STORIES OF GEORGIA

By Joel Chandler Harris

Copyright, 1896, by American Book Company

PREFACE. 

In preparing the pages that follow, the writer has had in view thedesirability of familiarizing the youth of Georgia with the salientfacts of the State's history in a way that shall make the further studyof that history a delight instead of a task. The ground has been goneover before by various writers, but the narratives that are here retold, and the characterizations that are here attempted, have not been broughttogether heretofore. They lie wide apart in volumes that are littleknown and out of print. 

The stories and the characterizations have been grouped together soas to form a series of connecting links in the rise and progress ofGeorgia; yet it must not be forgotten that these links are themselvesconnected with facts and events in the State's development that arequite as interesting, and of as far-reaching importance, as those thathave been narrated here. Some such suggestion as this, it is hoped, will cross the minds of young students, and lead them to investigate forthemselves the interesting intervals that lie between. 

It is unfortunately true that there is no history of Georgia in whichthe dry bones of facts have been clothed with the flesh and blood ofpopular narrative. Colonel Charles C. Jones saw what was needed, and entered upon the task of writing the history of the State withcharacteristic enthusiasm. He had not proceeded far, however, when thefact dawned upon his mind that such a work as he contemplated must befor the most part a labor of love. He felt the influence of cold neglectfrom every source that might have been expected to afford him aid andencouragement. He was almost compelled to confine himself to a barerecital of facts, for he had reason to know that, at the end of histask, public inappreciation was awaiting him. 

And yet it seems to the present writer that every person interestedin the growth and development of the republic should turn with eagerattention to a narrative embodying the events that have marked theprogress of Georgia. It was in this State that some of the mostsurprising and spectacular scenes of the Revolution took place. In onecorner of Georgia those who were fighting for the independence of therepublic made their last desperate stand; and if they had surrendered tothe odds that faced them, the battle of King's Mountain would never havebeen fought, Greene's southern campaign would have been crippled, andthe struggle for liberty in the south would have ended in smoke. 

It is to illustrate the larger events that these stories have beenwritten; and while some of them may seem far away from this point ofview, they all have one common purpose and tend to one common end. 

STORIES OF GEORGIA. 

A SEARCH FOR TREASURE. 

[Illustration: De Soto 014]

So far as written records tell us, Hernando de Soto and his companionsin arms were the first white men to enter and explore the territory nowknown on the map as the State of Georgia. Tradition has small voice inthe matter, but such as it has tells another story. There are hints thatother white men ventured into this territory before De Soto and his menbeheld it. General Oglethorpe, when he came to Georgia with his gentlecolony, which had been tamed and sobered by misfortune and ill luck, was firmly of the opinion that Sir Walter Raleigh, the famous soldier, sailor, and scholar, had been there before him. So believing, thefounder of the Georgian Colony carried with him Sir Walter's diary. Hewas confirmed in his opinion by a tradition, among the Indians of theYamacraw tribe, that Raleigh had landed where Savannah now stands. There are also traditions in regard to the visits of other white mento Georgia. These traditions may be true, or they may be the resultsof dreams, but it is certain that De Soto and his picked company ofSpaniards were the first to march through the territory that is nowGeorgia. The De Soto expedition was made up of the flower of Spanishchivalry, --men Used to war, and fond of adventure. Some of them weresoldiers, anxious to win fame by feats of arms in a new land; some weremissionaries, professing an anxiety for the souls of such heathen asthey might encounter, but even these men were not unfamiliar with theuse of the sword; some were physicians, as ready to kill as to heal;some were botanists, who knew as much about the rapier and the poniardas they did about the stamens, pistils, and petals of the flowers;and some were reporters, men selected to write the history of theexpedition. As it turned out, these reporters were entirely faithfulto their trust They told all that happened with a fidelity thatleaves nothing to be desired. The record they have left shows that theexpedition was bent on finding gold and other treasures. 

On the 30th of May, 1539, De Soto's expedition landed at Tampa Bay, Fla. , and his men pitched their tents on the beach. The army was nota large one; but it was made up of chosen men, who were used to thedangers of war, and who, as stated before, were fond of adventure. Therewas but one gray head in the expedition: therefore, though the army wasa small one, it was the most enthusiastic and warlike array that hadever been seen in the New World. The soldiers wore rich armor, andthe cavalry rode gayly caparisoned horses. The army was accompanied byslaves and mules to bear the burdens. It had artillery and other weaponsof war; handcuffs, neck collars, and chains for prisoners; crucibles forrefining gold; bloodhounds, greyhounds, and a drove of hogs. 

For nearly a year the little army of De Soto wandered about in Florida, ransacking the burying grounds of the Indians in search of treasures, and committing such other depredations as were common to thecivilization of that age. When inquiries were made for gold, theIndians always pointed toward the north; and, following these hints, the expedition pursued its way through Florida, wandering about in theswamps and slashes, but always held together by the enthusiasm of themen and their hopes of securing rich spoils. 

On the 3d of March, 1540, De Soto's army left Anhayca, which is said tohave been near the site of Tallahassee, and marched northward. Beforeleaving the Spaniards seized from the Indians a large supply of maize(now commonly known as corn), and appropriated whatever else strucktheir fancy. They had spent some time with the Indians at this town ofAnhayca, and had sent out parties that committed depredations whereveran Indian settlement could be found. They made slaves of many Indians, treating them with more severity than they treated their beasts ofburden. It is no wonder, therefore, that the Indians, discovering thegreed of the Spaniards for gold, should have spread rumors that largequantities of the yellow metal were to be found farther north. 

Reports came to the Spaniards of a wonderful Indian queen who reignedat a place called Yupaha, a settlement as large as a city. One day anIndian boy, who had been brought to camp with other prisoners, told theSpaniards a good deal about this great Indian queen. He said that sheruled not only her own people, but all the neighboring chiefs, and asfar as the Indian settlements extended. The boy told the Spaniards thatall the Indians paid tribute to this great queen, and sent her finepresents of clothing and gold. De Soto and his men cared nothing aboutfine clothing. They were greedy only for gold and precious stones. Theyasked the Indian boy many questions, and he answered them all. Hetold how the gold was taken from the earth, and how it was melted andrefined. His description was so exact that the Spaniards no longerhad any doubt. Their spirits rose mightily, and, after robbing andplundering the Indians who had fed and sheltered them during the wintermonths, they broke up their camp and moved northward. 

Four days after leaving Tallahassee, the Spaniards came to a deep river, which Colonel C. C. Jones, jun. , in his "History of Georgia, " says wasthe Ocklockonnee, very close to the southwest boundary of Georgia. Twodays later they came to an Indian village from which the inhabitantsfled, but a little later a squad of five soldiers was set upon by theIndians hiding near the encampment. One of the Spaniards was killed, while three others were badly wounded. De Soto left this Indian villageon the 11th of March, and presently came to a piece of country which theSpanish historian describes as a desert. But it was not a desert then, and it is not a desert now. It was really a pine barren, such as maybe seen to this day in what is called the wire-grass region of southernGeorgia. In these barrens the soil is sandy and the land level, stretching away for miles. De Soto and his men saw the primeval pines;but these have long since disappeared, and their places are taken bypines of a smaller growth. On the 21st of March, the Spaniards came tothe Ocmulgee River, near which they found an Indian town called Toalli. 

There will always be a dispute about the route followed by De Soto inhis march. This dispute is interesting, but not important. Some say thatthe expedition moved parallel with the coast until the Savannah Riverwas reached, at a point twenty-five miles below Augusta; but it is justas probable that the route, after reaching the Ocmulgee, was along thebanks of that stream and in a northwesterly direction. 

At Toalli the Indians had summer and winter houses to live in, and theyhad storehouses for their maize. The women wore blankets or shawls madeof the fiber of silk grass, and the blankets were dyed vermilion orblack. Thenceforward the Indians whom the Spaniards met with were of ahigher order of intelligence, and of a more industrious turn, than thoseleft behind in Florida and along the southern boundary of Georgia. 

As De Soto marched along, he seized Indians and made guides of them, or made prisoners and held them until he was furnished with guides andinterpreters. He also announced to the Indians that he was the Child ofthe Sun, who had been sent to seek out the greatest Prince and Princess. This made a great impression on the Indians, many of whom were sunworshipers. 

Many times during the march the Spaniards were on the point ofstarvation, and the account of their sufferings as set forth in thehistory of the expedition is intended to be quite pathetic. We neednot pause to shed any tears over these things, for the sufferings theSpaniards endured were nothing compared to the sufferings they inflictedon the Indians. They murdered and robbed right and left, and no doubtthe Indians regarded them as demons rather than Christians. Morethan once when the Spaniards were wandering aimlessly about in thewilderness, they were found by the Indians and saved from starvation. Inturn the simple-minded natives were treated with a harshness that wouldbe beyond belief if the sickening details were not piously set forth bythe Spanish historian of the expedition. 

[Illustration: Indian Queen 020]

About the 28th of April the expedition reached the neighborhood ofCutifachiqui, having been told by three Indians whom they had taken, that the queen of that province knew of the approach of the Spaniards, and was awaiting them at her chief town just across the river. As DeSoto came to the shore of the stream, four canoes started from theopposite side. One of them contained a kinswoman of the queen, whohad been selected to invite the Spaniards to enter the town. Shortlyafterwards the queen came forth from the town, seated on a palanquin orlitter, which was borne by the principal men. Coming to the water side, the queen entered a canoe, over the stern of which was stretched anawning to shelter her from the sun. 

Under this awning she reclined on cushions; and thus, in company withher chiefs, and attended by many of her people in canoes, she crossedthe river to meet De Soto. She landed, and gave the Spaniard a graciouswelcome. As an offering of peace and good will, she took from her necka long string of pearls, and gave the gems to De Soto. She also gave himmany shawls and finely dressed deerskins. The Spaniard acknowledged thebeautiful gifts by taking from his hand a gold ring set with a ruby, andplacing it upon one of the queen's fingers. 

The old historian pretends that De Soto and his men were very muchimpressed by the dignity and courtesy of the Indian queen. She was thefirst woman ruler they had met in their wanderings. She was tall, finelyformed, and had great beauty of countenance. She was both gracious andgraceful. All this is set down in the most pompous way by the Spanishchroniclers; but the truth seems to be that De Soto and his men carednothing for the courtesy and hospitality of the queen, and that theywere not moved by her beauty and kindness. The Spaniards crossed theriver in canoes furnished by the queen's people, and found themselvessurrounded by the most hospitable Indians they had yet seen. They weresupplied with everything the land afforded, and rested in comfortablewigwams under the shade of mulberry trees. The soldiers were sodelighted with the situation, that they were anxious to form asettlement there; but De Soto refused to forget the only object ofthe expedition, which was to search for gold and other treasures. Hisdetermination had the desired effect His men recovered their energies. While enjoying the hospitality of the queen, they found out the burialplaces of her people, and gathered from the graves, according to thestatement of the Spanish historian, "three hundred and fifty weight ofpearls, and figures of babies and birds, made from iridescent shells. "

The mother of the queen lived not far from the town where the Spaniardswere quartered, and, as she was said to be the owner of many finepearls, De Soto expressed a desire to see her. Upon hearing this, thequeen sent twelve of her principal men to beg her mother to come tosee the white strangers and the wonderful animals they had broughtwith them; but the mother of the queen was very shrewd. She rebuked themessengers, and sent them back with some sharp words for her daughter;and though De Soto did his best to capture the woman, he was never ableto carry out his purpose. 

He then turned his attention to a temple that stood on the side ofa deserted settlement which had formerly been the chief town of thequeen's people. This temple, as described by the Spanish chronicler, was more than one hundred steps long by forty broad, the walls high inproportion, and the roof elevated so as to allow the water to run off. On the roof were various shells arranged in artistic order, and theshells were connected by strings of pearls. These pearls extended fromthe top of the roof to the bottom in long festoons, and the sun shiningon them produced a very brilliant effect. At the door of the temple weretwelve giant-like statues made of wood. These figures were so ferociousin their appearance, that the Spaniards hesitated for some time beforethey could persuade themselves to enter the temple. The statues werearmed with clubs, maces, copper axes, and pikes ornamented with copperat both ends. In the middle of the temple were three rows of chests, placed one upon another in the form of pyramids. Each pyramid consistedof five or six chests, the largest at the bottom, and the smallest atthe top. These chests, the Spanish chroniclers say, were filled withpearls, the largest containing the finest pearls, and the smallest onlyseed pearls. 

It is just as well to believe a little of this as to believe a greatdeal. It was an easy matter for the survivors of the expedition toexaggerate these things, and they probably took great liberties withthe facts; but there is no doubt that the Indians possessed many pearls. Mussels like those from which they took the gems are still to be foundin the small streams and creeks of Georgia, and an enterprisingboy might even now be able to find a seed pearl if he sought for itpatiently. 

It is not to be doubted that rich stores of pearls were found. Some weredistributed to the officers and men; but the bulk of them, strange tosay, were left undisturbed, to await the return of the Spaniards anotherday. De Soto was still intent on searching for gold, and he would hearof nothing else. He would neither settle among the queen's people for aseason, nor return to Tampa with the great store of pearls discovered. Being a resolute man and of few words, he had his way, and madepreparations to journey farther north to the province called Chiaha, which was governed by a great Indian king. The conduct of the Spaniardshad been so cruel during their stay at Cutifachiqui, that the queen hadcome to regard them with fear and hatred, and she refused to supplythem with guides and burden bearers. De Soto thereupon placed her underguard; and when he took up his march for Chiaha, the queen who hadreceived him with so much grace, dignity, and hospitality, was compelledto accompany him on foot, escorted by her female attendants. The oldSpanish chronicler is moved to remark that "it was not so good usageas she deserved for the good will she shewed and the good entertainmentthat she had made him. " This was the return the Spanish leader madeto the queen who had received and entertained his army, --to seize her, place her under guard, and compel her to accompany his expedition onfoot. 

One reason why De Soto made the queen his prisoner and carried her withthe expedition was to use her influence in controlling the Indians alonghis line of march. The result was all that he could have expected. Inall the towns through which the Spaniards passed, the queen commandedthe Indians to carry the burdens of the army; and thus they went for ahundred leagues, the Indians obeying the queen without question. After amarch of seven days, De Soto arrived at the province of Chelaque, whichwas the country of the Cherokees. Here the soldiers added to theirstores of provisions, and renewed their march; and on May 15 theyarrived in the province of Xualla, the chief town of which is supposedto have been situated in the Nacoochee valley. Inclining his coursewestwardly from the Nacoochee valley, De Soto set out for Guaxule, whichmarked the limit of the queen's dominion, and which has been identifiedas Old Town, in Murray County. On this march the queen made her escape, taking with her a cane box filled with large pearls of great value. Thisbox had been borne by one of the queen's attendants up to the momentwhen she disappeared from the Spanish camp. De Soto made every effortto recapture the queen. No doubt the bloodhounds, which formed a part ofthe expedition, were called in to aid in the search; but it was all tono purpose. The queen hid herself as easily as a young partridge hides, and neither men nor dogs could find her. De Soto went on his way, deploring the loss of the valuable pearls. 

From Nacoochee to Murray County the march was fatiguing. The route layover mountains as well as valleys. One of the foot soldiers, Juan Terron(his folly has caused history to preserve his name), grew so weary onthis march, that he drew from his wallet a linen bag containing sixpounds of pearls. Calling to a cavalryman, Juan Terron offered him thebag of pearls if he would carry them. The cavalryman refused the offer, and told his comrade to keep them. But Juan Terron would not have it so. He untied the bag, whirled it around his head, and scattered the pearlsin all directions. This done, he replaced the empty bag in his wallet, and marched on, leaving his companions amazed at his folly. Thirty ofthe pearls were recovered by the soldiers. The gems were of great size, and perfect in every particular; and it was estimated that the sixpounds of pearls would have fetched six thousand ducats in Spain (overtwelve thousand dollars). The folly of the foot soldier gave rise toa saying in the army, that is no doubt current in Spain to thisday, --"There are no pearls for Juan Terron, " which means that a foolmakes no profits. 

Continuing their march, the Spaniards came to the town of Chiaha, --asite that is now occupied by the flourishing city of Rome. De Sotoremained at Chiaha a month, sending out exploring expeditions in searchof the much-coveted gold. They found traces of the precious metal, butnothing more. On the 1st of July, 1540, De Soto left Chiaha, going downthe valley of the Coosa. His expedition was organized by the spirit ofgreed. It spread desolation wherever it went, and it ended in disasterand despair. De Soto himself found a grave in the waters of theMississippi, and the survivors who made their way back home were brokenin health and spirits. 

