something that had been said that morn ing in the Senate Colonel King begged ” “ O him to soften it . N , said Blair, let

h i s ou t it tear insides . With all this con c e a l e d ﬁre, he was a man Of singular mild ness Of manners . He invited me to an elegant dinner at his splendid mansion ,

e n crowded with distinguished guests . He t e r t a i n e d a ﬁ e ct a ti on liberally and without , and I was charmed with the beauty and the

of kindness his fascinating wife .

so Amos Kendall, of whom I had heard of much as the champion the democracy, I

-u m a n found a little, stooped p ,cadaverous t n as a corpse, ra her taciturn , unpretendi g

of in manner, but wonderful resources and talent .

GENERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 89

O u Colonel J Gales is a John B ll, they

tell me, by birth and in sentiment, and he

so has the hearty look of one . But if , how came the Bulls to burn h i s ofﬁce during the “ ” ? Th e war Intelligencer, I well remem

for ber, stood up manfully the country, and

t 1 81 3 — 1 4 Of en have I and my comrades , in ,

n whe hungry and desponding, and beset with danger,been cheered up by a stray fragment of his paper . Colonel Gales shook me cordially by the hand, and invited me to dine with him . Being compelled to decline, he insisted on my taking a drink ou t Of his

— ol d e canteen the very best rye ver tasted . The same evening he sent a dozen to my

— - quarters large, honest, square Sided, high

se e shouldered bottles, that we rarely nowa days . The printers at Washington all live in princely style spacious dwellings, pictures, statuary, Parisian furniture, sumptuous ta ! bles, choice wines Nothing in the me t r o ol i s so p astonished me much . A printer in the South usually lives in a little box of a house, not big enough for furniture ; his pictures and statues are his wife and chil 1 90 LIFE AND TIME S OF

f u dren ; his o ﬁce is a mere shanty, stuck f ll of of glue and paste, and all sorts traps ; he

- works in his coat sleeves,with the assistance, sometimes, Of a little,ragged,turbulent dare Of f devil a boy he toils night and day, o ten

m never paid and half starved, aking great

of r e ce i v men out small subjects, and often i n g for it abuse and ingratitude ; the most

‘ generous fellows in the world - ready to give

e t you half they have, though they seldom g much to give . In Washington they drink

Port, Madeira, and Old rye ; with us they seldom get higher than rot-gut

he e w r l e a n s e l t F r om t N O D a .

E M RECOLLECTIONS OF TH ETROPOLITAN PRESS .

The foll owing paragraph is going the rounds of the newspapers “ us di J t look at the luck Of Washington City e tors . Gales has a country Seat ; Seaton has a country s e at ; Blair has Silver Spring ; Rives the dueling - ground ; Kendall has a place nea r

e town ; Major Heiss owns a ﬁne place ; Mr . Ritchie purchas d the e F e princ ly mansion fronting La ayette Square and the Whit House, n of of built by Corcora , the ﬁrm Corcoran and Riggs ; General D f l l e u f Green has a number Of places , inc uding a arg interest in ” the Cumberland coal mines .

e u e Ther is some tr th in this, mixed up with a good d al Of var nish ; but in these few lines the names of the most distinguished men connected with the press in our country are grouped together, l and they form too bri liant a galaxy to pass unnoticed . E PH A S . S G ur Mr JO LE , well known for half a cent y as the senior e d l e n itor Of the Nationa Intellig ncer, is an E glishman by birth,

1 92 LIFE AN D TIMES OF i n t on g . He asked me many questions about the Indians, and as Often as I answered him

l e t h e e . e whi in point Of ability it stands in high st rank Mr . Gal s t h e e of i e H is now long past m ridian l f . e is a living political a u t ob i o r a h e e e t h g p y, having known intimat ly the stat sm n, e di plo m a t i st s t h e e l e th e of r e , b l s, and intrigues th ee g nerations . What amusing memoirs h e might write ! He is generous and hospitable

v . e e e e en to a fault A prof ssed epicur and fond Of a rich c llar, the ple asure s of t h e table and the facility with which his purs e Op e ns to every application have always ke pt him comparativ e ly

. e e e poor If he has a country s at I never discov r d it, but his ta on e r e che r che e ble is Of the most and hospitable in the city, nli

e hi s on e of v ned by anecdotes and wit, and graced by the most f accomplished o her sex . “ ” F AN S L A C I . I r of R P B R , better known as Blai the Globe , com

n d F f e m e c e . his career as an editor at rank ort, K ntucky Amos

e . e M r Kendall was at one tim his associate Originally fri ndly to .

e h im a e e Clay, and connect d with by marri g , he subs quently, with the great body Of what was then calle d t h e N e w Court party in

e e e t h e K ntucky, attached himself to G n ral Jackson, and followed f w e h e e fortune s o that great man to Washington, h re stablish e d

e l of t h e e the Globe . It speedily b came the nationa organ D mo e e cratic party and a prevailing inﬂuenc at the Whit House . It e e e t maintain d its ascend ncy, notwithstanding occasional and viol n

th e c t h e e th e e a d opposition in Democrati ranks, to clos of n xt M r e c ministration . . Blair was constantly consult d by both Ja kson Va n e r e e e h e and Bur n . It is ce tain he nev r betray d th m , though

u l had be e n charge d with treache ry to Mr . Clay . His paper was e r a di c a l e e tra from the outs t , and gradually became , n ver xhibit

th e e or . v e ing, at any crisis, slightest h sitation timidity It ne r

- e . w nt for half way measures Its tone was bold, dogmatical, and deﬁant ; its denunciations savage and fe rocious ; its sarcasms bit

e e . like vip rs, and friends and foes alike dr aded its fangs As a

l e w partisan journa , it was conducted with minent ability, and ith

y t or n u rare ﬁdelit and courage . It never betrayed its par y was GEN ERAL SAMUEL DALE . 1 93 he would take up ﬁrst one book and then another, and Show me that other nations,

grateful to its friends . On the Opposition it made indiscriminate of e su b m i s war ; it charge d at the point the bayonet, and n ither sion nor ﬂight arre sted its merciless tomahawk . I remember but

— i t . on e exception was always tender to Mr Crittenden, even when

ﬂa yi n g aliv e his bosom friends .

Mr . Blair is considered a remarkably ugly man . His features

e are hard inde d, but his countenance evinces benevolence ; nor

a r e does it belie him . His manners bland, his temper “mild, and on e would ne ver suppose that he could indite the terrible i n v e c t iv e s that daily emanated from his proliﬁc and vigorous pen . It u b l a z i was a volcano constantly in er ption, p g , burning, overwhelm - ﬂ ds . ing with its lava oo all that ventured to withstand it Mr . f il it / Blair wrote with singul ar a c yy His most powerful leaders

kn e e f i n Oﬂi ce on were jotted down upon his , the , scraps Of paper, and passed immediate ly to the compositor — mental da gu e rr e o types leaping from a brain of prodigious energy . During his reside nce in Washington he accumul ated a hand v c on se some fortune . He li ed in elegant style , and his mansion, crated and adorned by household divinities, whom to see was to i worship, was constantly crowded with d stinguished guests . He has for several years been enjoying the otium cu m dig ni ta te in a beautiful retreat near the metropolis, but, I am sorry to perceive, e e has return d to political lif , and is wandering after false gods, f forsaking the faith o the fathers , and trampling into the dust its holy emblems .

If t h e its l a l i n Globe owed reputation to Mr . B air, he is m in y debted for his fortune to the indomitable energy and ﬁne talent of

. HN RIVE S his partner, Mr JO C . , who was charged with the busi ness concerns Of their extensive establishment . Mr . Rives is a huge, burly ﬁgure, from Franklin, the roughest county in Virginia .

- of- He has a strong and masculine matter fact mind, a shaggy ex t e r i r b r us u o e . f , and very q manners Many o your Mississippi read l ers remember the ate Robert Cook , Of Lexington, Holmes County, 1 94 LIFE AND TIMES OF

i n now, and ancient times, in other quarters d Of the worl , have similar customs . He

of — a n - n adjutant general the state ungainly, rough hew , awkward

of e e . R w s man, nobl h art He and ives ere cou ins, and much alike,

e l R n exc pt that Cook was an Apol o compared with ives . He is o e d of Of the shrew est men . His mind was originally purely mathe m a ti c a l - Ofﬁ c e w , but the printing , the best school in the orld, poured di its ra ance into it, and, if he does not adorn every thing he

h e He touches, has the gift Of Midas, and turns things into gold . ou t of ol d made a large fortune the Globe establishment, and still

e ou t of He e v coins mon y the Congressional Globe . n er made but on e failure ; that was when he bought the Bladensburg dueling

r ffi ground and tu ned gentleman farmer . In his O ce he is a C O l ossu s on e e , but his farm a mer theorist, with the shabbi st stock,

h e t . the meanest fences , and the poorest crops in county

R of a . Mr. ives is a man warm and humane he rt Merit in mis e on e of fe w fortune ﬁnds i n him a steady fri nd . He is the rich men I know who recur with pride to their former poverty ; and it a is his boast that, after he had cquired wealth , and was looking

i h e on e h i s own f around for a w fe, chose from the bindery of o ﬁce,

e m a where sixty young females were mployed . And well y he

e on e e boast ; for, with characteristic good s nse, he selected whos v ul grace, beauty, and irtue wo d ornament and honor the most ele t d v a e sphere . The career of AM OS KE NDALL is so well known I shall merely of — a - glance at it . The son a plain farmer hard working student — i f — a a t a New England college tutor in the fam ly o Mr . Clay party editor in Kentucky— postmaster general and biographer of Andrew Jackson— chief director of the National Telegraph— now quietly c omposing me moirs of his tim es for posthumous publica e e e h is tion . He is univ rsally known for his tal nts as a writ r,

capacity for organization and details, his unconquerable industry h a n d ability to labor . W en I ﬁrst saw him he had a wheezing

voice, an asthmatic cough , with a stooping frame , and a phthisicky

’ on e of Ro of physiognomy, reminding Madame land s description

1 96 LIFE AN D TIMES OF l a r l ol d - y the , worn looking ones . I met no

so man who interested me much .

ment and unwavering ﬁdelity to General Jackson . That h e has great moral courage is evident from the fact that in no e m e rge ncy

h e was ever known to retreat , but stood, like a savage, with his

v e spe ar in his hand, and his bow and qui r at his back . We must

M e n make allowances for contemporary praise and censure . and part ies are not so formed that there are only gods on on e side and on only devils the other .

Ke n da ll wa s Mr. once embarrassed in his circumstances, but

t u ds was relieved by for nate investments in Western lan . He has a country seat near Washington, but when I saw it, many years

e since, it was a skeleton farm , and , like himself, m agre and e m a

c i a t e d. e Like his friend and colaborer, the Honorabl Thomas H.

Benton , he is now devoting himself to literary labors for posterity, and by those labors posterity will pass judgme nt upon his li fe and

. l character At present the Opinion Of the wor d is conﬂicting, and may be summed up thus : Too b a d for a ble ssin g — t oo g ood for a cur se ; I wi s r o m sou ou we r e e r — or wor s " h , f m y l , th t b tt e .