An attempt has been made to throw a halo of romance over this marchof the Spaniards through the wilderness of the New World, but thereis nothing romantic or inspiring about it. It was simply a search forriches, in which hundreds of lives were most cruelly sacrificed, andthousands of homes destroyed. 

OGLETHORPE AND HIS GENTLE COLONY

General James Edward Oglethorpe, the founder of the Colony of Georgia, was among the few really good and great men that history tells us of. We need to keep a close eye on the antics of history. She places thelaurels of fame in the hands of butchers, plunderers, and adventurers, and even assassins share her favors; so that, if we are going to enjoythe feast that history offers us, we must not inquire too closely intothe characters of the men whom she makes heroes of. We find, when wecome to look into the matter, that but few of those who figured as thegreat men of the world have been entirely unselfish; and unselfishnessis the test of a man who is really good and great. Judged by this test, General Oglethorpe stands among the greatest men known to history. 

He had served in the army with distinction, as his father had beforehim. He was on the staff of the great soldier Eugene of Savoy, andunder that commander made himself conspicuous by his fidelity andfearlessness. A story is told of him that is interesting, if notcharacteristic. While serving under Eugene, he one day found himselfsitting at table with a prince of Würtemberg. He was a beardlessyoungster, and the prince thought to have some sport with him. Taking upa glass of wine, the prince gave it a fillip, so that a little flew inOglethorpe's face. The young Englishman, looking straight at the prince, and smiling, said, "My prince, that is only a part of the joke as theEnglish know it: I will show you the whole of it. " With that he threw aglassful of wine in the prince's face. An old general who sat by laugheddryly, and remarked, "He did well, my prince: you began it. "

[Illustration: Oglethorpe 028]

Born in 1689, Oglethorpe entered the English army when twenty-one yearsof age. In 1714 he became captain lieutenant of the first troop of thequeen's guards. He shortly afterwards joined Eugene on the continent, and remained with that soldier until the peace of 1718. On the death ofhis brother, he succeeded to the family estate in England. In 1722 hewas elected to Parliament from Haslemere, county of Surrey, andthis borough he represented continuously for thirty-two years. Hisparliamentary career was marked by wise prudence and consistency;and his sympathies were warmly enlisted for the relief of unfortunatesoldiers, and in securing reform in the conduct of prisons. In this wayOglethorpe became a philanthropist, and, without intending it, attractedthe attention of all England. Pope, the poet, eulogizes his "strongbenevolence of soul. "

In that day and time, men were imprisoned for debt in England. Thelaw was brutal, and those who executed it were cruel. There was nodiscrimination between fraud and misfortune. The man who was unable topay his debts was judged to be as criminal as the man who, though able, refused to pay. Both were thrown into the same prison, and subjectedto the same hardships. In "Little Dorrit, " Charles Dickens has toldsomething of those unfortunates who were thrown into prison for debt. 

There was apparently nothing too atrocious to be sanctioned by thecommercial ambition of the English. It armed creditors with the power toimpose the most cruel burdens upon their debtors, and it sanctioned theslave trade. Many crimes have been committed to promote the commercialsupremacy of Great Britain, and on that blind policy was based the lawwhich suffered innocent debtors to be deprived of their liberty andthrown into prison. 

This condition of affairs Oglethorpe set himself to reform; and whilethus engaged, he became impressed with the idea that many of theunfortunates, guilty of no crime, and of respectable connections, mightbenefit themselves, relieve England of the shame of their imprisonment, and confirm and extend the dominion of the mother country in the NewWorld, by being freed from the claims of those to whom they owed money, on condition that they would consent to become colonists in America. To this class were to be added recruits from those who, through lackof work and of means, were likely to be imprisoned on account of theirmisfortunes. Oglethorpe was also of the opinion that men of means, enterprise, and ambition could be enlisted in the cause; and in this hewas not mistaken. 

He had no hope whatever of personal gain or private benefit. The planthat he had conceived was entirely for the benefit of the unfortunate, based on broad and high ideas of benevolence; and so thoroughly was thisunderstood, that Oglethorpe had no difficulty whatever in securingthe aid of men of wealth and influence. A charter or grant from thegovernment was applied for, in order that the scheme might have thesanction and authority of the government. Accordingly a charter wasgranted, and the men most prominent in the scheme of benevolence wereincorporated under the name of "The Trustees for establishing theColony of Georgia in America. " Georgia in America, was, under the termsof the charter, a pretty large slice of America. It embraced all thatpart of the continent lying between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers, and extending westerly from the heads of these rivers in direct lines tothe South Seas; so that the original territory of Georgia extended fromocean to ocean. 

In aid of this enterprise, Oglethorpe not only contributed largely fromhis private means, and solicited contributions from his wealthy friends, but wrote a tract in which he used arguments that were practical as wellas ingenious. 

On the 17th of November, 1732, all arrangements having been completed, the "Anne" set sail for the Colony of Georgia, accompanied byOglethorpe, who furnished his own cabin, and laid in provisions notonly for himself, but for his fellow-passengers. On the 13th of January, 1733, the "Anne" anchored in Charleston harbor. From Charleston thevessel sailed to Port Royal; and the colonists were soon quarteredin the barracks of Beaufort-town, which had been prepared for theirreception. Oglethorpe left the colonists at Beaufort, and, in companywith Colonel William Bull, proceeded to the Savannah River. He went upthis stream as far as Yamacraw Bluff, which he selected as the site ofthe settlement he was about to make. He marked out the town, and namedit Savannah. The site was a beautiful one in Oglethorpe's day, and it isstill more beautiful now. The little settlement that the founder of theColony marked out has grown into a flourishing city, and art has addedits advantages to those of nature to make Savannah one of the mostbeautiful cities in the United States. 

Close by the site which Oglethorpe chose for his colony was an Indianvillage occupied by the Yamacraws, --a small tribe, of which Tomochichiwas chief. At this point, too, was a trading post, which had beenestablished by a white man named John Musgrove. This man had married ahalf-breed woman whose Indian name was Coosaponakesee, but who wasknown as Mary Musgrove. In order to insure the friendly reception of hislittle colony and its future safety, Oglethorpe went to the village andhad a talk with Tomochichi. Mary Musgrove not only acted as interpreter, but used her influence, which was very great, in favor of her husband'scountrymen. This was fortunate, for the Indians were very uneasy whenthey learned that a colony of whites was to be established near theirvillage, and some of them even threatened to use force to prevent it;but Oglethorpe's friendly attitude, and Mary Musgrove's influence, atlast persuaded them to give their consent. They made an agreement tocede the necessary land, and promised to receive the colonists in afriendly manner. Oglethorpe returned to Beaufort when he had concludedthis treaty, and the Sunday following his return was celebrated as a dayof thanksgiving. After religious services there was a barbecue, which, history tells us, consisted of four fat hogs, turkeys, fowls Englishbeef, a hogshead of punch, a hogshead of beer, and a quantity of wine. 

[Illustration: Mary Musgrove 032]

On the 30th of January, 1733, the immigrants set sail from Beaufort, andon the afternoon of the next day they arrived at Yamacraw Bluff. On thesite of the town that had already been marked off, they pitched fourtents large enough to accommodate all the people. Oglethorpe, afterposting his sentinels, slept on the ground under the shelter of thetall pines, near the central watch fire. As a soldier should, he sleptsoundly. He had planted the new Colony, and thus far all had gone wellwith him and with those whose interests he had charge of. 

To bring these colonists across the ocean, and place them in a positionwhere they might begin life anew, was not a very difficult undertaking;but to plant a colony amongst savages already suspicious of the whites, and to succeed in obtaining their respect, friendship, and aid, wassomething that required wisdom, courage, prudence, and large experience. This Oglethorpe did; and it is to his credit, that, during the time hehad charge of the Colony, he never in any shape or form took advantageof the ignorance of the Indians. His method of dealing with them wasvery simple. He conciliated them by showing them that the whites couldbe just, fair, and honorable in their dealings; and thus, in the verybeginning, he won the friendship of those whose enmity to the littleColony would have proved ruinous. 

Providence favored Oglethorpe in this matter. He had to deal with anIndian chief full of years, wisdom, and experience. This was Tomochichi, who was at the head of the Yamacraws. From this kindly Indian theGeorgia Colony received untold benefits. He remained the steadfastfriend of the settlers, and used his influence in their behalf in everypossible way, and on all occasions. Although he was a very old man, he was strong and active, and of commanding presence. He possessedremarkable intelligence; and this, added to his experience, made him oneof the most remarkable of the Indians whose names have been preservedin history. There was something of a mystery about him that adds to theinterest which his active friendship for the whites has given to hisname. He belonged to the tribe of Lower Creeks; but for some reason orother, he, with a number of his tribemen, had been banished. The causeof his exile has never been made known; but at this late day it may beguessed that he became disgusted with the factional disputes among theCreeks, and sought in another part of the territory the peace and reposeto which his years of service had entitled him; and that when he hadtaken this step, the factions which he had opposed succeeded in havinghim banished. Some such theory as this is necessary to account for thetributes that were paid to his character and influence by the Creekchiefs who assembled at Savannah to make a treaty with Oglethorpe. Tomochichi was ninety-one years old when the Georgia Colony was founded, and he had gathered about him a number of disaffected Creeks andYemassees, known as the tribe of the Yamacraws. When the Creeks came toSavannah to meet Oglethorpe, the greatest of their chiefs said thathe was related to Tomochichi, who was a good man, and had been a greatwarrior. 

Thus, with Oglethorpe to direct it, and with Tomochichi as its friend, the little Georgia Colony was founded, and, as we shall see, thrived andflourished. 

THE EMPRESS OF GEORGIA

When Oglethorpe landed at Yamacraw Bluff, he was greatly aided inhis efforts to conciliate the Indians by the wife of John Musgrove, ahalf-breed woman whose Indian name was Coosaponakesee. She was known bythe colonists as Mary Musgrove, and her friendship for the whites wastimely and fortunate. She was Oglethorpe's interpreter in his firstinterview with Tomochichi. She was very friendly and accommodating, giving aid to Oglethorpe and his colony in every possible way. Findingthat she had great influence, and could be made very useful to thecolonists, Oglethorpe employed her as interpreter, and paid her yearlyone hundred pounds sterling, which in that day was equal to a great dealmore than five hundred dollars; but Mary Musgrove earned all that waspaid her, and more. She used all her influence in behalf of the whites. She aided in concluding treaties, and also in securing warriors fromthe Creek nation in the war that occurred between the colonists and theSpaniards who occupied Florida. 

General Oglethorpe had a sincere friendship for Mary Musgrove, and hisinfluence over her was such that she never refused a request he made. If Oglethorpe had remained in Georgia, it is probable that the curiousepisode in which Mary took a leading part would never have occurred. 

Oglethorpe left Georgia on the 23d of July, 1743, and never returned. John Musgrove died shortly afterwards, and Mary married a man namedMatthews, who also died. She then married a man named Thomas Bosomworth, who had been chaplain to Oglethorpe's regiment. In 1743, beforeOglethorpe's departure, Bosomworth had been commissioned to perform allreligious and ecclesiastical affairs in Georgia. Previous to that he hadaccepted a grant of lands, and had taken up his abode in the Colony. Heappears to have been a pompous and an ambitious person, with just enoughlearning to make him dangerous. 

Before Mary Musgrove married Bosomworth she had never ceased to laborfor the good of the Colony. No sacrifice was too great for her to makein behalf of her white friends. It is true, she had not been fullypaid for her services; but she had faith in the good intentions ofthe government, and was content. In 1744, a year after Oglethorpe'sdeparture from the Colony, Mary married Bosomworth, and after that herconduct was such as to keep the whites in constant fear of massacre andextermination. 

In 1745, Thomas Bosomworth went to England and informed the trusteesof the Georgia Company that he intended to give up his residence in theGeorgia Colony. The next year he returned to Georgia, and violatedthe regulations of the trustees by introducing six negro slaves on theplantation of his wife near the Altamaha River. This action was at onceresented; and President Stephens, who had succeeded Oglethorpe in themanagement of the Colony's affairs, was ordered to have the negro slavesremoved from the territory of Georgia. This was done, and from that timeforth Bosomworth and his wife began to plot against the peace andgood order of the Georgia Colony. He used the influence of his wife toconciliate the Indians, and secure their sympathy and support. Whilethis was going on, he was busy in preparing a claim against thegovernment of the Colony for the services rendered and losses sustainedby his wife, which he valued at five hundred pounds sterling. Inher name he also claimed possession of the islands of Ossabaw, St. Catharine, and Sapelo, and of a tract of land near Savannah which informer treaties had been reserved to the Indians. 

Bosomworth was shrewd enough not to act alone. In some mysterious way, not clearly told in history, he secured the sympathy and support ofMajor William Horton, commander of Oglethorpe's regiment stationed atFrederica, and other officers. Colonel Heron, who succeeded Major Hortonas commander of the regiment in 1747, was likewise gained over to thecause of the Bosomworths. By the connivance of this officer, a bodyof Indians, with Malatche at their head, marched to Frederica for aconference. At this conference Malatche made a speech in which he toldof the services which his sister Mary had rendered the colonists, andrequested that a messenger be sent to England to tell the King that he, Malatche, was emperor of all the Creeks. He declared, also, that Mary, his sister, was confided in by the whole Creek nation, and that thenation had decided to abide by her will and desire. 

Bosomworth saw the necessity of pushing the matter forward, and sohe suggested to Malatche the importance of having himself crowned asemperor by those who were with him. Accordingly a paper was drawn upgiving to Malatche full authority as emperor. This done, Bosomworth wasquick to procure from the Creek emperor a deed of conveyance toThomas and Mary Bosomworth of the islands of Ossabaw, Sapelo, and St. Catharine. 

Matters went on peaceably for a while; but Bosomworth was active andenergetic, and his wife appears to have been entirely under his control. He bought on credit a great number of cattle from planters in SouthCarolina, and these he placed on the islands that had been given himby Malatche. When his debts fell due, he was unable to pay them. Ratherthan surrender the property for which he was unable to pay, he suggestedto his wife that she take the title of an independent empress. It isdoubtful if she knew what an empress was; but she had an idea, that, ifshe claimed to be one, she would be able to buy some red calico at thenearest store, as well as an extra bottle of rum. So she fell eagerlyinto the Rev. Mr. Bosom-worth's plans. She sent word to the Creeks thatshe had suddenly become a genuine empress, and called a meeting of thebig men of the nation. The big men assembled; and Mary made a speech, in which she insisted that she was the Empress of Georgia. She must havebeen a pretty good talker; for the Indians became very much excited, andpledged themselves to stand by her to the last drop of their blood. 

Having thus obtained the support of the Indians, Mary set out forSavannah, accompanied by a large body of them. She sent before her amessenger to inform the president of the Province that she had becomeempress over the whole territory belonging to the Upper and LowerCreeks; that she was on her way to demand the instant surrender of allthe lands that had belonged to Doth nations; and that, if there shouldbe any serious opposition to her demands, the settlement would beattacked and destroyed. 

[Illustration: Empress Mary 039]

It was a dark hour for the colonists, who were vastly outnumbered by theIndians. The president and council were disturbed by the bold threatsmade by Mary Bosomworth. Their first plan was to meet the Indianspeaceably, and, by gentle measures, find an opportunity to seize MaryBosomworth and ship her to England. In the town of Savannah there wereonly one hundred and seventy men able to bear arms. The president ofthe Province sent a messenger to Mary, while she and her followers werestill several miles distant, warning her to give up her wild scheme. Mary sent back a message expressing her contempt for the Colony and itsofficials. Thereupon the president of the Province determined to putthe best possible face on the matter, and receive Mary and her savagefollowers boldly. Accordingly the militia was ordered under arms; and asthe Indians entered the town, they were stopped by Colonel Noble Jones, who, at the head of a company of horse, demanded to know whether theycame with friendly or hostile intentions. He received no satisfactoryanswer to his demand, whereupon he informed the Indians that they mustground their arms, as he had orders not to permit an armed manamong them to set foot within the town. The Indians submitted to theunexpected demand, but with great reluctance. 