A OUN i w Mr . C LH was the youngest of ﬁve d stinguished men hose names were presented for the presidency during the last year of

’ fe w Monroe s administration . A years previous he had entered

Congress, a young man, without antecedents, and soon signalized himsel f as on e Of the ablest debaters in an assembly a dorne d by “ n e of Randolph, Clay, Gaston , Quincy, Pinck ey, and oth r giants

N O e . those days . man, exc pt perhaps Mr Pitt, ever acquired par w a th l i a m e n t a r y reputation so rapidly . But the English orator s e f w heir o the illustrious Chatham, who shook the British senate ith

e e i n his thunder, and he ntered public lif sustained by patrician

de ﬁ ﬂu e n ce s, with an organized party, powerful in numbers, but

t OIm . . C cient in leadership, to uphold him Mr began his career e th e without any such advantages, and made his way sol ly by force f o l l . inte ect At the outset, his opinions as to the constitutional

powers Of Con gress were liberal almost to latitudinarianism . R GEN E AL SAMUEL DALE . 1 97 Two things attracted my attention special l — or y in Washington the rage f clerkships,

- and the number Of boarding houses .

w on 4th These opinions ere distinctly announced the Of February, 1 of e 1 8 7 , in a speech in favor internal improvem nts by the gen eral governme nt on the broadest scale . That speech recommend ed him particularly to Pennsylvania, and for many years he con

v e tinn e d to be her fa orite . Mr . Monroe soon after call d him to t h e t of Depar ment War, which had long been in feeble hands, and the source of many evils during the recent conﬂict with Great u e e n Britain . He soon inf s d into it his characteristic order and

e r . gy His reports were elaborate and able, and continued to

h e of 1 1 enunciate t views his speech of 8 7 . It would be interest ing and instructive to review the expansion and contraction of this ’ f great man s mind in regard to this mooted power . No man a i t m a n ﬁrmed with more emphasis ; no , at a later period , Opposed

e t h e th e it with more z al ; and yet, toward close Of his career, in

l e w e h e Memphis Convention, whi e arguing against the g neral po r, returned practically to his early v iews by declaring the Mississippi “ ” e e Riv r a great inland sea, and therefor justifying any amount of national expe nditure . But I am not writing the biography Of

. e Mr . Calhoun I refer to those incid nts only to show why and upon what grounds he was at that period presented for the presi

de n c . Th e v y leading politicians of Pennsyl ania, headed by Sam uel D . Ingham, established a journal at Washington to support

. I t E b e him was conducted by Thomas Agg, an nglishman, I e liev , who wrote with brilliancy and vigor . It was particularly venomous toward Mr . Crawford, by long Odds the most prominent — a of r candidate man stubborn courage and sterling vi tue, who

e of e stood impregnabl to the blows his adversari s , but was placed h s or da c om ba t when his prospects were brightest by a stroke of of Th e paralysis , which deprived him locomotion and speech .

Calhoun party Of that day soon after merged in the Jackson party,

e . f a t but I believ Mr Agg did not ollow it into this alliance , but 1 98 LIFE AND TIMES OF

n ot r e There is , in any country, a more ﬁned and intellectual body of men than the

t . of a ch e d himself to Mr . Adams I am ignorant his subsequent He d r of career . probably ied in an obscu e clerkship , the grave so much genius at Washington . About the same time PETER F OR CE became conspicuous in t h e

e of metropolis as a journalist . He was a stanch support r John He Quincy Adams . published the National Jour nal and other f . o papers . Mr Force is a man methodical mind and of singul ar indust ry . No man has contributed so much to our documentary

v e history . His library is extensi , and abounds in rare pamphlets

ll v hi th and journals . He sti sur ives at Was ngton, and is e univer sal refe ree and arbitrator in all matters of controversy connected f with the literature or politics o our early times .

We come now to General D UF F G REEN . As editor of t h e ” Telegraph he was known and fe lt from on e e xtremity Of t h e

on e b e e Union to the other. At time ex rcised some inﬂuence in of e s h e the councils G neral Jack on, but was too dogmatical and e e l ov d dictatorial to be long acc ptabl to the illustrious chief, who e

n dictation too well to tol e rate it in any o e else . In the fe ud

e M r . u which soon sprang up betw en Van Buren and Mr . Calho n, D ff e e e e u Green sided with the latt r, and gradually b cam viol nt i i e and ultra in opposition . As an ed tor he was distingu sh d for t h great abilitie s and great defects . He appears to have adopted e

e maxim of Lysand r, that it is impossible to do too much good to n e e e e v friends or t oo much evil to e mies, and he seem d to r gard

r l He v e r y man a s dange rous who happened to b e powe fu . li ed in e of an atmosphere of combustion , and, as has be n said Bossuet, th e remote st murmu r of controversy re ached his ear ; the ﬁrst

ﬂash of t h e combat awakene d his wrath ; t h e ﬁr st p e al of t h e

e trumpet stirred his blood, and in a mom nt, with rushing sound ,

- th e e n like some storm cloud rolling along ridg s Of the mou tains, he might be seen swee ping down to the carnage— the e agle of t h e

l e of Te legraph . His pen was like the sca p l your distinguished

e e : cu t e e ou t e ffe c surgeon , Dr. Warr n Ston it rough and d p, but t

200 LIFE AND TIME S OF

-Si h t Congress, by a miserable and Short e d

w a economy, directed the wrong under the

’ ruin ever prevailed on him to deviate a hair s -breadth from his cour se .

r f — m Contempora y with Du f Green someti es acting in concert, e — but oft n against him was a man, not his equal in nat ural abil

of e e ities, but superior tact, of b tt r judgment, more geni al in t e m per, and more persuasive in manner , who kne w how to improv e a vi ctory and how to recover from a defeat— a man who seldom dis trusted a friend, and was still more rarely d e ceived by an e nemy

— a wh o i R R e man , l ke Old ough and eady, nev r surrendered, but chiv alr ously ﬂung away his sword the moment he heard the cry of quarter— a man who counseled with t h e age d without becoming

e obsolete, and caress d the young without becoming an enthusiast

— e of W th e s R who enjoyed at onc the conﬁdence the y , the oanes,

e of e the Barbours , and Taz wells, the sages the renown d common

Riv e se s wealth, and the admiration Of the Masons, the , and the

e - — a Floyds, who were then looming into pow r and pre eminence man who united Parisian manners with republican simplicity, and

l e e had versati ity without caprice, wit without malic , grac without

ffe a ctation, courage without Quixotism , zeal without bigotry, a di warm imagination and a scriminating judgment, the tact of a or courtier without the slightest approach to servility cunning, and patriotism on the broadest scale with the most intense Virgin ian M RI TC HI E Of R . of H AS ism I refer, course, to the late T O , the ich ” e N ous Ve r r on s m i mond Inquir r Old , as he was fa liarly styled

- at e ve ry cross road tavern in the commonwealth .