Having grounded their arms, the Indians were allowed to enter the town. They marched in regular order, headed by Thomas Bosomworth, who, deckedout in full canonical robes, with Mary by his side, was followed bythe various chiefs according to their rank. The army of Indians made aformidable appearance as they marched into the town, and the inhabitantswere terror-stricken at the sight. They marched to the parade ground, where they found the militia drawn up to receive them. Here they weresaluted with fifteen guns, and then conducted to the president's house. When the Indians were assembled there, Thomas and Mary Bosomworth wereordered to withdraw. Then the president and council asked the Indianchiefs in a friendly manner why they visited the town in so large abody, not having been sent for by any person in lawful authority. TheIndians replied that Mary, their empress, was to speak for them, andthat they would abide by what she said. They had heard that she was tobe made a prisoner and sent across the great waters, and they wanted toknow why they were to lose their queen. They said they intended no harmto the whites, and begged that their arms might be restored to them. Then, after talking with Bosomworth and his wife, they would return andsettle all public affairs. Their arms were restored to them, but orderswere given that on no account should any ammunition be issued until thetrue purpose of their visit was made known. 

The Indians then had a conference with Mary Bosomworth, and on thefollowing day began to conduct themselves riotously, running up and downthe streets like madmen. As all the men were obliged to perform guardduty, the women were compelled to remain alone in their houses. Theywere in a constant state of terror and alarm, expecting every moment tobe set upon and killed by the unruly savages. While the confusion was atits worst, a rumor was circulated that the Indians had cut off the headof the president of the council. The report was false; but the colonistswere in such a state of excitement, that they could scarcely berestrained from firing on the Indians. The situation was very critical. Great prudence was necessary in order to prevent bloodshed, and save thetown from destruction. 

At this crisis orders were given to the militia to lay hold of ThomasBosomworth, and place him in close confinement. When this order wascarried out, Mary became frantic, and made threats of vengeance againstthe whole Colony. She cursed General Oglethorpe, declared that histreaties were fraudulent, and ordered the colonists to depart from herterritory. She raved furiously, and claimed control over the entireearth. But while engaged in cutting up these extraordinary capers, shekept an eye on the leading men among the Indians, who she knew could beeasily bribed. 

The president of the Province, finding that nothing could be done withthe Indians while they remained under the influence of their so-calledempress, caused Mary to be privately arrested, and placed her underguard with her husband. When this was done, quiet was at once restored. The Indians ceased to be boisterous. When the time seemed to be ripe, the president of the Province employed men acquainted with the Creeklanguage to entertain the chiefs and their warriors in the friendliestway. A feast was prepared; and in the midst of it the chiefs were toldthat Bosomworth had become involved in debt, and was anxious to securenot only all the lands of the Creeks, but also a large share of thebounty paid to them by the King of England, so that he might be able topay his creditors in Carolina. He was also told that the King's presentswere intended only for the Indians; that the lands near the town werereserved for them for their encampments; that the sea islands werereserved for them to hunt upon when they should come to bathe in thesalt waters; and that neither Mary nor her husband had any right tothese lands, which were the common property of the Creek nations. 

For the moment this policy was successful. Even Malatche, Mary'sbrother, seemed to be satisfied; and many of the chiefs declared thatthey were convinced that Bosomworth had deceived them, and that theywould trust him no more. But Malatche, at his own request, had anothertalk with Thomas and Mary Bosomworth, and was again won over to supporttheir wild pretensions; so that, when the Indians were gathered togetherto receive their shares of the royal bounty, Malatche stood up in themidst of them, and delivered a most violent speech in favor of theclaims of Mary as the Empress of Georgia. He declared that she had threethousand warriors at her command, and that every man of them would takeup arms in her defense. At the conclusion of his speech, Malatche drewforth a paper and presented it to the president of the council Thispaper was merely the sum and substance of Malatche's speech; and itwas so clearly the production of Bosomworth, that the effect was fardifferent from what the Indians had expected. The astonishment of thepresident and council was so apparent, that Malatche begged to have thepaper again, so that he might deliver it to the person from whom he hadreceived it. 

It was important that another conference should be had with the Indians. Accordingly they were called together again; and the president of theProvince made an address, recalling to their minds the fact that whenGeneral Oglethorpe and his colony landed in Georgia, they found Mary, then the wife of John Musgrove, living in a hut at Yamacraw; that atthat time she was comparatively poor and friendless, being neglectedand despised by the Creeks, and going about in rags; that GeneralOglethorpe, finding that she could speak both the English and the Creektongues, employed her as an interpreter, gave her rich clothes, and madeher a woman of some consequence; that she was respected by the colonistsuntil she married Thomas Bosomworth, but from that time forth they nolonger had any confidence in her; that she had no lands of her own; andthat General Oglethorpe had no treaty with her, but dealt with the oldand wise leaders of the Creeks, who voluntarily surrendered their wastelands to the whites. The president then went on to show that Mary'sclaims had been invented by Thomas Bosomworth as an easy means ofpaying a debt of four hundred pounds which he owed in South Carolina forcattle, and that his quarrel with the colonists was due to the factthat they had refused to give him a third part of the royal bounty whichbelonged by right to the Indians. 

At this point the Creek chiefs begged the president to stop. They hadheard enough to convince them, they said, and now they wanted to smokethe pipe of peace. Apparently this was a happy ending to a very seriousdispute. But at the very moment when everything was serene, MaryBosomworth made her appearance amongst those who were patching up theirdifferences. She had escaped from her guards, and, having secured asupply of rum, now made her appearance drunk and furious. She filled theair with threats. The president told her, that, unless she ceased herefforts to poison the minds of the Indians, he would again order herinto close confinement. Thereupon Mary turned to Malatche and told himwhat the president had said. In a rage, Malatche seized his arms, and, calling to the rest of the Indians to do the same, dared the whites totouch the empress. The uproar was great. Every Indian had his tomahawkin his hand, and the council expected nothing less than instant death. 

At this moment, Captain Noble Jones, who commanded the guard, orderedthe Indians to deliver up their arms. The savages were overawed by thecoolness and courage of this intrepid officer. They yielded up theirarms, and Mary was shut in a private room, and a guard set over her. There she was securely kept, and while the Indians remained she had nofurther communication with them. Her husband was then sent for, andthe president and council tried to reason with him; but he remainedobstinate, declaring that he would stand up for his wife's rights tothe last. Finding Bosomworth unreasonable, the council caused him tobe seized and confined. This done, the authorities then set aboutpersuading the Indians to leave the town peaceably and return to theirown settlements. This the savages did after a while, leaving Savannah insmall parties until all were gone. 

Finding himself no longer supported by the Indians, Thomas Bosomworthat last repented of his folly. He wrote to the president and council, apologizing for his wanton conduct. He acknowledged the title of hiswife to be groundless, and relinquished all claim to the lands of theProvince. Though his offense had been serious, the colonists pardonedhim, and thus ended the career of Coosaponakesee as Empress of Georgia. 

And yet, after all, the Rev. Thomas Bosomworth had his way. Mary seemsto have lived long; and her husband pressed her claims in London, so that, when Henry Ellis was made governor of the Province, he wasauthorized, in 1759, to sell the islands of Ossabaw and Sapelo, as wellas other Indian lands near Savannah, and out of the moneys received tosettle the demands of the Bosomworths, and to give them a title tothe Island of St. Catharine, which they had settled and improved. MaryBosomworth was given four hundred and fifty pounds for goods she hadexpended in the King's service, and it was provided also that she shouldbe allowed sixteen hundred and fifty pounds for her services as agent. In addition, she was given two thousand pounds, the sum for whichOssabaw and Sapelo sold at auction. A grant of St. Catharine Island wasalso made to Mary Bosomworth; so that it may be considered that she wasrichly rewarded for the many good turns she did the colonists inher better days, before her mind had been poisoned by the Rev. Mr. Bosomworth. 

THE LIBERTY BOYS. 

[Illustration: The Liberty Boys 048]

In 1765, what is known as the Stamp Act was passed by the Parliament ofGreat Britain, in spite of all the protests made by the agents ofthe Colonies. The people of the Colonies felt that taxation withoutrepresentation was an exercise of power not to be tolerated. 

The Stamp Act itself was a very small matter; but many of the AmericanColonies had been setting up claims of independence in various matters. As Benjamin Franklin said, the British nation was provoked by theseclaims of independence, and all parties proposed by this piece oflegislation to settle the question once for all. While the agents of theColonies, and among them Franklin, protested against the Stamp Act, noneof them supposed that it would be met by armed resistance; and yet theterms of the act were insolent and sweeping. It was provided that if thestamps were not used, "marriages would be null and void, notes ofhand valueless, ships at sea prizes to the first captors, suits atlaw impossible, transfers of real estate invalid, inheritancesirreclaimable. " In spite of these sweeping terms, Benjamin Franklin didnot doubt that the act would be carried into effect, and other patrioticAmericans thought that the colonists should submit. Even James Otis ofBoston, who was afterwards among the first to advocate the calling of anAmerican congress to deliberate upon the propriety of the acts of GreatBritain, was of this opinion. 

The Georgia authorities regarded the stamp duty as just as any thatcould be generally imposed on the Colonies, though the manner ofimposing it greatly inspired alarm. But while the other Colonies werehesitating, a voice was heard in Virginia. Patrick Henry, speakingfor the Virginians, made an eloquent protest against the law, and hisboldness kindled into flames the spirit of opposition that had beensmoldering in all the Colonies. The Sons of Liberty were organizedNorth and South. In Georgia they were known as "Liberty Boys. " "Liberty, property, and no stamps!" was the cry, and it was a cry that stirred thecountry from one end to the other. 

The congress suggested by James Otis of Boston assembled on Monday, the7th of October, 1765, Georgia had no delegates in the congress, butwas represented by a messenger who was sent to obtain a copy of theproceedings. Such representation was not because the Colony of Georgiafailed to sympathize with the purpose for which the congress was called, but was entirely due to the influence and popularity of Governor Wright, the royal governor, who was not only a good man personally, but wise, prudent, and far-seeing. Owing to his exertions, Georgia was notrepresented in the person of delegates. The speaker of the GeorgiaHouse of Assembly had indeed called a convention of the members for thepurpose of selecting delegates to the Colonial Congress called to meetin New York, and sixteen members had responded to the call; but suchwas the influence of Governor Wright, that these members of the assemblywere prevailed upon not to send delegates to the congress. But theycould not be prevented from preparing and sending a response to theMassachusetts invitation. They had resolved, they said, to supportheartily every measure that might be suggested for the support of thecommon rights of the Colonies. 

We learn from the letters of Governor Wright, written to the Earl ofHalifax, that it was as much as he could do (and he was a very activeas well as a very wise governor) to prevail on the people to maintain atleast the outward show of loyalty to the King. And he was not successfuleven in this, for he informs another correspondent (Mr. SecretaryConway) on the 31st of January, 1766, that the same spirit of "sedition, or rather rebellion, which first appeared at Boston, " had reachedGeorgia, and that he had been constantly engaged for the space of threemonths in trying to convince the people that they ought to submit to theKing's authority until they could point out their grievances and applyfor redress in a constitutional way. Governor Wright also states tothe same correspondent that he has had much trouble in preserving fromdestruction at the hands of the people the stamp papers that had beenforwarded for the collection of the tax. He received "incendiary"letters; he had to issue proclamations against riots and "tumultuousand unlawful assemblies;" and he had also to take measures against theLiberty Boys, who began to have private meetings, and who had formedthemselves into a society to oppose and prevent the distribution of thestamp papers. 

In short, the good governor was kept in a constant state of alarm lestthe Liberty Boys should seize some advantage and cause his Majesty theKing of England to have a moment of grief. The Liberty Boys were soactive, and made so many threatening demonstrations, that GovernorWright was driven to what he describes as extreme measures. He wascompelled to send the obnoxious stamp papers to a place of safety toprevent the people from destroying them; and when he had the paperssecurely hidden, he was compelled to place men on duty day and night toprotect the precious stamps. He was obliged to send a posse of men toprotect the stamp distributer by hiding him, and was then moved to sendhim into the country for a season, in order to avoid the resentment ofthe people; and then, after all his trouble, the good governor foundthat the people had determined not to apply for any papers, stampedor unstamped, until the King had acted on the petitions sent from theColonies. No wonder that he was moved to call it "a wretched situation. "It was indeed a wretched situation for one who had no higher ideas ofduty than to continue to serve the King and oppose the interests of thepeople. 

There was something more of an uproar in South Carolina than in Georgia;but the truth of history appears to be that the resistance offered tothe Stamp Act in Georgia was much more serious than that displayed inCarolina. Although Governor Wright used all his influence to support theact, the people exercised so much vigilance in watching the stamp papersand the officer sent to issue them, that none of the papers found theirway into use. 

The Colonies were bordering on a state of revolution, when, through theinfluence of the Earl of Chatham, the Stamp Act was repealed. Therewas great rejoicing among the people, and a general manifestation of arenewal of loyalty to the mother country. But the seeds of dissensionhad been sown. The Stamp Act unnecessary and uncalled for, had given thepeople cause to ponder over their real relations to the Crown; and outof the discussion that had taken place arose a spirit of independencethat grew and thrived and spread day by day. 

In short, the repeal of the Stamp Act gave the people of the Coloniesonly momentary satisfaction. Their success in securing its repealgave them a new taste for liberty of action, and a new sense of theirimportance as individuals. But King George III. Was never satisfied withthe repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765. He declared that it had woundedthe Majesty of England. It fretted him, and the irritation that he feltextended like a contagion to his cabinet. When the Earl of Chatham died, there was no statesman to take his place. The mantle of his office fellon Charles Townshend, who was more anxious to please the King than tosecure good government to the people of the Colonies. He was anxiousfor the British Government to assert with vigor its right to govern theColonies as it saw fit. 

Meanwhile the spirit of independence in the Colonies continued to assertitself more openly day by day, and the determination grew among themnot to submit to taxation without representation in Parliament. Theorganization of Sons of Liberty and Liberty Boys grew and spread bothNorth and South. One of the most fruitful causes of discontent was thefact that Georgia and the other Colonies were compelled to depend uponthe will of the British Government in all matters. Every act passed bya colonial assembly must receive the sanction of the British Parliamentbefore it became a law. Petitions were disregarded. Frequently therewas a delay of two years between the passage of an act by the ColonialGeneral Assembly and its ratification. But every measure had to receivethe approval of the Crown. While the affairs of the country were in thispeculiar condition, the people became more and more dissatisfied. 

It is now known that Governor James Wright, loyal to the King as heproved himself to be, was fully sensible of the injustice to whichthe Colonies were compelled to submit. On the 15th of August, 1769, headdressed a letter to the Earl of Hillsborough, which was not read untilfifteen months after it was written. In this letter the governor warnedthe British cabinet that the Colonies would never submit to taxationwithout representation. There was no disaffection, he said, toward theKing or the royal family, but simply a determination on the part of thepeople to stand on their rights. But the governor's letter lay unreadfor fifteen months, and there was no reply to the numerous petitionssent from the Colonies. At last the Americans determined to appeal tothe pockets instead of to the sentiments of the people of Great Britain. They determined to import no goods whatever that could be manufacturedor produced at home. 

This determination, instead of causing the British people to conciliatethe Americans by securing the repeal of unfriendly laws, turned thepopular opinion against the Colonies; and this feeling was intensifiedby the Boston Tea Party. A bill was passed by both Houses of the BritishParliament to close the port of Boston, and the discussion of themeasure gave an opportunity to some of the statesmen of the mothercountry to show their spite. Another law was passed, limiting andcutting down the power of the representative assembly of Massachusetts, and providing that town meetings should not be held except on permissionin writing from the royal governor. Another act was passed, giving thegovernor of the Province the power to send to Great Britain or to otherColonies persons indicted for murder or charged with capital crimescommitted in aiding the government of Massachusetts. These acts, intended to humiliate the Colonies, had the effect of inflaming them, and the Liberty Boys grew in numbers and determination. 

[Illustration: Tondee's Tavern 055]

On the 20th of July, 1774, "The Georgia Gazette, " published at Savannah, contained an invitation to the people of the Province to meet atTondee's Tavern on the 27th of July to take into consideration theunjust laws that had been passed by the British Parliament. The causeof Massachusetts was the cause of all. The meeting was held, and stoodadjourned to the 10th of August, in order to give all the parishes anopportunity to be represented by delegates. Governor Wright, loyal tothe last, issued a proclamation warning the people of the Province toavoid attending the meeting; but the proclamation was disregarded, and ameeting of the people of the Province was held at Tondee's Tavern onthe 10th of August, 1774. Resolutions were adopted, declaring thathis Majesty's subjects in America owed the same allegiance, and wereentitled to the same rights and privileges, as their fellow-subjectsin Great Britain; that the act lately passed for blockading the portof Boston was contrary to the British constitution; that the act forabolishing the charter of Massachusetts Bay tended to the subversion ofAmerican rights; that the Parliament of Great Britain had not, nor everhad, the right to tax his Majesty's American subjects; and that everydemand for the support of government should be by requisition made tothe several houses of representatives. The resolutions covered all thegrievances of the people of the Colonies. 

Meanwhile, Governor Wright was not idle. He called a convention ofRoyalists, which met, and signed a protest against the resolutions. Copies of this protest were made, and sent into all the parishes, by thegovernor's friends. Under pressure, many timid men who were really insympathy with the Liberty Boys signed the protest. The signatures ofdead men were used, and other frauds practiced, in order to make thedemonstration in favor of the King sufficient to overawe those whohad pledged themselves to American independence. In all this, GovernorWright was aided by the fact that the only newspaper in the Province, "The Georgia Gazette, " was under his control. He was also aided by thegeographical situation of Georgia, and by his own personal popularity. He had made a good governor. He had worked as hard for the prosperityand progress of the Province as he now worked to prevent the people fromjoining the movement for independence. 

The governor was successful to the extent that he was able to preventGeorgia from sending duly accredited representatives to the FirstContinental Congress; and this fact has been taken by some writers ofhistory to mean that the spirit of liberty and independence was not asearnest and as enthusiastic in Georgia as in the other Provinces. Later, when Georgia was overrun by British and Tory influences, and appeared tobe conquered, ill-natured critics recalled the fact that her people wereslow to join hands with those who advocated resistance to tyranny. 

When the South Carolina delegates to the First Continental Congressreturned to their homes, bearing with them copies of the Declaration ofColonial Rights, the Liberty Boys of Georgia renewed their movement withgreat zeal. Copies of the Declaration were distributed throughout theProvince. The result was, that the Liberty Boys grew steadily strongerin numbers, and more defiant in action. An idea of the situation at thistime may be gathered from a letter written by Governor Wright to theEarl of Dartmouth on the 13th of December, 1774. He declared that thespirit of independence, or, as he called it, the spirit of enthusiasm, which many were possessed of before, "is raised to such a height offrenzy, that God knows what the consequences may be, or what man orwhose property may escape their resentment. "

No doubt the amiable governor misunderstood the situation. What heregarded as "frenzy" was merely the eager desire and the determinationof the Liberty Boys of Georgia to redeem themselves in the eyes of theirbrethren in the other Colonies. They were humiliated by their failure tosend representatives to the Continental Congress, and they endeavored toredeem themselves by increased zeal and enthusiasm. 

They arranged to hold a provincial congress in Savannah on the 18thof January, 1775. Governor Wright, on hearing of this, determined toconvene the Provincial General Assembly on the same day, hoping andbelieving that this would prevent a meeting of the Provincial Congress, or greatly hamper its action. But the governor was mistaken. TheGeneral Assembly met in response to the call, and so did the ProvincialCongress. Governor Wright addressed the members, declaring to them thedanger of the situation, and imploring them to be prudent and loyal. The upper house of the General Assembly made a response agreeable to thegovernor's expectations, but the lower house gave to its address a toneof independence that was not at all pleasing to the King's officer. Heshowed his displeasure, and placed a serious obstacle in the way of theLiberty Boys by adjourning the General Assembly until the 9th of thefollowing May. The Assembly had met on the 18th of January, and wasadjourned on the 10th of February; so that the Liberty Boys, who made upa majority of the lower house, had no time to appoint delegates to thePhiladelphia congress soon to be held, nor to take any official actionin behalf of the independence of Georgia. 

Governor Wright's plans were certainly very shrewdly laid. Hisadjournment of the General Assembly not only hampered the ProvincialCongress (or convention) that had met at Savannah simultaneously withthe legislature, but threw the delegates into confusion and disorder, and was the means of causing the convention to adjourn without takingsuch action as the friends of liberty hoped for. All that it did wasto elect three representatives to the Philadelphia congress. Thiswas something, but it was not enough. The Liberty Boys expectedthe Provincial Convention to adopt all the measures and resolutionssuggested by the Continental Congress. They therefore felt mortifiedwhen the convention adjourned, and left Georgia still outside thecontinental association. 

This event was a serious embarrassment to the other Colonies, andaroused the anger of those friends of liberty who were unable tounderstand the peculiar conditions that surrounded the movement forindependence in Georgia. The friends of liberty in South Carolina wereso indignant, that they denounced the Georgians "as unworthy therights of freemen, and as inimical to the liberties of their country. "Throughout the Colonies, the partisans of American independence weredeeply wounded by the apparent hesitation of the Georgians, while theRoyalists were delighted. 

Though the Provincial Convention remained in session only seven daysbefore adjourning, the delegates of St. John's Parish had withdrawn fromthe body. These delegates insisted on an emphatic indorsement of theacts of the Continental Congress, and they retired as soon as theyfound there would be some difficulty in bringing some of the hesitatingmembers to their way of thinking. They retired, and selected Dr. LymanHall to represent St. John's in the Philadelphia congress. He took hisseat in that body, and although he cast no vote, he made his voice heardin the discussions. 

In spite of all the drawbacks which the Liberty Boys in Georgia hadexperienced, their enthusiasm did not cool. They never ceased theirefforts, and the independence movement continued to grow. The publicmind became more and more inflamed with resentment against the tyrannyof King George and his Parliament, as the people heard of the progressof events in the more northern Colonies. By the 10th of May the peopleof Savannah had heard of the shedding of American blood by Britishtroops at Lexington and Concord. As the news spread from parish toparish, the people became aroused, and the response of public sentimentwas all that American patriots could expect. 

[Illustration: Seisure of Ammunition in Savannah 060]

The first response of the Liberty Boys at Savannah was to seize theammunition stored in the magazine. This event occurred on the night ofthe 11th of May, and was planned and carried out by the members of theCouncil of Safety. About six hundred pounds of powder fell into thehands of the Liberty Boys. Some was sent to South Carolina, and the restwas hidden in the garrets and cellars of the patriots who had seized it. Tradition says that some of this powder was sent to Massachusetts, whereit was used by the patriots who drove the British before them at thebattle of Bunker Hill. 

Other events occurred that showed the temper of the Liberty Boys. On the4th of June, when Governor Wright came to fire salutes in honor of KingGeorge's birthday, he found the cannon had been spiked, dismounted, androlled to the bottom of the bluff. On the 5th of June the first libertypole in the Colony was set up at Savannah. A young man named Hopkins, who spoke contemptuously of the members of the Committee of PublicSafety was seized by a mob, tarred and feathered, placed in anilluminated cart, and paraded up and down the streets of Savannah. 

As the days went by, the independence movement in Georgia became moreenthusiastic, the Liberty Boys more active. The first vessel armed andequipped for naval warfare during the Revolution was fitted up bythe Liberty Boys of Georgia under the authority of the ProvincialConvention, which had assembled in Savannah on the 4th of July, 1775. This event is interesting. The Carolina Committee of Safety had heardthat a British ship had sailed for Georgia with a cargo of powderintended for the Indians and for the use of the Royalists. TheCarolinians at once resolved to capture the ship and seize the cargo. To that end, two barges, manned by forty well-armed men, were embarkedfrom Beaufort, and went to the mouth of the Savannah River, where theyencamped on a point that commanded a full view of Tybee Lighthouse. TheProvincial Convention, hearing of this expedition, offered to assist theofficers in every way possible. There was an armed British schooner inthe river at that time; and the Liberty Boys of Savannah determined tojoin forces with the Carolinians at Tybee, and effect her capture. Forthis purpose a schooner was equipped by the Provincial Convention, andplaced under command of Captain Bowen and Joseph Habersham. This vesselwas armed with ten carriage guns and swivels, and carried fifty men. TheBritish armed vessel was not inclined to enter into a contest, but, when the Georgia schooner appeared, weighed anchor and sailed away. Theschooner then took position beyond the harbor bar, and waited for theship carrying the cargo of powder. She had not long to wait. On the 10thof July, 1775, the powder ship, commanded by Captain Maitland, made herappearance. Before entering Tybee Inlet, however, Captain Maitland sawthe armed schooner. Suspecting that he was about to fall into a trap, hebrought his vessel round, tacked, and stood out to sea. But he had gonetoo far. The Georgia schooner gave chase, and soon overtook and capturedthe ship. It was a fortunate capture for the Colonies. Five thousandpounds of powder were sent to Philadelphia, and nine thousand fell tothe share of Georgia. 

The convention that commissioned the first armed vessel of theRevolution did more important work than this. It placed the Provinceof Georgia in political union with her sister Colonies, and gave herfellowship with those struggling Provinces. She was welcomed into theUnited Colonies with joyful demonstrations by the Continental Congress. By the 15th of April, 1776, the Liberty Boys in Georgia were so strongthat Governor Wright had taken refuge on one of the King's vessels atTybee; and on that date the patriots took full charge of the governmentof the Province. Archibald Bulloch was the first republican president ofGeorgia. 

This is how the Liberty Boys took the Province of Georgia from hisMajesty the King, and made a free and independent government. Theirstruggle did not end here, but the details of that struggle must be leftto history to relate. 

A GROUP OF CHARACTERS

The Revolutionary War in Georgia developed some very romantic figures, which are known to us rather by tradition than by recorded history. First among them, on the side of the patriots, was Robert Sallette. Neither history nor tradition gives us the place of his birth or thedate of his death; yet it is known that he played a more important partin the struggle in the Colony than any man who had no troops at hiscommand. He seems to have slipped mysteriously on the scene at thebeginning of the war. He fought bravely, even fiercely, to the end, and then, having nothing else to do, slipped away as mysteriously ashe came. "In Liberty County, " says history, "there lived during theRevolution a man by the name of Robert Sallette, distinguished forhis opposition to the Tories. It is not known with certainty to whatparticular command he was attached. He appears to have been a sort ofroving character, doing things in his own way. " Here is the mystery ofromance to begin with. Here is the wanderer, --the character so dear tothe imagination of youth. 

"The Tories, " says history further, "stood very much in dread of him;and well they might, for never had they a more, formidable foe. " Here, then, is the hero and the wanderer combined in one person, andthat person fighting for the holiest cause in which man can take uparms, --the rights and liberties of the people. What more could be asked?

Curious as we may be to know something of the personal history of RobertSallette, it is not to be found chronicled in the books. The Frenchtwist to his name makes it probable that he was a descendant of thoseunfortunate Acadians who, years before, had been stripped of their landsand possessions in Nova Scotia by the British, their houses and barnsburned, and they themselves transported away from their homes. They werescattered at various points along the American coast. Some were landedat Philadelphia, and some were carried to Louisiana. Four hundred weresent to Georgia. The British had many acts of cruelty to answer for inthose days, but none more infamous than this treatment of the gentle andhelpless Acadians. It stands in history to-day a stain upon the Britishname. 

Another fact that leads to the belief that Robert Sallette was adescendant of the unfortunate Acadians was the ferocity with which hepursued the British and the Tories. The little that is told abouthim makes it certain that he never gave quarter to the enemies of hiscountry. 

His name was a terror to the Tories. One of them, a man of considerablemeans, offered a reward of one hundred guineas to any person who wouldbring him the head of Robert Sallette. The Tory had never seen Sallette, but his alarm was such that he offered a reward large enough to temptsome one to assassinate the daring partisan. When Sallette heard of thereward, he disguised himself as a farmer, and provided himself witha pumpkin, which he placed in a bag. With the bag swinging across hisshoulder, he made his way to the house of the Tory. He was invited in, and deposited the bag on the floor beside him, the pumpkin striking theboards with a thump. 

[Illustration: The head of Robert Sallette 066]

"I have brought you the head of Robert Sallette, " said he. "I hear thatyou have offered a reward of one hundred guineas for it. "

"Where is it?" asked the Tory. 

"I have it with me, " replied Sallette, shaking the loose end of the bag. "Count me out the money and take the head. "

The Tory, neither doubting nor suspecting, counted out the money, andplaced it on the table. 

"Now show me the head, " said he. 

Sallette removed his hat, tapped himself on the forehead, and said, "Here is the head of Robert Sallette!"

The Tory was so frightened that he jumped from the room, and Sallettepocketed the money and departed. 

On one occasion Robert Sallette is known to have spared the lives of twoTories, at least for a little while. Once when he and Andrew Walthour(for whom Walthourville in Georgia is named) and another man were ridingalong a narrow trail late in the afternoon, they met three otherriders whom they suspected to be Tories. The plan that Sallette and hiscompanions adopted to capture the men was very simple. Andrew Walthour, who was riding in front, was to pass the first and second men, RobertSallette to pass the first. As Walthour came to the third man whenSallette had come to the second, and their companion to the first, theLiberty Boys seized the guns of the three simultaneously. The men had noopportunity either to fight or escape. 

"Dismount, gentlemen!" said Sallette. Then he addressed himself to theleader. "What is your name?"

In reply to this, a fictitious name was given, as Sallette and hiscompanions afterwards found out. 

"Where is your camp?" asked Sallette. 

"We are from over the river, " answered the man, meaning the Altamaha. 

"Where did you cross?"

"At Beards Ferry. " This was where the Whigs and the Liberty Boys weremost numerous. 

"That is not true!" exclaimed Sallette. 

Then he turned to the second man, asked the same questions, and receivedthe same replies. He turned to the third man, asked the same questions, and received the same replies. 

"If you do not tell me the truth, " exclaimed Sallette to this last man, "I'll cut off your head!"

The man persisted, and Sallette was as good as his word. The othersbegged for their lives, and declared that they would guide Sallettestraight to their camp. This they did; and Sallette, aided by hisprisoners, captured a large party of Tories. 

Once when Robert Sallette and Andrew Walthour were marching with theadvance guard of the American troops, they suddenly met the advanceguard of the British. A short but sharp skirmish followed, during whicha very large man of the British guard was killed. Observing that thedead man wore a pair of good boots, Sallette determined to get them. While he was pulling them off in the midst of a furious fire from theenemy, his companions called out to him to come away or he would surelybe killed. "I must have the boots!" cried Sallette to his companions. "Iwant them for little John Way!"

Here was fun in the midst of tragedy; for it is said that little JohnWay could have put both his feet and his fists into one of the boots. 

One day Sallette dressed himself up as a British officer and acceptedan invitation to dine with a party of the enemy. Suddenly, in the midstof the toasting and drinking, Sallette drew his sword, killed the menwho sat to the right and left of him, sprang on his horse, and rode offunhurt, though he was in such a hurry that he had no time to throw thebridle reins over the horse's head. 

At the White House, near Sunbury, Major Baker, of the patriot army, withthirty men, attacked and defeated a party of Tories under command ofCaptain Goldsmith. 

Among the slain was Lieutenant Gray, whose head was almost severed fromhis body by a stroke of Robert Sallette's sword. 

On many occasions, when a battle was in progress, Sallette would detachhimself from the American army, gain the rear of the enemy, and killmany men before he was discovered. If this brave man was indeed adescendant of the Acadians, he avenged the wrongs of many of hiscountrymen. 

Another character who attracted attention during the War of theRevolution was Patrick Carr, whose hatred of the Tories made his namecelebrated among the Liberty Boys of Georgia. Paddy Carr, as he wascalled, lived and died in Jefferson County. He was born in Ireland, butcame to Georgia before the Revolution. When the independence movementbegan, he threw himself into it with all the ardor of his race. Owing tothe cruelty of the Tories, he conceived a special hatred against them. He showed them no quarter. History gives but a word or two to hisachievements, but tradition still keeps his name alive in the regionwhere he operated. Like Sallette, he was an independent partisan; but, unlike Sallette, his operations were among those who could remember wellenough, but who would not take the trouble to preserve the particularsof even the least of his exploits. We know that Patrick Carr lived. Weknow that he became famous where recklessness and daring were common. But that is nearly all we know. It is said of him that during the war hekilled one hundred Tories with his own hands. Once, when praised for hisbravery, he smiled and shook his head, saying that he would have madea very good soldier, but the Lord had given him a heart that was toomerciful. He no doubt remembered the atrocities of the Tories in thesection that is now Jefferson, Columbia, Burke, and Wilkes counties. Thecruelties they committed in that region during the Revolution have noparallel in civilized warfare. 