Polic Poli ti cs th e w e . , says Bulwer, is art Of being is for others y

’ f e of t h e i is the art o being wise for one s s lf. The editor Inqu rer was an adept in both . He conquered as Often by conciliation and

e i address as by the vi gor of his onset . His most d adly javel ns

e e e w re adorn d with ﬂow rs . Every thing that he said was frosted

of He e e i over with an incrustation candor . n v r fought w thout an

D f e e wa s e e w . Object , and n ver thr away his ammunition u f Gr n

e e of . pugnacious, and Ofte n fought for the mer ple asur tilting He GENERAL SAMUEL DALE . 201

a d ca p ta n du m and contemptible cry Of r e

t r e n ch m e n t , has reduced this talented and

i wa s as fond of scalping as Doctor Stone is of dissect ng . Thomas R e he itchie kn w that was able, when necessary, to beat down rocks .

He never struck at shadows, and his Opponents never laughed at

his blows . f In the great presidential contest to which I have re erred, he

. e of supported Mr Crawford !a citizen Of Georgia, but a nativ Vir e e ginia) until his health becam hopeless, and th nceforward he r e l u ct a n t l t h e G y yet zealously devoted Inquirer to eneral Jackson, e whom he had previously denounced with great asp rity . But for f R the activity o Mr . itchie and the unbounded control Of the In

u ir e r q over public Opinion, the vote Of Virginia would probably e have been cast for Mr . Adams , who was supported th re at that i juncture by a powerful and brilliant party . His journal and n

ﬂ u n e h e e ce were the n at their z nith, and carried every thing his w own way . It is doubtful hether General Jackson ever c on si d for ered his services, great as they were , an atonement his early

— severity . The re may have be e n some social intercourse a n a m t — nes y there undoubtedly was but no love, I fancy, and little con ﬁd e n c e . There were two critical periods in his editorial l ife that threat w ened him ith shipwreck . One immediately after the Sou th a m p e e h e ton insurr ction, wh n broached doctrines looking to the total abolition of slavery ; the other where he took ground against the

e ul - famous Sp cie Circ ar and the sub treasury, and Openly preached state banks and conservatism . On both occasions , this wary and l sagacious pilot, deceived by fa se lights, mistook the channel that public Opinion ﬁnally ﬂowed in ; but he soon wore ship a n d spread a l l on sail the right tack . He suddenly became the very C e r b e of ” rus our peculiar institutions , and the most inveterate oppo of r ot! ! . W ll nent his former p g , Mr i iam C . Rives, the distinguished

of ci - de v a n t leader the conservatives . When President Van B u ren came ou t with his celebrated anti u a Texas letter, a cauc s was held at W shington , and it was de I 2 202 LIFE AN D TIMES O F

useful body Of men t o t h e lowest point a t

th e which men can live in metropolis .

v e e t e rm i n e d to pre nt his r nomination . That arrangeme nt carrie d “ e n e w D e with it the n cessity for a emocratic organ, the Glob Va n being devoted to Mr . Buren, and too stubborn to be coaxed

. . e t h e F or or coerced Mr Ritchie was select d for position . this

R . e M he was indebted to obert J Walker, then a s nator from issis on sippi . In the consul tations this subject the President fav ored

e i e e e we an d tor from anoth r stat , whose pr tensions re pressed with

. e pertinacity . It was then that Mr Walker r lated the following

: Th e de e - e e th e Of e e anecdote Marquis Bell Isl l ft party the L agu ,

h e f e I V . of t h e b a and attached ims l to H nry , in hopes Obtaining

Of F TO of i ton rance . the application his friends the k ng said, “ w ood r a ce s owe coldly, Let him be satisfied ith my g g I nothing ” e to those who bring me nothing . Mr . Polk instantly d cided ; w of his first choice was discarded for the ant political influence,

R e M r . on and itchi , after some coqu etting his part, in an evil hour

e for his fam , became the organ at Washington . His idiosyncrasy

- u c on sti t u was not national . His strict constr ction doctrines and t i on a l e e e abstractions w re regarded as provincialisms , and fr qu ntly

e He a plac d him in antagonism with his antece dents . was S mson “ ” ni on l a shorn Of his locks . The U was emphatica ly a f ilure , ﬁfty fathoms be low the v ig or of its pre decessor . R e h e Mr . itchie was said to have b en embarrassed when went to e N O Washington . The public printing was probably proﬁtabl .

u l He man kne w how to e mploy a fortune more gracef l y . was

bea u i de a l of e e t h e my a g ntleman , after the mod l of Old French

- ﬁ r m . e school . At table his good hu or was irresistible By the a l l vi r side he was charming . He had the social and domestic tue s that re nde r life agre e able and make u p a perfect private

r e dil e c c haracte r . He was honest and sincere in his political p

i e e e e e su i t i c a l . F or t ons , but as an ditor som times h artl ss and J a or e e te mporary e xpedient, for a party triumph , to r tri ve an error, h e would change his course or strike down a friend without r e

e e e e h is e mors . Strang that a man so g n rous in p rsonal relations

204 LIFE AND TIMES OF

of scorn it, and feels the dignity an honest m a n , as Pop e and Burns felt it in the noblest creations of their intellect, he is doomed to

of r oﬁt l e ss or a long life p service, to an early and unhonored tomb ! N O ﬂowers bloom

n upon his path , and, should the woma he

on e has loved plant upon his grave, the very p ittance She thus piously employs must de prive her little orphans of a meal ! t And this is a clerkship at Washing on , so

so much sought for, much envied by those a who do not know its melancholy det ils .

Better, much better go into the wilderness,

on bivouac some distant lake,nestle in some mountain glen or on the ﬂow e r - scented

ou t prairie, and hew a living from wood and earth, than seek a bawble that glitters only to disappoint .