Among the adventurous characters of that time, on the side of theBritish, Daniel McGirth stands easily first. The history of his careerduring the war is a strange one. He was born in South Carolina, and entered into the struggle against the British with the utmostenthusiasm. He was a brave man, a hard fighter, and one of the mostactive of those who took up arms against the King. He was an expertwoodsman, and was at home in the saddle. He was assigned to duty as ascout, and was better equipped for that service, perhaps, than any manin the American army. The ease with which he secured information of theenemy's movements and plans, and the energy that marked his movements, made his services of great value to the patriot cause. This was notthoroughly appreciated by some of the officers under whom McGirth acted. 

He brought with him into the army a mare which he called "The GrayGoose. " She is said to have been an elegant animal, and McGirth wasvery proud of her. With this mare under him, he always felt safefrom pursuit. One of the American officers, who was a good judge ofhorseflesh, and who probably wanted to "cut a dash, " as the saying is, saw this beautiful mare, and coveted her. Finding that McGirth scornedall offers to sell her, the officer adopted various means to obtain her. These efforts were resisted by McGirth, mainly on the ground that themare was his own private property, and that she was essential to theduties he was called on to perform. Failing to gain his ends in thisway, the officer continued to worry McGirth in other ways. He no doubtdid something to rouse the ire of the scout, who was an irritable man, and who felt the importance of the service he was rendering to thecause. It is not now known how McGirth insulted the officer, --whetherin a moment of passion he struck him, or whether he merely used roughlanguage to him. 

Whatever the offense, McGirth was placed under arrest, tried by acourt-martial, found guilty of violating the articles of war, andsentenced to be whipped. He received this punishment, and was placedin confinement again, where he was to remain until he received anotherwhipping. While thus held, he saw his mare picketed near the camp, andhe immediately resolved to escape. He was successful in this. Once free, he secured The Gray Goose, leaped into the saddle, turned around, and, in the face of his pursuers, pronounced threats of vengeance against allthe Americans for his ill treatment. 

There is no doubt that he was illtreated; but if he had not been anignorant man, he would not have pronounced against the cause of libertyon account of the treatment he received at the hands of individuals. But the savage in his nature was aroused, and he carried out his fiercethreats to the fullest extent. For the time being, he attached himselfto another American command; but at the first opportunity he desertedto the enemy, and became the scourge and terror of those who opposed theBritish cause. He spared none. His field extended from the Florida lineto the Savannah River, in what is now Elbert County, and far into SouthCarolina. He appeared when least expected, and carried destruction withhim. His mare became as noted as her master. In what was then UpperGeorgia, she was known as "The Bald-faced Pony. " On many an occasionhe owed his life to the fleetness of his mare. But his vengeance wasnever satisfied: it was always active, and thirsting for the blood ofthe American patriot. The whim of the officer to possess McGirth's marewas a foolish one at best. It was the cause of great public and privatesuffering. 

[Illustration: McGirth and his mare 072]

When South Carolina was rescued from the British, McGirth retreatedinto Georgia, and finally into Florida. When the Spaniards regainedpossession of that territory, he became subject to their laws. For somereason or other he was thrown into one of the dungeons of the old fortat St. Augustine, where he was confined for five years. When released, his health was broken, and it was with great difficulty that he managedto return to Sumter District, in South Carolina, where his wife lived. 

A very queer and eccentric character in the Revolution was Captain RoryMcintosh, of Mallow. Though Rory was a kinsman of General Lachlan andColonel John Mcintosh, who were among the most active Liberty Boys inGeorgia, he took up arms for the King, and a very devoted Tory he was. His eccentricities would have been called whims if he had not stuckto them with such constancy. He was a Highlander and a follower of theStuarts. How and why he became loyal to the new line of British kings, history does not state; but his clan had a chief, and he no doubtthought that every government ought to have a monarch. When theRevolution began, he was over sixty years of age, and was livingcomfortably on his plantation at Mallow; but he volunteered, and foughtthrough the war. 

A story is told of Rory Mcintosh that once when the Spaniards heldEast Florida, he carried to St Augustine a drove of cattle. He receivedpayment in dollars, which he placed in a canvas bag behind him on hishorse. When near his home, the bag gave way, and a part of the moneyfell out. He secured what was left and rode on, paying no attention tothat which had fallen from the bag. When in need of money some yearsafter, he returned to the place where the dollars had spilled, pickedup as many as he wanted, and went back home. Whenever he could, he wentabout accompanied by a piper. Rory was a tall, finely formed man, 'withbristling whiskers and a ruddy complexion: consequently when he appearedon parade, he attracted great attention. 

[Illustration: Captain Rory McIntosh 074]

In 1778 two expeditions were sent from St. Augustine for the purposeof attacking Savannah, --one by sea, and one by land under command ofLieutenant Colonel Prevost. This land expedition had been joined byCaptain Roderick Mcintosh, in the capacity of a volunteer. He attachedhimself particularly to the infantry company commanded by CaptainMurray. When the British laid siege to Sunbury and the fort, CaptainMurray's company was in the line near the fort. One morning when CaptainRory had had a dram too much, he determined to sally out and summonthe fort to surrender. His comrades tried to restrain him, but he wasdetermined. Finally he strutted out, a drawn claymore in his hand, withhis trusty slave Jim. He approached the fort and cried out, --

"Surrender, you miscreants! How dare you presume to resist his Majesty'sarms?"

Colonel Mcintosh, who commanded the fort, saw at once the condition ofCaptain Rory, and forbade the men to fire. Then he threw open the gate, and said, --

"Walk in, Mr. Mcintosh, and take possession. "

"No, " cried Rory, "I'll not trust myself among such vermin. I order youto surrender!"

At that moment a rifle was fired by some one in the fort, and the ballpassed through Captain Rory's face from side to side under the eyes. He fell backwards, but immediately recovered, and stood on his feetflourishing his claymore. Then he began to walk backward, his face tothe fort. Several shots were fired at him, and Jim called out, --

"Run, massa, run! dey kill you!"

"Run!" cried Rory scornfully. "You may run, but I belong to a race thatnever runs!"

It was at the siege of Sunbury that Colonel Mcintosh, when summoned byColonel Prevost to surrender the fort, sent back the reply, "Come andtake it!"

AUNT NANCY HART. 

There lived in Georgia, during the Revolutionary struggle, the mostremarkable woman in some respects that the country has produced. To findher match, we shall have to go to the fables that are told about theAmazons. The Liberty Boys called her Aunt Nancy Hart. The Indians, struck by her wonderful feats in behalf of her country, called her "TheWar Woman;" and there is a creek in Elbert County, where she lived, thatwas named by the Indians "War Woman's Creek. "

There are other heroines to whom history has paid more attention, andwhose deeds have been celebrated in song and story; but not one of themwas more devoted to the high cause of freedom, or more courageous, ordepended less on aid from others, than Aunt Nancy Hart. In this lastrespect, the War Woman of Georgia stands alone in history, just as shestood alone when the Tories were waging a war of extermination, sparingneither women nor children, in the region in which she lived. Inventionand fable have kindly come to the aid of the most famous of the world'sheroines, but neither fable nor invention has touched the character orthe deeds of this heroine of the Revolution. She stands out on thepages of history rough, uncouth, hot-tempered, unmanageable, uneducated, impolite, ugly, and sharp-tongued; but, as her friends said of her, "What a honey of a patriot she was!" She loved the Liberty Boys as wellas she loved her own children. It has been said that she was cruel; butthis charge may as well be put out of sight. Before passing upon it, we should have to know what the War Woman's eyes had seen, andwhat terrible revelations her ears had heard. Standing for Americanindependence in a region that swarmed with Tories, whose murderous deedsnever have been and never will be fully set forth, Aunt Nancy Hart hadto defend her own hearthstone and her own children. 

The maiden name of this remarkable woman was Morgan, and she was born inNorth Carolina. She married Benjamin Hart, a brother of Colonel ThomasHart of Kentucky. Thomas Hart was the father of the wife of Henry Clay, and the uncle of the celebrated Thomas Hart Benton. Aunt Nancy and herhusband moved to Georgia with the North Carolina emigrants, and settledon Broad River, in what is now Elbert County. She was nearly six feethigh, and very muscular, --the result of hard work. She had red hair, and it is said that she was cross-eyed, but this has been denied ongood authority. It matters little. Her eyes were keen enough to piercethrough all Tory disguises, and that was enough for her. It is certainthat her courage and her confidence kept alive the spark of libertyin hearts that would otherwise have smothered it, and was largelyresponsible for kindling it into the flame that finally swept theBritish out of that section, and subdued the Tories. When the Whigs andpatriots who had been her neighbors were compelled to flee before themurderous Tories, she refused to go with them, but stood her ground andnever ceased to speak her sentiments boldly. Nothing but the wholesomedread with which she had inspired them prevented the Tories frommurdering her and her children. When General Elijah Clarke moved thewomen and children of the Broad River region to an asylum in Kentucky, and the Liberty Boys had taken refuge in South Carolina, Aunt Nancy Hartremained at home, and for a long and dismal period she was unprotectedsave by her own remarkable courage. 

At that period the houses were built of logs, and the chimneys werebuilt of sticks plastered with clay. They were called "stack chimneys. "One evening Aunt Nancy and her children were sitting around the fire, onwhich a pot of soap was boiling. Now, a pot of soap must be constantlystirred, and for this the strong, muscular arms of Aunt Nancy werepeculiarly fitted. So she stirred the soap, and, as she stirred, toldthe youngsters the latest news of the war. Presently one of her childrenchanced to discover some one peeping through the crack of the chimney, eavesdropping. By a gesture or a nod of the head Aunt Nancy was informedof what was going on. She smiled, and grew more spirited in her talk, rattling away and laughing as she gave exaggerated accounts of therecent defeats of the Tories. As she talked, she stirred the bubblingsoap, and kept her keen eyes on the crack where the eavesdropper hadbeen seen. Suddenly she dashed a ladleful of boiling soap through thecrack full into the face of the intruder. It was so quickly and deftlydone, that the eavesdropper had no time to dodge the scalding stuff. Hereceived the full benefit of it Blinded and half crazed by the pain, he howled and screamed at a tremendous rate. Aunt Nancy went out, and, after amusing herself at his expense, bound him fast and heldhim prisoner. The probability is that the next day she H tucked up herpetticoats, shouldered her gun, and compelled the unlucky Tory to fordthe river ahead of her; and that, once on the other side, she kept inconstant communication with the Clarkes and with other partisans of theAmerican cause. 

[Illustration: Aunt Nancy Hart 079]

Her husband, whom she sometimes jokingly described as "a poor stick, "assisted her in her communications. A conch shell was kept at thespring, some distance from the house. On this conch shell the childrenwere taught to blow the blasts that gave Mr. Hart information. Onesignal was, "The enemy is at hand;" another was, "Keep close;" another, "Make tracks for the swamp;" and still another was that he and hisfriends were wanted at the cabin. 

At the very darkest hour of the Revolution in Georgia, Aunt Nancyperformed one of her most remarkable feats, --one that brought into playall the courage and devotion of her strong nature, and all the tact andaudacity that belonged to her character. 

Brigadier General Andrew Williamson, with three hundred men, wasencamped near Augusta. When Charleston fell, this officer, who wasalready a traitor, though his treachery had not been avowed, called hisofficers together, and expressed the opinion that it would be foolishto further resist the King. He therefore advised them to return to theirhomes, and there accept the protection which would be offered them. Hethen abandoned his command, which was immediately disbanded. Shortlyafterwards Colonels Brown and Garrison, two partisans of the King's armywho had made themselves notorious by their cruelty to Americans, seizedAugusta. Brown had been tarred and feathered in Augusta just before thebreaking-out of the Revolution, and he made the patriots of that townand of the country roundabout pay dearly for the indignities thathad been heaped upon him on account of his loyalty to the Crown. Heconfiscated the property of the patriots, and issued an order banishingall Whig families beyond the borders of Georgia. 

Raiding parties were sent into the region in the neighborhood of Augustato compel the inhabitants to take the oath of allegiance to the King. One of these parties entered the house of Colonel John Dooly, a gallantofficer, and murdered him in cold blood in the presence of his wife andchildren. Colonel Dooly was the father of Judge Dooly, who became famousin Georgia after the war. 

A detachment of this murdering party found its way to Aunt Nancy Hart'scabin. There were five Tories in the detachment, and Aunt Nancy receivedthem coldly enough. They told her they had come to inquire into thetruth of a report they had heard to the effect that she had aided awell-known rebel to escape from a company of King's men by whom hewas pursued. With a twinkle of malice in her eyes, Aunt Nancy boldlydeclared that she had aided her Liberty Boy to escape, and then shedescribed the affair. 

She said that one day she heard the gallop of a horse. Looking out, shesaw a horseman approaching, and at once knew him to be a Whig flyingfrom pursuers. She let down the bars near her cabin, told him to ridehis horse right through her house, in at the front door and out at theback, to take to the swamp, and hide himself the best he could. She thenput up the bars, entered her house, closed the doors, and went about herbusiness. In a little while a party of Tories rode up, and called to herwith some rudeness. She muffled her head and face in a shawl, openedthe door slowly, and asked in a feeble voice who it was that wanted topester a sick, lone woman. The Tories said they had been pursuing a man, and had traced him near her house. They wanted to know if any one hadpassed that way. "I told 'em, " said Aunt Nancy to the listening Tories, "that I had seen a man on a sorrel horse turn out of the road into thewoods a little ways back. So they went back and took to the woods, andmy Whig boy got off safe and sound. "

Naturally this story, boldly told, did not please the five Tories whoheard it; but something in the War Woman's eye prevented them fromoffering her any personal injury. Instead, they ordered her to give themsomething to eat. 

"I never feed King's men if I can help it, " she replied. "The scampshave fixed me so that I can't feed my own family in a decent manner. They have run off with all my pigs and poultry except that old gobbleryou see in the yard there. "

"Well, you shall cook the old gobbler for us, " exclaimed one who seemedto be the leader of the party. Suiting the action to the word, he raisedhis musket and shot the gobbler. One of his men brought it into thehouse and gave it to Aunt Nancy, with orders to clean and cook it atonce. This, of course, made that stanch patriot very angry, and she gavethe Tories a violent tongue lashing. 

It is probable that while she was dressing the turkey for the pot, theTories let some hint drop about the outrageous murder of Colonel JohnDooly, who was a warm friend of Aunt Nancy's. At any rate, she suddenlychanged her tactics. She ceased to storm and quarrel, the scowl lefther face, and she soon seemed to be in high good humor. She went aboutgetting the meal ready with great good will. She sent her little girlto the spring after water, but told her to sound on the conch shell thesignal to "keep close, " so that her husband and his neighbors who werewith him might know there were Tories in the cabin. 

While the daughter was gone after water, one of the Tories volunteeredto take her place in helping to get everything ready. Aunt Nancyaccepted his services, and joked with him with great freedom andfamiliarity. Like all women of spirit and independence, Aunt Nancypossessed a considerable fund of humor, and it stood her in good steadnow. She contrived to thoroughly interest the Tories, and it was notlong before they were in the most jovial frame of mind imaginable. Theyhad expected to find a bad-tempered, ill-conditioned woman; and theywere agreeably surprised when they found, instead, a woman who couldmatch their rude jests, and make herself thoroughly entertaining. 

The Tories had brought a jug with them, and they were so pleased withAunt Nancy's seeming friendliness that they invited her to drink withthem. "I'll take one swig with you, " said Aunt Nancy, "if it kills everycow on the Island, " meaning a neck of land at the junction of river andcreek where the Whig families of the neighborhood pastured their cattleand hid them. The Tories laughed and drank, and then they laughed anddrank again. They kept this up until the old gobbler had been cooked toAunt Nancy's satisfaction; and by the time they were ready to sit downto table they were in a very merry mood indeed. 

They had stacked their arms within easy reach of where they had beensitting and drinking; but Aunt Nancy had moved her table to the middleof the floor, so as to be able to walk around it on all sides whilewaiting on the Tories. In helping the men to the turkey and othereatables that she had prepared, she frequently came between them andtheir muskets. The Tories had hardly begun to eat before they called forwater. Aunt Nancy, expecting this, had used up in cooking all that hadbeen brought: consequently her daughter had to take the piggin and goto the spring after a fresh supply. She went with instructions to signalher father, and the neighbors who were with him, to come immediately tothe cabin. While her daughter was at the spring, Aunt Nancy managed topull off one of the boards that filled the space between the logs of thehouse, and through this crack she slipped two of the muskets. She wasslipping the third through when her movements caught the eye of one ofthe Tories. Instantly the men sprang to their feet, but Aunt Nancywas now in her element. Quick as a flash she clapped the musket to hershoulder, and threatened to shoot the first man that approached her. Themen, knowing her reputation as a fighter, and awed by her appearance, hesitated. At last one bolder than the rest began to advance toward her. She fired promptly, and at the report of the gun the man fell dead onthe floor. 

Before the others could recover from their consternation, Aunt Nancyhad seized another musket, and held it in readiness to fire again. Herdaughter had now returned from the spring with the information that herfather and his neighbors would soon arrive. Directed by her mother, the girl took the remaining musket and carried it out of the house. TheTories, seeing that no time was to be lost in recovering their arms, proposed to rush upon Aunt Nancy in a body and overpower her. But theWar Woman was equal to the occasion. She fired again, and brought downanother Tory. As she did so, the daughter, acting on her orders, handedher another musket. Then, taking position in the doorway, she called onthe men to "surrender their ugly Tory carcasses to a Whig woman. "

[Illustration: Aunt Nancy captures the Tories 085]

The Tories agreed to surrender, and wanted to shake hands to make thebargain binding; but Aunt Nancy kept her position in the doorway untilher husband and his friends made their appearance. The Whigs wantedto shoot the Tories; but Aunt Nancy, whose blood was up, declared thatshooting was too good for them. "They've murdered John Dooly, " sheexclaimed; "now let them hang for it!" Thereupon the Tories were takenout and hanged. The tree from which they swung was still standing aslate as 1838, and was often pointed out by old people who had livedthrough the troubled times of the Revolution. 

One day Aunt Nancy met a Tory going along the highway. She engaged himin conversation, diverted his attention, and suddenly seized his gun andwrenched it away from him. She then ordered him to take up the line ofmarch for a fort not far distant. Not daring to disobey, the man marchedbefore her, as many others had been compelled to do, and she turned himover to the commander of the fort. 

When Augusta was in the hands of the British, and their raiding partieshad been driven in by the Americans under Colonel Elijah Clarke, itbecame necessary for that commander to get some positive informationin regard to the intentions of the British. At this juncture Aunt Nancycame to the rescue. She disguised herself as a man, and went boldly intothe British camp. She remained there for several days, pretending to becrazy. In this way she secured a great deal of important information, and made haste to carry it to Colonel Clarke. 

Aunt Nancy was once left in a fort with several other women and a numberof small children, her own among the rest. The men had gone out insearch of supplies. They had not expected an attack, and had left onlyone of their number, a young man, to protect the women and children. Suddenly a party of Tories and Indians made its appearance, andsurrounded the fort, which was nothing more than a stockade. Theyelling of the savages threw all the women and children into the utmostconfusion, --all except Aunt Nancy. That wonderful woman, who never knewwhat fear was, only became more energetic in the face of danger. Therewas a small cannon in the fort, but it was not in position to reachthe enemy with its fire. After trying her best to lift the cannon intoposition, Aunt Nancy remembered the young man who had been left inthe fort, and looked about for him; but he was not to be seen. A closesearch discovered him hiding under a cowhide. Aunt Nancy pulled himout by the heels, and vowed she would make mince-meat of him unless hehelped her to move the cannon. The fellow knew perfectly well that AuntNancy was not to be trifled with when her blood was up. He gave her thenecessary assistance. She aimed the cannon and fired it, and the Toriesand savages promptly took to their heels. 

On another occasion when the river was high, it became necessary for theAmericans on the Georgia side to know what was going on on the Carolinaside; but no one could be induced to venture across. Hearing of thedifficulty, Aunt Nancy promptly undertook to go. 

The freshet had swept away all the boats, but to Aunt Nancy this wasa trifling matter. She found a few logs, tied them together withgrapevines, and on this raft made the voyage across the river. Shegathered the necessary information, and made haste to communicate it tothe Georgia troops. 

Aunt Nancy was the mother of eight children, --six sons and twodaughters. Her eldest daughter, Sally, married a man named Thompson, who was as quicktempered as his mother-in-law. After the war, Aunt Nancymoved to Brunswick. Sally and her husband followed a year or two later. In passing through Burke County, they camped for the night by theroadside. The next morning Thompson ordered a white man, who had beenhired as a teamster, to perform some duty. Thompson's tone was soperemptory that the man returned an insolent answer, and refused. In afit of rage, Thompson drew his sword, and severed the man's head fromhis body with one swinging stroke. He then drove the team himself untilhe came to the first house, where he gave information that he had cutoff a fellow's head at the camp down the road, and that they "had bestgo and bury him. " He then drove on, but was overtaken, arrested, and lodged in jail at Waynesboro. As soon as Aunt Nancy heard of thetrouble, she made her appearance in the upcountry again. Within a fewdays after her return, the jail was found open one morning, andThompson was gone. Speaking of this afterwards, Aunt Nancy was heard toexclaim, --

"Drat 'em! that's the way with 'em all. When they get into trouble, theyalways send for me!"

Not long after this episode, Mr. Benjamin Hart died. Aunt Nancy mournedhis loss for a while, and then married a young man. Then, as the sayingis, she "pulled up stakes, " and moved to what is now the State ofAlabama, on the Tombigbee. There she had the French and the Spaniardsfor neighbors, and she felt at home with neither race. She was bluntly, emphatically, and unaffectedly American. To add to her troubles, a bigrain flooded the river, destroyed her crops, and surrounded her house. This, with the French and Spaniards, was too much for her. She returnedto Georgia, but, finding her old home occupied by others, she settled inEdgefield, S. C. 

A Methodist society was formed in her neighborhood, and its influencebecame so active that Aunt Nancy's conscience began to trouble her. Shelistened to the preaching of the Word from a distance until she becameworried about her future state. She went to the meetinghouse, but foundthe door closed against intruders. The deacon and members were holdinga class meeting. The closed door was no obstacle to Aunt Nancy. She cutthe fastening and walked in without ceremony. Once in, she found whatshe wanted. She became an enthusiastic Methodist, and is said to havefought Satan and sin as manfully as she fought the Tories and theBritish. 

When Governor George R. Gilmer of Georgia was in Congress, in 1828-29, the members were very anxious to attract the notice of General Jackson, who had been elected President. A proposal was made to fill the vacantniches in the rotunda with paintings descriptive of the battle of NewOrleans and the general's other victories. Governor Gilmer offered as anamendment a resolution to fill one of the niches with a painting of AuntNancy Hart wading Broad River, her petticoats held up with one hand, a musket in the other, and driving three Tories before her, to deliverthem up to Colonel Elijah Clarke. 

Governor Gilmer's proposition was a more sensible one than he intendedit to be. Georgia has perpetuated Aunt Nancy's name by calling a countyafter her; but the Republic owes something to her memory. 

TWO SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

The pen of the historian is not always as impartial as it should be. Ithas its spites and prejudices; and it frequently happens that the menwho wield the pen with which history is written, have their whims, their likes, and their dislikes. It is certain that two of the hardestfighters in the War for Independence--two of the most distinguishedofficers that Georgia gave to the cause--have had tardy justice doneto their valor. The names of these men are General James Jackson andGeneral Elijah Clarke. The independence and the individuality of thesemen stand clearly out in all the records that we have of them, and itis no doubt true that these qualities made them to some degree unpopularwith those who inspired the early chroniclers of the Revolution in theSouth. Neither of these officers was capable of currying favor with hissuperiors, or of doing injustice to the humblest of his comrades. Theywere not seekers after the bubble reputation, but had their minds andall their energies bent on liberating Georgia and her sister Colonies. 

General James Jackson was born in the county of Devon, England. Hecame to this country in 1772, landing at Savannah penniless and almostfriendless. He began the study of law; but when the Liberty Boys begantheir movement for resisting British oppression, he placed his bookson their shelves, and gave himself entirely to the cause of the people. When only nineteen years old, he was one of the volunteers that firedthe British armed vessels sent to attack Savannah by water, while MajorMaitland and Major Grant attacked it by land. The crews of these vesselswere compelled to escape without their clothes and arms. General Jacksonserved in the lower part of Georgia until the fall of Savannah in 1778, when he and his friend John Milledge made their way to the patriottroops, commanded by General Moultrie. Such was the condition of thesemen, both of whom afterwards became governors of Georgia, that theywere compelled to make the greater part of their journey barefoot and inrags. Their appearance was so much against them that they were arrestedas spies by some American soldiers, and would have been hanged but forthe timely arrival of a gentleman who knew them. 

General Jackson was at the siege of Savannah, and, after the disastrousresult of that affair, returned to South Carolina. The victory of theAmericans at Blackstock's House, in South Carolina, was almost whollydue to the Georgians who were there. Sumter commanded at the beginningof the action, but a severe wound compelled him to retire from thefield. The command then devolved upon the oldest Georgia officer, General John Twiggs, who was assisted by Jackson, Clarke, and Chandler. In this engagement Tarleton, the famous leader of the British dragoons, was defeated for the first time, and he was never able to recover theprestige he had lost. Tarleton fled from the field, and Jackson wasordered to pursue him. It was owing only to the fleetness of his horsethat Tarleton escaped. 

[Illustration: General James Jackson 093]

At the battle of The Cow-pens, Jackson again distinguished himself. "Major Jackson, " says General Andrew Pickens, "by his example, and firm, active conduct, did much to animate the soldiers and insure the successof the day. He ran the utmost risk of his life in seizing the colors ofthe 71st British Regiment, and afterwards introducing Major Mc-Arthur, commanding officer of the British Infantry, as a prisoner of war toGeneral Morgan. " His services brought him to the attention of GeneralGreene, and he was sent on a tour of difficult duty through NorthCarolina. He was so successful in this, that the commanding generalauthorized him to raise a partisan legion of infantry and cavalry forservice in Georgia. By means of his native eloquence, which was saidto be almost irresistible, he succeeded in raising the legion in a veryshort time. Wherever he addressed the people, there were loud cries of"Liberty and Jackson forever!" When his legion had been organized, hewas appointed lieutenant colonel. His dragoons were clothed and armed bythemselves, with the exception of their pistols. Their coats were madeof dressed deerskins, and faced with the little blue that could beprocured. 

Just before the siege of Augusta, Jackson was called upon to employhis eloquence in preventing the militia from giving up in despairand returning to their homes. These men were utterly worn out. Beingignorant men, they could see no ray of hope. They lacked every necessaryof life. Jackson roused their drooping spirits, restored their hopes, and revived their old-time enthusiasm. At the siege of Augusta these menfought fiercely. Jackson himself led one of the advance parties. Afterthe surrender of the town, he was ordered to level the fortifications, and he was appointed commandant. He was afterwards ordered to takeposition midway between Augusta and Savannah. While he held thisposition, a conspiracy was formed in the infantry to kill him inhis bed. A soldier named Davis, who waited in the commander's tent, suspected that something was wrong. So he mingled among the men, andapplied many harsh epithets to Jackson. Thinking to make Davis useful tothem, the conspirators told him their plans, which he made haste to laybefore his superior officer. Shortly afterwards the infantry were drawnup in line, and the ringleaders in the conspiracy arrested, tried, andexecuted. 

After the war the Legislature gave Davis a horse, saddle, and bridle, and five hundred acres of land, as a reward for his fidelity. 

Jackson was with General Wayne in his Georgia campaign, and wasintrusted by him with many hazardous duties. When Savannah surrendered, General Wayne issued an order in which he said, "Lieutenant ColonelJackson, in consideration of his severe and fatiguing service in theadvance, is to receive the key of Savannah, and is allowed to enter thewestern gate. "

In 1786, Jackson was made brigadier general, and had command of theforces operating against the Indians. Between 1788 and 1806 GeneralJackson held almost every high office within the gift of the people ofthe State, --member of the Legislature, governor when only thirty-oneyears old, member of the first Congress held under the FederalConstitution, member of the State Constitutional Convention, presidential elector, and United States senator. 

With General Jackson in many of his engagements was General ElijahClarke, who in many respects was the most remarkable soldierthat Georgia contributed to the War for Independence. With faireropportunities than he had, he would have made a great commander. He hadsmall knowledge of tactics, but he had what is better, --the skill totake advantage of quickly passing events, and the coolness that made himcomplete master of all his resources. He was a man of the most strikingcharacteristics, and he came out of the war with many bitter enemiesamong those with whom he came in contact. This feeling was perpetuatedby the political campaigns in which his son, John Clarke, took partafter the war. A trace of this is to be seen in the sketch whichGovernor Gilmer gives to Elijah Clarke in his curious book entitled"Georgians. " It is undoubtedly true that Elijah Clarke was ignorant ofwhat is called book knowledge, but he was not much worse off in thisrespect than the famous Confederate General Forrest, who is thought bysome high military critics to have been the most remarkable commanderon the Southern side in the civil war. Elijah Clarke, as well as GeneralForrest, had something that served them a better turn than a mereknowledge of books. They had a thorough knowledge of men, and a quickeye for the situations that follow each other so rapidly in a skirmishor battle. 

[Illustration: Elijah Clarke 097]

Elijah Clarke was born in North Carolina, but moved to Georgia in 1774. He was among the first of the inhabitants of Upper Georgia to takeup the cause of American independence; and his example, for he was anotable man even in private life, did much to solidify and strengthenthose who leaned to that cause. When the British troops marched from thecoast into Upper Georgia, Elijah thought the time had come to takehis gun from the rack over the door, and make at least some show ofresistance. His courage, and the firmness and decision of his character, made him the natural leader of those of his neighbors whose sympathieswere with the Liberty Boys in other parts of the State, and he soonfound himself a commander without commission or title. He cared lessfor these things than for the principles of liberty for which he wasfighting. 

For a while Elijah Clarke and his followers fought as partisan rangers, but he soon drew around him a compact and disciplined body of men whowere ready to go wherever he might lead them. He did not confine hisefforts to his new neighborhood We hear of him with Howe's ill-fatedexpedition against East Florida, where, at Alligator Creek, he was askedto perform the impossible feat of storming with a troop of horse a campintrenched behind logs and brushwood. He was no doubt amazed at thestupidity of General Howe in issuing such an order, but he attempted tocarry it out with his usual courage. He did succeed in floundering overthe logs with his troops, but he came to a ditch that was too wide forhis horses to leap, and too deep to be ridden through. At this moment heand his men were saluted with a heavy fire from the enemy, and they werecompelled to retire in confusion. In this attempt Elijah Clarke was shotthrough the thigh. Later he was in South Carolina, at Blackstocks, andat The Cowpens. 

In some quarters an effort has been made to blacken the reputation ofGeneral Clarke by comparing his treatment of the Tories with the mildand humane policy pursued by Francis Marion. There was, indeed, somemisunderstanding between the two men in regard to the methods that mightbe adopted. The policy of Marion was undoubtedly the correct one, so faras South Carolina was concerned; but if the Tories in that Province hadbeen guilty of the crimes committed by their brethren in Wilkes and thesurrounding region, General Marion's policy would not have been verydifferent from that of General Clarke. The Tories with whom Clarke wasfamiliar were guilty of murder, rapine, pillage, and incendiarism. TheTories in South Carolina were kept under by the presence of Marion andhis men. Clarke went wherever his services were needed; and during hisabsence, the Tories of the Broad River region were free to commitevery excess. Marion refused to leave the region where he made his namefamous, and thus kept the Tories in constant fear and dread. 

Who shall say that Marion would not have been as ready to exterminatethe Tories as Clarke was, or that Clarke would not have been as humaneas Marion, if each of these distinguished patriots had been in theother's place?

At the battle of Kettle Creek, in what is now Wilkes County, ElijahClarke distinguished himself by his readiness and skill as a commander. The Americans under Colonel Pickens were in pursuit of the British underColonel Boyd. Their line of march was the order of battle, and followingthe vanguard came the right and left wings. The left wing was commandedby Elijah Clarke. The center was led by Colonel Pickens, who was incommand of the expedition. Colonel Boyd, the British commander, appearedto be unconscious of pursuit. He had halted on a farm on the north sideof Kettle Creek. His horses were left to forage on the young cane thatgrew on the edge of the swamp; and his men were slaying cattle andparching corn, preparing for a feast after their short rations. TheBritish encampment was formed near the creek, on a piece of open groundflanked on two sides by a canebrake. Colonel Boyd was in utter ignoranceof the approach of the Americans, who advanced at once to the attack. The British colonel formed his line in the rear of his encampment, andthere received the assault. The battle was hotly contested for more thanan hour, and then the Tories retreated through the swamp. 