— Better salaries not rotation, but promo tion— and immunity against political pro scription for clerks that abstain from party intrigues and faithfully perform their Ofﬁcial d duties, are reforms sadly neede . When a poor unfriended ofﬁcial dies at

of Washington, the only resource his widow i s — a - boarding house . And what is the R GENE AL SAMUEL DALE . 205 history Of those establishments i n the me t r op ol i s ? A hard struggle for credit to b e

a of gin with, little run patronage, a falling

Off , bills, duns, constables , distraints, sacri

ﬁce s ‘ — , ruin , broken health, and slander for that viper seldom fails to strike its fangs into the fame Of an unfortunate widow at

of - sh e the head a boarding house . If be

Sh e beautiful, it is a fatal dowry. If have a daughter, pure as the shrined Madonna, still

on the foul breath Of envy is her fame, and it withers before the innocent maiden dreams that even a light word has been whispered .

Sometimes, indeed, through distress and deception , they fall . While I was in Wash i n t on sa d g , circumstances brought a exam ple to my notice . She lives yet, and if her

on eye falls these lines, She will recognize the hand that was once raised to avenge her dis honor, but was stayed by her overwhelming

of tenderness for the destroyer her fame .

Her walk now is dreary and desolate . Kin dred and friends are gone ; ﬂed forever the bright brow Of innocence and youth ; and

sh yet in her destitution , lost and guilty as e sh e was, is less criminal than some that 206 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

. G O si n . judge her , and no more I can not think Of her without wishing that her

on pilgrimage may close, invoking the false one the curse Of Heaven ; and yet her last prayer will be for her betrayer ! Such is woman ! Such the sublime and enduring character of her affections— the generous and unselﬁsh nature of her heart ! I Observed at Washington what surprised me much, that married men were in more demand as gallants than single gentlemen . Petticoat inﬂuence seemed to me to be pre

n dominant, and grave senators were ma aged and controlled by a pleasant ﬂirtation . This

m is, perhaps, as it should be . The kingdo s Of the Old World have never been so well governed as when under the administrat ion of women ; and if we could every where turn ou t ou r ofﬁce - u lazy holders, and substit te their pretty wives and daughters, probably

on business would go better . One thing did n ot please me at Washing ton . Some Of the ladies seemed to prefer

of the arm any member Of Congress, no mat

u or ter how gly repulsive, to the attentions of the handsom e clerks and citizens of the

208 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

day. Scarce a woman, particularly if pretty, w a s allowed to pass without an ill-natured

remark . If gallanted by a member Of Con

gress, and especially a Southerner, there was

no mercy for her . On di ts passed from h o

- tel to hotel, from boarding house to board

- ing house, exaggerated as they circled round,

until the crude suspicion , the unfeeling jest,

became a received reality. Those men were conﬁrmed r ou !s themselves ; worn - out de

b a u ch e e s on di s , subsisting stimulants

Ofﬁce - charged holders, bitter against all the

or ofﬁc e - world ; g reedy seekers, chagrined by delay ; and they avenged themselves by this

n f war o emale reputation . ’ - At a wine party given to me at Brown s, a rather distinguished gentleman addressed

of himself pointedly to me, spoke lightly the

se x virtue Of the , and very plainly hinted at

his successes . I had never heard such lan

guage where I came from , even among the “ ” ff . Indians . It o ended me Sir, said I, “ no man with a true heart sneers at woman .

N O gentleman ever boasts of his gallantries .

He who does, violates conﬁdence, and can

n ot m . , therefore, clai to be believed There

THE BRAGGA T REB E R UK D .

21 2 LIFE AN D TIMES OF

it is difﬁcult to withstand their glances . An

Indian maid, when a warrior approaches,

i bends her head like a droop ng leaf. It is only in the deepest recesses, when no others are near, that her lover sees the whole lustre

or Of her eyes, even the blushes that mantle on her cheek . They love intensely, and make the most faithful of wive s and the ten d r s Of e e t mothers . I failed in getting my claim satisfactorily settled, notwithstanding its justice and the inﬂuence Of my friends . The third auditor, to whom it was referred, Mr. Hagner, was impracticable— such a man I never sa w b e “ ” fore ; the moment the word claim was

ff u mentioned he sti ened his back, drew p his legs, pulled down his Spectacles, pricked up

ou t his ears, and stuck his mouth as though he would bite . I would rather encounter half a dozen Indians than such a harrier of a man . His integrity was unimpeachable, t but he worried me much , and I lef the mat ter unsettled . I returned home through Virginia and

of . Georgia, the scene my early adventures Most of it I had traversed when it was a E N E R E D G AL SAMU L ALE . 21 3 pathless wild beset with enemies ; n ow I found villages, towns, cultivated ﬁelds, and all the concomitants of w ealth and civiliza tion . Some Old friends I met with ; many were in the grave . I went, for the last time, to the place where I had laid my poor father

so and mother many years ago . Briers had

t oo grown over them , and wild ﬂowers . I wept once more Over their honest dust, and for others very dear to me, now in the grave, and, saddened and thoughtful, returned to my home . 2 14 LIFE AND TIM ES OF

P E XI I CHA T R .

Of M — fﬁ r — Legislature ississippi . State O ce s Death of G e n e r a l - s . f — o 1 83 6 . Dick on Legislature Singular Mortality . The

— — of n S . . s great Question the Sessio S Prentis Adam L . Bin — l — — gaman . Colonel George L . Fal . The Mississippian John ‘ — Th e e — — M M u r r a n . e . T . Democratic L ad rs Banks . Spe cula

— — — tion Public Moral s The Future Of Mississippi . Her His

- — — Th e f f n F . tory . Close o Li e His Consolatio aith in God — His Death Personal Appearance and Character.

' I N 1 83 3 the Legislature of Mississippi passed an act parceling the country recently acquired from the Choctaws into counties, and providing for the organization of the same . At the ﬁrst election I was chosen to

of represent the County Lauderdale . The

f . state o ﬁcers were Hiram G Runnels, Gov e r n or ; Daniel Dickson, Secretary Of State ;

John H . Mallory, Auditor ; James Phillips,

Treasurer ; Matthew D . Patten, Attorney * General .