Elijah Clarke, seeing a piece of rising ground on the farther sideof the creek, on which he suspected the Loyalists would try to form, ordered the left wing to follow him, and was about to cross the streamwhen his horse was shot under him. Mounting another, he soon crossedthe creek, followed by not more than a fourth of his division. There hadbeen some mistake in sending the order along the line. Clarke gained thehill that had attracted his eye just in time to attack Major Spurgen, abrave British officer, who was forming his command. The firing attractedthe notice of the rest of Clarke's division, and they soon joined theirleader. Pickens and Dooly also pressed through the swamp, and the battlewas renewed with great vigor. For a while the result was in doubt, but at the end the Americans held the hill. The Tories fled in alldirections, leaving seventy dead on the field, and seventy-five woundedand captured. Of the Americans, nine were slain, and twenty-threewounded. To Elijah Clarke must be given the credit for this victory, which, coming at the time it did, revived the hopes and courage of theLiberty Boys in all parts of the country. 

The Tories, on the other hand, were so depressed by it, that manyof them left that part of the State, and those who remained becamecomparatively quiet. The situation was so encouraging, that many of thepeople of Georgia, who had been driven from their homes by the crueltyof the Tories, returned with their families. They were not long left inpeace, however. The British and the Tories had their active agents amongthe Creeks and Cherokees, urging these tribes to take up arms and attackthe Americans. In view of this, Clarke was sent to guard the frontierforts. Then the Tories again began to pillage and devastate the BroadRiver region. Some of the crimes they committed would have disgracedsavages. Clarke's house was burned, and his family ordered to leavethe State. Mrs. Clarke and her two daughters started on their perilousjourney with nothing but a small pony of little value, and even this wastaken from them before they had gone very far. This only served to renewthe activity of Clarke in behalf of the American cause. He defeatedthe Tories wherever he met them; and if he gave them no quarter, it wasbecause they had shown no mercy to the Americans. The savage characterof the warfare waged by the Tories against men, women, and children, must ever stand as an explanation and as an excuse for the fierce spiritdisplayed by Clarke and the Americans who lived in the Broad Riverregion. 

In the battle near Musgrove's Mill, Clarke defeated the British, killingsixty-three men, and wounding and capturing one hundred. During thebattle he was twice severely wounded on the head and neck; and once hewas surrounded by the enemy, captured, and placed in charge of two men. One of these he knocked down with a blow of his fist, and the otherfled. At one time, acting without orders, he was near taking Augusta, and was only prevented by the desire of his men to see their families. After this he returned to Wilkes County, where he was compelled to takeunder his protection nearly four hundred women and children who had beendriven from their homes by the savage Tories. He resolved to carrythese to a place of safety, and, with a sufficient guard, set out forKentucky. Cornwallis, hearing of this movement, and taking for grantedthat it was a retreat, sent one hundred men under Captain Ferguson tocut Clarke off, the supposition being that the great partisan fighterwould march through South Carolina, but he had re-crossed the mountainsin the Piedmont region. Hearing of this movement, Clarke detachedMajor Chandler and Captain Johnston with thirty men to take part inthe operations against Ferguson. Thus it was the pursuit of Clarke thatbrought on the memorable battle of Kings Mountain, which resulted ina great victory for the cause of American independence; and althoughClarke was not there in person, his heroic spirit animated the brave menwho won the day. 

He was the first to teach the militia to stand against the bayonets ofthe British; and at Blackstocks, in South Carolina, at the head of hisWilkes riflemen, he charged and drove the British light infantry in anopen field, --a movement that turned the enemy's right flank, and insuredthe victory of the Americans. At the siege of Augusta, Clarke hadanticipated the movement of Colonel "Light Horse Harry" Lee, and hadconfined the British garrison to their works for weeks before ColonelLee's arrival. 

At the close of the Revolution, Clarke led the movement against theIndians. He defeated the Creeks in the battle of Jacks Creek. Afterpeace was declared, Clarke, who had been made a general by a gratefulState, settled on lands that had been reserved to the Indians. For thishe has been criticised very severely; but it is curious that the policyfor which he was attacked, shortly afterwards became the policy of thewhole people. The States and the United States have made treatieswith the Indians, only to break them. Having personal knowledge of theIndians, and having been made the victim of some of their raids, he hadno respect for them or for their rights. To this view the whole countryafterwards came, and the red men disappeared before it. 

It will be well to bear in mind, that, whatever failings he may havehad, there was not a more heroic figure in the Revolution than GeneralElijah Clarke. 

A WAR OF EXTERMINATION. 

[Illustration: A War of Extermination 104]

Some of the barbarous features of the Revolutionary War in Georgia havebeen briefly noted. 

History has turned her eyes away from the more horrible details; butby reading between the lines, and taking advantage of the hints andsuggestions, it is not hard to get a tolerably fair idea of the methodsthat were pursued on both sides. Even Colonel Charles C. Jones, jun. , whose "History of Georgia" is thus far the most complete that has beenwritten, touches lightly on the cruelties practiced in the efforts ofthe British and Tories to wrest Upper Georgia from the control of theAmericans. There are matters that History cannot deal with and maintainher dignity. 

There can be no doubt that the British and the Tories began theircruelties without considering the results to which their acts wouldlead. It is an easy matter at this late day to see how naturally thewar, in the region tributary to Augusta, degenerated into a series ofcrimes and barbarities foul enough to cause History to hold her handsbefore her eyes. When Colonel Campbell, assisted by Colonel Brown, advanced to attack Augusta, it was the only American post that hadnot surrendered to the King's men, and its capture would complete thesubjugation of Georgia from a military point of view. The city fellwithout a struggle, and the American forces retreated across the river. It was natural that the British, and the Tories who were acting withthem, should take advantage of this victory to bring the whole regionabove and around Augusta to terms. The sooner this was done, the soonerwould all Georgia be restored to her relations with his Majesty GeorgeIII. No time was to be lost. Therefore Colonel Campbell, the Britishcommander, tarried in Augusta but a few days. He left Colonel Brownin charge, and marched in the direction of Wilkes County. Those of theinhabitants who had Tory sympathies were to be encouraged; but those whowere disaffected were to be dealt with summarily, so as to put an end, at once and forever, to the disloyalty that had been active in thatregion. This plan was carried out promptly and violently. The severestpunishment was the portion of those who refused to take the oath ofallegiance. Plunder and the torch were the portions of those who chancedto be away from home, fighting for their country. Their helplesswives and children were left homeless, and destitute of provisions. Fortunately a great many stanch Liberty Boys had carried their families, their household effects, and their cattle, into South Carolina as soonas they heard of the fall of Augusta; but many had remained at home, andthe sufferings of these were severe. 

Another explanation of the extreme cruelty with which the war in UpperGeorgia was waged after the fall of Augusta, was the fact that ColonelBrown, who had been left in command by Colonel Campbell, had some oldscores to settle. At the very beginning of the struggle he had beenarrested in Augusta by some of the Liberty Boys, tarred and feathered, and paraded through the public streets, on account of his outspokenloyalty to the King. Still another reason was the fact that DanielMcGirth, who had been maltreated by an American officer, was among theofficers who had accompanied Colonel Brown. McGirth held every Americanresponsible for the treatment he had received, and he spared few thatfell into his hands. Thus, between the anxiety of the British to conquerGeorgia completely, and the desires of Brown and McGirth to revengethemselves, the Americans in Upper Georgia were made the victims of themost inhuman barbarities. 

The Americans under Elijah Clarke lost no time in retaliating, andthus was begun a contest that may be aptly described as a war ofextermination. Clarke was enabled to defeat the British and the Torieswherever they opposed him on anything like equal terms, and this factadded to the rigor with which they treated the Americans who were sounfortunate as to fall into their hands. Shortly after the affair atMusgrove's Mill, in which Clarke defeated the British and the Tories, Lord Cornwallis addressed a circular letter to the officers commandingthe advanced posts. He declared, "The inhabitants of the Provinces whohave subscribed to and taken part in this revolt shall be punishedwith the utmost rigor; and also those who will not turn out shall beimprisoned, and their whole property taken from them or destroyed. Ihave ordered, " he goes on to say, "in the most positive manner, thatevery militiaman who has borne arms with us, and afterwards joined theenemy, shall be immediately hanged. I desire you will take the mostvigorous measures to punish the rebels in the district in which youcommand, and that you obey in the strictest manner the directions I havegiven in this letter relative to the inhabitants in this country. "

Here was authority broad enough to cover every crime that the Britishand the Tories might see fit to commit, and they stretched it to theutmost limit. They burned houses and destroyed property. They insultedand inhumanly treated women and children. They hanged the innocent. Theywent about the country practicing every barbarity that their savage andbloodthirsty natures could suggest. It was no wonder that the Americansretaliated whenever they had the opportunity. It was no wonder thatElijah Clarke, naturally independent and irritable, should fail to seethe justice or necessity of treating the Tories he captured as prisonersof war. 

The situation of the Americans became so serious that Clarke determinedto strike a heavy blow. He returned from Carolina to Wilkes County inSeptember, 1780, and in two days succeeded in placing in the fieldthree hundred and fifty men. With this force, strengthened by eighty menrecruited in Carolina, he boldly marched on Augusta. The movement was sounexpected, that, but for the fact that the advance guard fell in withan Indian camp which it was compelled to attack, Colonel Brown wouldhave been taken completely by surprise. But the retreating Indians gavehim notice, and he took refuge with his command in a strong buildingknown as the White House. The siege began on the 14th. By daylight onthe 16th Clarke had succeeded in cutting the garrison off from its watersupply. The sufferings of the men, especially the wounded, became mostintense. The Americans could hear their cries for water and for medicalaid. Brown appears to have been as brave as he was cruel. Though he wasshot through both thighs, he remained at the head of his men; and hisgreat courage sustained the spirits of his followers. Clarke summonedhim to surrender on the 17th. He not only refused, but warned theAmerican commander that the demonstration he was making against theKing's men would bring destruction to the western part of Georgia. 

Meanwhile some of Clarke's men had gone to visit their families, andothers were more interested in securing plunder than in forwardingthe cause of independence. Colonel Brown, as soon as he heard of theapproach of the Americans, had sent several messengers by differentroutes to inform Colonel Cruger of the state of affairs. Cruger, who wasin Carolina at Ninety-six, promptly set his men in motion, and on themorning of the 18th appeared on the bank of the Savannah, oppositeAugusta. Under the circumstances, Clarke was compelled to retreat. Hehad suffered a loss of sixty, killed and wounded. In retreating, he wascompelled to leave twenty-nine of his wounded men behind. Among thesewas Captain Ashby, one of the bravest and most humane of the officersof the American army. This unfortunate officer and the men with him fellinto the hands of the enemy. Colonel Brown was so severely wounded thathe was unable to move about; so he ordered Captain Ashby and twelve ofthe wounded prisoners to be hanged on the staircase of the White House, where he might see their sufferings and gloat over their agonies. Thesemen were cruelly strangled before Brown's eyes. But their fate was ahappy one compared with that of their wounded companions. Those men wereturned over to the red savages, who were the allies of the British. TheIndians received the prisoners with howls of delight, and began at onceto torture them in every conceivable way. They formed a circle, andmarched around the Americans, cutting and slashing them with theirknives. The end of the unfortunates was most horrible. They were rippedwith knives, scalped, and then burned. No doubt, Colonel Brown enjoyedthis scene more thoroughly than he did the tame and commonplacespectacle of strangling Captain Ashby and his companions. 

Before raising the siege, Elijah Clarke paroled the officers and menwhom he had captured, --fifty-six men, all told. This fact is mentionedto show that the Georgia militia had not then begun those acts ofretaliation which have attracted the notice of historians. They hadhad, as we know, abundant provocation; but after the horrible crimesperpetrated by Brown reached their ears, they threw off all restraint. Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and the men who actedwith Elijah Clarke thought that the best way to preserve the lives ofthemselves and their families was to destroy the Tories as fast as theycaught them. The fact is chronicled by Colonel Jones, and it is worthnoting, that the officers and men paroled by Clarke, in utter disregardof their obligations, took up their arms as soon as the Americanshad departed. The probability is that they were driven to this by thecommands of Brown. 

It is well known, that, as soon as Clarke and his men had retreated, Colonel Brown sent detachments of troops in all directions, with ordersto arrest all persons who had taken part in the siege, or who hadsympathized with the efforts of the Americans to recapture Augusta. Under this sweeping order, men of all ages and conditions were draggedfrom their homes and thrown into prison. Those who were suspected oftaking part in the siege, or of belonging to Clarke's command, wereseized and hanged out of hand. Old men, no longer able to bear arms, were imprisoned for welcoming the return of members of their familieswho had fought on the American side. One instance out of many thatmight be cited was the arrest of the father of Captains Samuel andJames Alexander. In the seventy-eighth year of his age, this old manwas arrested at his home, tied to the tail of a cart, and dragged fortymiles in two days. When caught leaning against the cart to rest hisfeeble limbs, he was whipped by the driver. It was at this time thatin the region round about Augusta the hopes of the patriots grew veryfaint. The women and children assembled, and begged Elijah Clarke totake them out of the country; and in response to the appeals of thesedefenseless ones, he undertook the movement that culminated in theglorious victory of Kings Mountain. 

[Illustration: Old man whipped at the tail of a cart 111]

The winter of 1780 was the darkest hour of the Revolution in UpperGeorgia. There was no trade. Farming was at a low ebb. The schoolhouseswere closed. Many of the patriots had carried off their families. Many had gone with Elijah Clarke to Kentucky. The patriots had betakenthemselves to South Carolina, though the services they rendered therehave been slurred over by the historians of that State. 

When General Greene began his Southern campaign, and gradually rid SouthCarolina of the British and the Tory element, the patriots of UpperGeorgia ventured to return to their homes. Captain McCall, who was amongthem, says, in his history, that they returned in parties of ten andtwelve, so as to attract as little attention as possible. They appointedDennis's Mill, on Little River, as a place of meeting. "When these smallparties entered the settlements where they had formerly lived, " saysCaptain McCall, "general devastation was presented to view; their agedfathers and their youthful brothers had been murdered; their decrepitgrandfathers were incarcerated in prisons where most of them had beensuffered to perish in filth, famine, or disease; and their mothers, wives, sisters, and young children had been robbed, insulted, andabused, and were found by them in temporary huts more resembling asavage camp than a civilized habitation. " Though Captain McCall wasan eyewitness of some of the scenes he describes, the picture he drawsmight seem to be too highly colored were it not supplemented by a greatmass of evidence. One more instance out of many may be given. In askirmish with the Americans under Colonel Harden, Brown captured severalprisoners. Among them was a youth only seventeen years old named RannalMcKay, the son of a widow who was a refugee from Darien. Being told thather son was a prisoner in the hands of Brown, Widow McKay, providingherself with some refreshments that she thought might suit the taste ofthe British commander, went to Brown's headquarters, and begged thather son might be set free. The cruel wretch accepted the present shehad brought him, but refused even to let her see her son, and caused thesentinels to put her out of the camp by force. Next day young McKay andfour other prisoners were taken out of the rail pen in which they hadbeen confined. By Brown's order they were hanged upon a gallows untilthey were nearly strangled. They were then cut down and turned over tothe tender mercies of the Indians, by whom they were mutilated, scalped, and finally murdered in the most savage manner. 

The cruelty of Colonel Brown and the Tories acting under him was sounbearable that the patriots of that region felt that their existencedepended on the capture of Augusta. They decided on an aggressivemovement when they met again at Dennis's Mill, on Little River. 

Colonel Clarke, who was suffering from the results of smallpox, wastoo feeble to lead them. His place was taken for the time by LieutenantColonel Micajah Williamson; and on the 16th of April, 1781, theAmericans moved to the vicinity of Augusta. They were there reënforcedby a detachment from southern Georgia under Colonel Baker, and by anumber of recruits from Burke County. A few days afterwards they werejoined by some Carolina militiamen under Colonel Hammond and MajorJackson. 

With this force, Colonel Williamson took up a position twelve hundredyards from the British works, and fortified his camp. The Americans werecompelled to wait nearly a month for the aid they expected from GeneralGreene. The militia, worn out with waiting for the reënforcements, wereabout to withdraw from the camp in despair, when Jackson, that trulygreat Georgian, made them an address full of the most passionate andpatriotic eloquence, and this appeal changed their purpose. Jackson'svoice was afterwards heard in the halls of Congress; but we may be surethat he was never more in earnest or more truly eloquent than when hepleaded with the faint-hearted Americans to stand to their cause andtheir arms. Jackson's address revived their courage; and when, onthe 15th of May, Elijah Clarke rode into camp, restored to healthand accompanied by one hundred fresh recruits, the confidence of themilitiamen was fully renewed. 