. l All dead Governor Runne s moved to Texas , was appointed of of collector customs for the port Galveston, and was a state

e . senator when he di d last year General Dickson, subsequently e e e a on l ct d to Congress by gener l ticket , died in Arkansas his w a of e y to the Hot Springs . In the House R presentatives, as

21 6 LIF E AN D TIMES OF

V n n r s n . a e o gaman, S S . Prentiss, William ,

Benj . F . Stockton , Thomas H . Williams, T .

a M . Tucker, D . M . Fulton ,John Bell, Fr nk lin Lore, N . G. Howard, Gordon E . Boyd, V W. C . Demoss, and Wm . ick, were among the most prominent members . Owing to a conﬂict b etween the two houses on of su s the question adjournment, and the

of pension business, the governor adjourned

of them, by proclamation , after a session

only twelve days . In 1 83 6 the following gentlemen com

f : posed the House o Representatives A . L . ‘ Bingaman ,John T . M Murran ,F . C . Talbert,

John Wall, William Dodd, John L . Irwin,

Thos . Lindsay, D . H . Hoopes, Amos Whit ing, Samuel K . Lewis, Buckner Harris, A .

. G. Brown, Samuel T . Scott, E . S Ragan, J

. . E . Porter, Joshua Murray, J. C Monet, J

di e years he maintained a high position in th e public service, and d

n h i s i of poorer than when he e ntered it, leavi g ch ldren the riches

an honorable name . If it be praise to have lived beloved and to

e . die without reproach , th n it is due to him “ l It n ow only remains for us to pay the ast honor to his mem s r — o y sad, because it seems like breaking the only link that bind we — the living to the de ad ; sole mn , when reﬂect how soon how e v ery soon— some friend now present may invoke the same tribut ” for oursel ves . R U D GENE AL SAM E L ALE . 21 7

R . Nicholson, W. Dunlop, Thomas H. Wil

liams, A. R . Johnson, Thos . W . Dulany, A .

M . Paxton, A . W. Ramsay, John C . Thomas,

P. K . Montgomery, Geo . Leighton, Samuel

Ellis, J. W. Nicholson , Samuel Dale, W.

h r sb . . W t e . Ar e . y, J W Pendleton , C C nett,

‘ A . W . Jones,W. G . Wright, A . B . Dearing,

D . M . Fulton , H . Phillips, Fleet Magee, ‘ M Ki n n l . e . Samuel J. Gholson , J y, Jas E lis,

G . B . Augustus, H . W . Norton, A . E . Dur

ham , Franklin Lore, A . P . Cunningham, T. ff V J . Co ee, J. W. King, . E . Howard, E . A . ‘ ‘ M skil l M A fe e . Ca . . Durr, A , Morgan , S S

J . Prentiss, T . J. Green , Alfred Coxe, . H V . e Horne, George H . Gordon , J. A entr ss,

P . W. Farrar, Isaac Jones, E . C . Wilkinson, r P. Duval,, Allen Walke . W Charles Lynch was Governor ; B . .

of . Benson, Secretary State ; John H Mal

Tr e a su r lory, Auditor ; Charles C . M ayson, l >I¢ e r G e n e r a . ; Matthew D . Patton , Attorney

All these executive ofﬁ cers and thir ty- six or more of the above or of representatives , all then either very young in the prime

n w e of life, are o dead . To these may be add d many the senators ,

f e . . and their presiding o ﬁcer, Gen ral John A Quitman of 1 83 6 of e The Legislature , in point tal nt , was the most supe

’ n or body that ever convene d in this state since the Convention of 1 8 1 f 7, that met in the town o Washington . 21 8 LI F E AN D TIME S OF

The great question of the session was the admission of the representatives from the recently organized counties . They were

on opposed constitutional grounds, mingled, however, with strong political feeling, for party lines were strictly drawn, and there was a U. S . senator to elect, whose com plexion depended very much on the admis

or of sion rejection the new members . The opposition was led by Mr . Prentiss, whom I then sa w for the ﬁrst time. He was the

of Tecumseh the Legislature, and very much like that great orator in the control of his

of voice, the play his countenance, and a peculiar way he had of hurling ou t his

— of words a sort hissing thunder. In speaking he was always energetic, often vio

a n d lent, at such times the frown of Red a g untlet was stamped upon his brow, and his expression not only sardonic,but satanic .

He could be pathetic and persuasive, and then his voice became plaintive as . a ﬂute,

sa d his eye grew humid, his face , and he seemed to cast himself, like a child, into ’ one s arms . When he was in a good humor his manner became playful, his eyes spark

220 LIF E AN D TIM E S or

At the bar he never had a superior. He

n ot had not much turn for public life, much

m oﬂi ce n o a bition for , and made great ﬁgure

in mere party discussion ; in fact, his polit

ical information was not extensive, and in the controversies of the hustings George

Poindexter, Robert J. Walker, Henry S .

Foote, John D . Freeman, and others, were

his superiors . He seldom read newspapers, and had n o exaggerated respect for the wis

dom of the sovereign people . In the days of Hamilton he would have been his de

f . voted riend He respected Madison, but

‘ e ffe r son ﬁ abhorred J He was compelled, h against his will, to admire the eroic charac t e r of Jackson, but he strongly expressed his contempt for John Tyl e r j ' He admired

“ L i of Our grandfather, Major was a strong Federal st,

l of l i of ha te d . the schoo Washington , and , ke others that school, Mr

r Jefferson wi tﬁ p erf e c t ha t ed . To his boyish intercourse with his grandfather is to be attributed much of the political spirit which

’ i fa marked Se a r g e n t s mature years . Seargent was a part cular v im bib or i t e with him, and, unconsciously perhaps, was thus early ing principles and a habit of feeling in reference to public affairs ” which underwe nt no essential change until the da y of his death .

i . i 1 9 . L r ti ss . . f e of P en , vol , p ” “ 1 The President !John Tyler) is a traitor and a fool . May he ’ nl t h e of f l . meet a traitor s fate, u ess luck the oo can save him i I b d . . 2 19 . ol . . , v ii , p R GENE AL SAMUEL D ALE . 22 1

and loved Mr. Clay, his great soul, his big brain, and his lofty patriotism . But Mr . W ebster, with his antique head, his Homeric of imagination, and grand ideas nationality, was the real interpreter of his political opinions . On all constitutional questions

Mr. Prentiss concurred with that great

s . juri t In their tastes, as well as in their humor and convivial propensities, there was some resemblance between them . The ex elusion of those illustrious men for General

Taylor, literally a mere military chieftain, without the commanding faculties of Jack son or , the scholarship and experience of

— a Harrison veteran warrior, but wholly ignorant of public affairs and the structure

— of ou r government deeply disgusted Mr . * Prentiss .

“ I admire the character of General Tayl or as much as any of man, but I have great contempt for the giddiness the people, who wish to make him President for no oth er reason than that of

th e S his being a successful warrior . I presume he is best pecimen of. a general to be found ; but to put aside all the statesmen of the countr y for the pur pose of placing him in an ofﬁce in which his military capacity can be of no service is worse than ridicu lous .

e However, I feel but little interest in politics nowadays, and car ” L i e o Pr e n tiss . . but little what the silly sovereigns do . f f , vol ii , 429 p . . 222 LIF E AN D TIMES OF On the exciting question which divided 1 83 6 the Legislature of , Mr . Prentiss made

a grand display of his capacity as a debater.

w a s He . vigorously Opposed, however, by

t h e Democratic leaders, and by the Missis

si i a n n Ow p p , which was conducted then, as , * with consummate ability . He was serious

’ of e e In taking this vi ew Mr . Prentiss I reﬂ ct General Dal s opin w e ions and my own . It is kno n to many who may r ad these pages w e that for several years the personal relations bet een Mr . Pr ntiss

e n ot ou t of and the writ r were not friendly, growing, the Mississippi

ul e contested election, but from another matter, the res t, in a gr at

of e on degree, misrepresentation and malice . The f eling, my part, h e e . t soon died away, and Mr . Pr ntiss did not cherish it long On 1 5th of e e June, just befor he l ft New Orleans for the last time, he ‘ M Ra e sent me, through a mutual friend !Honorable John J . ) , a

touching message , recurring to the past, exonerating me from

ou r e e . much blame , and making futur intercourse agreeabl In a

fe w e of v ol . . . 572 a n days afterward !see Lif Prentiss, ii , p ) I th e w n ou n ce d his death in e N Orleans Courier . h i st or I have written an e laborate memoir of Mr . Prentiss for a F ical work on which I am engaged . J . . H . C .

l l . . e Colonel George R. Fal and the late Genera C M Pric

were the n editors and proprietors of the Mississippian . Colonel

Fall established it in critical times , and from the first number to th e present day it has been conducted with consummate talent and inflexible fide li ty to the principles of the D e mocratic State—rights U e t h e of e party . nd r control Major Barksdal it has become one e of the most influe ntial pape rs in the Unit d States .

F l v of hi s The vete ran Colonel all, sti l igorous and full ancient

n D e on h is e . ﬁre, reside s o e r Creek, Washington County, ﬁne estat

No man in this state has rendered so many public services, and

asked so l ittle in return .

224 LI F E AN D TIMES OF

Hi s was on e of them . convictions induced him to advocate the admission Of the new

c o- members, and thus to operate with the Democratic party in a matter essential to their political ascendency but he went no

cv farther, although every temptation and ery argument was presented to h i s ambition

i n and his judgment . These are honorable cide n t s in a public career, and deserve to be recorded .

n Associated with Colonel Bingama , but

h i m on w a s not agreeing with this question, ‘ M M u r r a n Mr. John T . , the best lawyer and closest reasoner in the House . He employed

or no superﬂuous words, no introductions valedictions, but plunged right into the gist of the subject, and stopped exactly at the right place . He was the clearest and most

h of logical speaker I ever eard, and a man

u sing lar mildness Of manner, universally beloved. He subsequently rose to the head of f n his pro essio , and retired upon an ample fortune . Preston W. Farrar, E . C . Wilkin

son . V , and James A entress, were leading

of men in the Opposition at that time,

m arked character and extensive inﬂuence . U D GENE RAL SAM EL ALE . 225

o u r . . . On Side, Albert G Brown , Sam J

Gholson , Buckner Harris, Thomas H . Wil

V . H ow liams, George H . Gordon, olney E ‘Af M e e . u ard, Morgan , and H W. D nlop , were the principal speakers— men of great

of ability and Shrewdness, ﬁrm purpose, ar

dent and Sincere in their convictions, and,

of as parliamentary tacticians, far ahead

their opponents . They secured the rights of the new counties and the admission of their representatives by a vote of thirty-one

- H on . to twenty nine, and the Robert J.

Walker was soon after elected to the Senate . h T is was the era Of banks and discounts, wild speculation, extravagance, and license . Gaming and drinking were carried to excess

n ot at Jackson . Men worth a button would coolly ask for an indorsement for ten thou

sand dollars, and indorsements in blank to be ﬁlled up to suit any trade that might of

fer. A refusal to indorse was resented as a ’ reﬂection on one s integrity ; and to suggest a mortgage as security for an indorsement

was a matter of great delicacy, and general l y Offe n sw e . I have seen a man not worth on e cent at a gamin -table publicly staking g 2 226 LI F E AN D TIME S O F blank paper with the well-known signatures and indorsements of responsible men A l

The following extracts from l etters addr essed to the late Gen ll of i eral John A . Quitman i ustrate the state th ngs prevailing at that period :

“ a c son a n u a r 1 3 1 837. J k ,J y , The note we indorsed for G and D for $5000 we Shall

. e have to pay G is dead , utterly insolvent, and n ver was

worth a dollar . D is habitually drunk, and neither knows nor

He cares, or pretends to know or care any thing about business .

e e e has no property, and was only a gente l loaf r, with some littl

we r political inﬂuence and a pretense Of business , when put ou “ ’ on name s his paper . F has gone to Texas for his country s ” good, and M would follow him if he had any thing to move

e e . away with . The oth r two indorsers stand upon th ir dignity e A has nothing, and C Openly repudiat s, and swears he t h e He will kill ﬁrst man that sues him . struts through the streets

- f t w with a bowie kni e in his bosom and o pistols be lted round him .

The Legislature is in confusion, doing nothing ; and Prentiss swears they shall do nothing until the new membe rs are t f ” purged ou o it .

Ya z oo un e 1 3 1 837. City, J ,

e e . n is ou t for judge . He will be lect d The ba k 1 00 milks freely . W e have deposited $ at every precinct in this

t h e v e e ou t ou t county to treat so r igns , and will trip the and Tom ” - - Benton gold and silver men .

V c s u r M a r c 21 1 838. i k b g, h , F e . D e Do you know a Mr . G y Some tim in bruary he

e d a n d e e brought me a lett r of intro uction , seems to hav spent som

i e e 1 000 time w th you all at Natch z . I indors d his bill for $ , and e e e had it discounted here in bank . It has com back h re protest d - or for non acceptance . Do you know where he is , any thing about him

228 LI F E AN D TIMES OF

day was the rule, not the exception . I have seen members of the Legislature with guns

for or in the lobby attack defense, and near l y the whole population of the city once u of drawn p , at either extremity the public square, in battle array. With the dissolution of the banks and - the substitution of cotton as the basis of a cu r

of reney and exchange, the inﬂux the pre ci ou s for metals, substantial and real capital

of imaginary wealth, came the amelioration morals and a more reﬁned standard of man n n of ers, besides a ge eral adoption that no

of blest of all principles action , the only sure foundation for individual and national inde

n — l -r li a p e n de ce se f e n ce . The State of Mississippi has a grand fu ture . Her territory is extensive, yet com

i n pact, latitudes most favorable for cotton,

of l ple silenced by the voice the tyrant, Genera Jackson, I could s oi l s not summon fortitude to write . His whole party go in for the p . “ a n xi ou s. t o By the way, I am hear about that directorship I hinted to you when you were at my house . I am anxious to know how I became so unpopul ar with the instit ution a fter having given I e e it birth . do not boast, but ref r to every member of the L gis

l a t u r e . i for my services I am above complain ng, but, sir, what is man without gratitude “ P — I S . . would like very much to be a director in the Plant

’ ” ers Bank at Jackson . R U D GENE AL SAM EL ALE . 229

sugar, and the cereal crops . Her soil is

productive, and beneath its surface lie the of elements fertility and renovation . Fine

- rivers penetrate her interior. Water power

f - for manu actories, timber for ship building,

se a and naval supplies are abundant . Her

board is commodious, accessible, sheltered

“ from storms, and the healthiest in the world . Long lines of railroad furnish the means of

intercommunication .

of Her very history is heroic . The ﬂag

s of ol d the ilver lilies and the banner Spain,

m once the ost famous, long ﬂoated here, the

of symbols sovereignty, chivalry, and the faith of Christ .

- of The blood red cross St . George, which for a thousand years has never been dis graced, once stood here, the representative of dominion and civilization .

ou r Born upon soil, and, as they believe, of sprung from it,was a noble race Red Men,

h of on l a m il e n two ouseholds y,who never

fo countered a e that they did not defeat, and for whom Providence has in reserve, I trust, the happiest dispensations, social and polit ical . 23 0 LIF E AN D TIMES OF Colonized at an early period by bold and adventurous Americans fully instructed in the principles of liberty ; soon the rendez~ of vous talent, intelligence, and enterprise ;

E cca n a ch a ca conspicuous at Fort Mims, , n V New Orleans, Monterey, and Bue a ista ; contributing more than her quota to every branch of the public service— she stands a

of sovereign among sovereigns, the peer the most powerful .

or She was the ﬁrst state in this Union, d in the worl , to recognize, practically, in her

th e fundamental law, the supreme power of people, to abolish prop erty qualiﬁcations, and provide absolute prohibitions against the abuse of public credit. May She be true to herself ; never ask what is wrong ; never submit to any i n fr a c tion of her rights ; n ever squander her great resources ; never grant any part of them to foreign stock-jobbers and speculators ; and d of never forget the celebrate maxim Livy, “ That state is alone free Which depends on its own strength ,not upon the arbitrary will of

a s vir ib u s Civitas ea autem in libertate est posita qu e sui stat , e x a e e n de t non li no arbitrium p .

232 LI F E AN D TIMES OF

- - d m square shouldered, raw bone , and u scu

lar, noted particularly for great length and n strength Of arm . In ma y respects, physical

and moral, he resembled his antagonists of

the woods . He had the square forehead,

t h e i - ! h gh cheek bones, the compressed lips

i n r fact, the physiognomy Of the Indian, e l i e v e d , however, by a ﬁne, benevolent Saxon

M a n eye . Like the Red , too, his foot fell lightly on the ground, and turned neither to the right or left ; he wa s habitually taciturn ;

his face and manner grave ; he Spoke Slowly,

u and in low tones, and seldom la ghed . I observed of him what has been often n oticed as peculiar to border men of high attributes he entertained a stron g attachment for the

Indians, extolled their courage, their love of country, their patience, their tenderness

for to their children, and their reverence the t dead . I have Of en seen a wretched rem n of ant the Choctaws, homeless and Oppress e d , camped around his plantation, and sub

on . sisting his bounty In peace, even the Creeks entertained for h i m the highest ven e r a t i on ; he had been the friend of Weather ford ; he fed many when gaunt famine, more R U D GENE AL SAM EL ALE . 233

“ terrible even than the dogs of war, pur “ i n of Bi sued them ; but battle, the name g ” S a m fell on the ear of the Seminole like . on that of Marius the hordes of the Cimbri .

THE E ND .