It was at this time that General Pickens and "Light Horse Harry" Lee(the father of General Robert E. Lee) were ordered by General Greene tomarch on Augusta and capture that post When Lee reached the neighborhoodof Augusta, he learned, from a party of light horse which he had sent onahead to collect prisoners and gain information, that the annual royalpresent intended for the Indians had arrived at Fort Galphin, somedistance below Augusta. The present comprised blankets, liquor, salt, small arms, powder, and ball. There was a great lack of these articlesin the American camp, and Lee resolved to capture them. The supplieswere so valuable, that Brown, the British commander, had sent twocompanies from Augusta to garrison Fort Galphin. This was the situationwhen "Light Horse Harry" arrived on the ground. The British in Augustahad not yet discovered his approach, and promptness was necessary. Leaving Eaton's battalion, the artillery, and the footsore men of thelegion, to follow more slowly, Lee mounted a detachment of infantrybehind his dragoons, and made a forced march to Fort Galphin. 

This point he reached on the 21st of May, 1781. The weather wasextremely hot, and for miles the troopers and their horses had beenunable to find a drop of water: consequently neither the men nor theanimals were in a condition to make the attack when the command wasbrought to a halt under the pines that skirted the field surroundingthe fort. The British within the fort were resting quietly, and werenot aware that an enemy was at hand. A prompt and decisive movement wasnecessary; and when his men and horses had rested a little while, Leedismounted the militiamen he had brought with him, and ordered them tomake a demonstration against the fort on the side opposite the positionhe had taken. This famous commander reasoned, that, as soon as themilitiamen appeared before the fort, the garrison would sally from thestockade. The militia would retreat, the garrison pursuing, and he wouldseize upon that moment to assault and capture the post left defenseless. To carry out this plan, Captain Rudolph (who was supposed to be somegreat general in disguise), with a detachment of picked infantry, washeld in readiness to rush upon the fort; while the rest of the troops, supported by the dragoons, were placed where they could shield themilitia from the pursuit of the British. 

The affair took place just as Lee had foreseen. The garrison sallied outto the attack. The militia, before making a show of resistance, begana retreat. The garrison gave pursuit. Captain Rudolph dashed across thefield, and captured the fort without any trouble, The end came, when themilitia rallied, and the foot soldiers and dragoons closed around thesoldiers of the garrison. During the engagement the Americans lost oneman from sunstroke. The enemy lost only three or four men. The rest, together with the valuable stores in the stockade, fell into the handsof the patriots. 

Following this successful affair, which was of more importance than itseems now to be, Lee formed a junction with General Pickens; and thesetwo then joined their forces with those of Clarke, who commanded theGeorgia militia, and the siege of Augusta began. The first movementwas the capture of Fort Grierson, so called in honor of the man whocommanded its garrison. Grierson, hard pressed, threw open the gates ofthe fort, and endeavored to escape. Thirty of his men were killed, andforty-five wounded and captured. Grierson was made a prisoner, but waskilled by a Georgia rifleman. He was as cruel and vindictive as Brownhimself. He was a monster who had made himself odious to the followersof Clarke. In his history, Captain McCall strongly hints that Griersonwas shot by one of the sons of the aged Mr. Alexander, who had been madeprisoner and dragged to Augusta tied to the tail of a cart. A rewardwas offered for information that would lead to the arrest of the man whoshot Grierson, but the reward was never claimed. The whole army probablyknew who had fired the fatal shot, and no doubt the commanders knew, but their knowledge was not official. No further notice was taken of thematter. 

The capture of Fort Grierson cheered the hearts of the besiegers, andgave them renewed courage. Fort Cornwallis was next invested. Thisstronghold was commanded by Colonel Brown himself, who was as bold ashe was cruel. He was mean enough to expose to the American fire the agedMr. Alexander and other unfortunate patriots who had long been held asprisoners. Captain Samuel Alexander commanded one of the companies closeto the fort, and could see and recognize his venerable father, who hadbeen placed in an exposed position by Brown. 

It is not necessary to describe all the events of the siege. Brown heldout as long as he could, but was finally compelled to surrender. On the5th of June, 1781, Brown, with three hundred men, marched out of FortCornwallis, and that stronghold was immediately taken possession of byCaptain Rudolph. A strong guard was detailed by the American commanders, to protect Brown from the just anger of the Georgia soldiers, underClarke, Williamson, and Jackson. To insure his safety, he was carriedto the quarters of "Light Horse Harry" Lee. The next day he and a few ofhis officers were paroled and sent down the river in charge of a partyof infantry instructed to guard him. Ramsay, in his "History of theRevolution of South Carolina, " says that Brown was recognized at SilverBluff by Mrs. McKay, who thus addressed him: "Colonel Brown, in the lateday of your prosperity I visited your camp, and on my knees supplicatedfor the life of my son; but you were deaf to my entreaties. You hangedhim, though a beardless youth, before my face. These eyes have seen himscalped by the savages under your immediate command, and for no betterreason than that his name was McKay. As you are now prisoner to theleaders of my country, for the present I lay aside all thoughts ofrevenge; but when you resume your sword, I will go five hundred miles todemand satisfaction at the point of it, for the murder of my son. " Theprobability is that Mrs. McKay used no such stately language. No doubtshe walked up to Brown, shook her finger in his face, and exclaimed, "You miserable villain! I can't get at you now; but if the day evercomes, I'll flay you alive for the murder of my poor boy. "

The fall of Augusta was received with rejoicings by the patriotseverywhere, and the British and the Tories were correspondinglydepressed. Men who had been overawed by the cruelty of the Tories, nowcame out boldly for the cause of independence, and the forces of theAmericans were rapidly strengthened. Preparations were made for anaggressive campaign in Georgia by the Liberty Boys; and in this purposethey had the active aid and sympathy of General Greene, whose skill andability as a commander were not greater than the wisdom he displayed indealing with the people. 

In January, 1782, General Greene ordered General Anthony Wayne to takecharge of the campaign in Georgia. At the same time he wrote a letterto Governor Martin that displays better than any document now extantthe sagacity and conservatism that were the basis of General Greene'scharacter and the source of his great success as a commander. "I cannothelp recommending to your Excellency, " he wrote to the governor ofGeorgia, "to open a door for the disaffected in your State to comein, with particular exceptions. It is better to save than to destroy, especially when we are obliged to expose good men to destroy bad. Itis always dangerous to push people to a state of desperation; and thesatisfaction of revenge has but a momentary existence, and is commonlysucceeded by pity and remorse. The practice of plundering, which, I amtold, has been too much indulged with you, is very destructive to themorals and manners of the people. Habits and dispositions foundedon this practice soon grow obstinate, and are difficult to restrain;indeed, it is the most direct way of undermining all government, and, never fails to bring the laws into contempt, for people will not stop atthe barriers which were first intended to bound them after having tastedthe sweets of possessing property by the easy mode of plunder. Thepreservation of morals and an encouragement to honest industry should bethe first objects of government. Plundering is the destruction of both. I wish the cause of liberty may never be tarnished with inhumanity, northe morals of people bartered in exchange for wealth. " This letter wasintended to put an end to the war of extermination that the Tories ofUpper Georgia had begun, and to prevent the patriots from carrying outtheir plans of revenge. The letter did great good. It was turned overto the Legislature by the governor, and thus made public; and itssentiments were taken to heart by hundreds who had suffered the mostcruel wrongs at the hands of the Tories. General Greene's letter wasalso made the basis of two proclamations, both issued by the governorafter conference with General Wayne. One opened the door to disaffectedGeorgians who might desire to return to the ranks of the republicans, and the other was addressed to the Hessian troops who had alreadybegun to sympathize with the Salzburghers at Ebenezer. Stevens, in his"History of Georgia, " says that many citizens who had been compelledfrom various reasons to seek protection under the British Government, and who had even joined the armies of the enemy, took advantage of theproclamation which referred to them, returned to their State allegiance, and joined the forces of General Wayne, where they proved theirsincerity by making the most zealous efforts to merit the pardon andprotection that had been promised them by the governor. 

After a brilliant campaign, lasting from January to July, 1782, GeneralWayne, assisted by Elijah Clarke, James Jackson, and other bold spiritswho had never suffered the fires of liberty to go out in Georgia, cleared the State of the British. Savannah was occupied on the 11th ofJuly, the keys having been surrendered to James Jackson. This was theend of British rule in Georgia. 

A NEGRO PATRIOT. 

[Illustration: A Negro Patriot 122]

Along with the emigrants from North Carolina who first settled WilkesCounty, there came a man named Aycock. He brought with him a mulatto boynamed Austin. This boy passed as Aycock's slave; but when the conflictbetween the Liberty Boys and the Tories in that part of the countrybecame desperate, --when the patriots were fighting for their lives aswell as for the liberties of their country, --Aycock's neighbors calledon him to do his part. According to all accounts, Aycock was not muchof a warrior. His sympathies were with his liberty-loving neighbors;but his enthusiasm did not invite him to expose himself to the fire ofmusketry. It is said that he joined the neighbors, and strove to be afaithful militiaman, but he was in a state of constant fear. GovernorGilmer says of Aycock, that, from the time he was required to fight, hesaw a terrible Tory constantly pointing a loaded gun at him. His alarmfinally became so extreme that he offered as his substitute the mulattoboy Austin, who had then grown to be a stout and serviceable lad. 

Objection was made that Austin was a slave, and could not therefore bereceived as a soldier. At this, Aycock acknowledged that Austin was noslave; that, although he was a mulatto, he had been born free. This factwas made so clear to the patriots, that they willingly received Austinas a soldier, and he was mustered into the service under the name ofAustin Dabney. He fought under Elijah Clarke, being under the command ofColonel John Dooly, who was afterwards so foully murdered by the Tories. Of all the brave men that fought under the heroic Clarke, there was nonebraver than Austin Dabney, none that did better service. 

He was in the battle of Kettle Creek, and was foremost among those whofollowed Clarke. Toward the close of this the bloodiest battle fought inGeorgia between the patriots and Tories, Austin Dabney was shot throughthe thigh, and so dangerously wounded that he became a cripple for life. He was taken by his comrades to the house of a Mr. Harris, where he wascarefully nursed until his wound healed. He was not able to do militaryduty after that, but he devoted himself to Harris and his family morefaithfully than any slave could have done. It may be said of him thatgratitude became the ruling passion of his heart. 

After the Americans had won their independence, and peace with it, Austin Dabney became prosperous. Being a quick-witted man, with aninstinct for business, he accumulated property. He finally moved toMadison County, taking with him his benefactor and family, to whosewants and desires he continued to minister with as much devotion as hedisplayed at the beginning of his service. It was in Madison Countythat Austin Dabney became noted for his fondness for horse-racing. Heattended all the races in the neighboring counties. He was the owner ofsome of the finest race horses to be found in the country; and such washis popularity, that he always found prominent men to stand for him. 

Shortly after he removed to Madison County, he received a pension fromthe United States Government. He sent Harris's oldest son to school, and afterwards to college. When the young man graduated from FranklinCollege, now the State University, Austin Dabney supported him whilehe studied law with Hon. Stephen Upson at Lexington, Oglethorpe County. When young Harris was undergoing his examination for admission to thebar, Austin Dabney stood leaning against the railing that inclosed thecourt, listening to the proceedings with great anxiety. When the youngman was sworn in, and was shaking hands with the members of the bar, Austin, unable to control himself, burst into a flood of tears, happythat he had been able to make a gentleman of the son of the man who hadnursed him so long and patiently while his wound was healing. 

When the public lands in Georgia were distributed among the people bylottery, the Legislature gave to Austin Dabney a lot of land in WaltonCounty. The next year the voters of Madison County were in a conditionbordering on distraction, being divided into Dabney and anti-Dabneyparties. Austin had not been permitted to have a chance in the lotterywith other soldiers of the Revolution. Consequently Stephen Upson, oneof Georgia's most prominent men at that time, employed his influencewith such effect that a law was passed giving Dabney a valuable lot. One of the members of the Legislature from Madison County voted forthis law. At the next election the constituents of this member dividedthemselves into two parties, one faction indorsing the vote, and theother denouncing it. Those who denounced the vote did it on the groundthat it was an indignity to white men for a mulatto to be put on anequality with them in the distribution of the public land, though, asGovernor Gilmer bluntly puts it, not one of them had served his countryso long or so well. Governor Gilmer, from whose writings all facts aboutAustin Dabney are taken, tells a very interesting anecdote about him. Inorder to collect the pension which the United States Government allowedon account of his broken thigh, Austin went once a year to Savannah. Once when he was on his way to draw what was due him, he fell in withColonel Wiley Pope, his neighbor, who was also journeying to Savannah. They were very intimate and social on the road, and until they foundthemselves in the streets of Savannah. When they reached the fashionablepart of the city, Colonel Pope observed to his companion that he wasa sensible man, and knew the prejudices that prevented them fromassociating together in the city. Austin Dabney replied that heunderstood it very well, and with that he checked his horse and fell inthe rear of Colonel Pope after the fashion of a servant followinghis master. Their way led them in front of the house of General JamesJackson, who was at that time governor of the State. The governor wasstanding in his door at the time. Colonel Pope passed on unrecognized, but, chancing to glance around, he saw Governor Jackson run from thehouse into the street to greet Austin Dabney. The governor seized thenegro's hand, shook it heartily, drew him from his horse, and carriedhim into the house, where he remained a welcome guest during his stay inthe city. Colonel Pope (so Governor Gilmer says) used to tell this storywith great glee, but owned that he felt put out when he realized, that, whilst he was a stranger at a tavern, Austin Dabney was the honoredguest of the governor of the State. The explanation was, that GovernorJackson had seen Dabney's courage and patriotism tested on the fieldof battle, and he knew that beneath the tawny skin of the mulatto therebeat the heart of a true man. 

Austin Dabney was always popular with those who knew of his services inthe Revolutionary War. Governor Gilmer says that he was one of thebest Chroniclers of the stirring events of that period. His memory wasretentive, his understanding good, and he had a gift of descriptionpossessed by few. He moved to the land the State had given him, takingwith him the family of the man who had nursed him. He continued to servethem while he lived, faithful to the end, and when he died left them theproperty he had accumulated. 

THE YAZOO FRAUD

Some writers on the early history of Georgia have been under theimpression that the speculation known as the Yazoo Fraud had itsbeginning in the efforts of General Elijah Clarke and his followers tosettle on the Indian reservation lying west of the Oconee River; butthis is not the case at all. General Clarke's movement was the resultof an enterprise which was aimed against the Spaniards; and, though thefacts have no real connection with the Yazoo speculation, they maybe briefly told here, especially since Stevens, in his "History ofGeorgia, " turns them all topsy-turvy. 

Genet was the first envoy sent to represent the wild and revolutionaryrepublic of France, --the republic of Robespierre and the Jacobins. Herepresented, as well as any man could, the ideas and purposes of thosewho had wrought such havoc in France. He was meddlesome, wrong-headed, unreasonable, and bold with it all. He sailed from France in aship which he commanded himself; and instead of going straight toPhiladelphia (then the seat of government), where his business calledhim, he landed at Charleston in South Carolina. War was then pendingbetween France and Spain; and Genet, after landing in Charleston, foundready sympathizers in the French Huguenots of South Carolina, and indeedin all those who had fought for American liberty. There were two reasonswhy the fiery appeals of Genet to the people of Carolina to take uparms against Spain were received enthusiastically. One was, that theSpaniards in Florida had been at constant war with the people of Georgiaand Carolina, and had committed many crimes and depredations. The otherwas, that the people felt grateful to France for the aid she had giventhe American Colonies in their efforts to shake off the yoke of GreatBritain. 

Genet's plan was to raise in this country an army large enough to seizethe Spanish possessions in Florida, and to reconquer Louisiana. Forthe reasons stated, Genet found the people enthusiastic in favor of hisenterprise. The enthusiasm was intense. It crossed the Savannah, and found General Elijah Clarke, with his strong nature and activesympathies, ready to embrace it. His military prestige in the Southcommended him to Genet as the man to lead the military enterpriseagainst the Spanish settlements in the South. Accordingly he was givencommand of the army that was to be raised, and was made a major generalin the French service with a pay of ten thousand dollars. 

Having secured a commander whose courage and resources in the fieldcould be depended on, Genet went from Charleston to Philadelphiaoverland, stirring up sympathy for his enterprise and enlisting men. Hissuccess was greater than he had dreamed of. He found but one thing inhis way, and that was the firmness and vigilance of George Washington. This great man set his face sternly against the project; but such wasthe enthusiasm of the people--artfully stirred by Genet, who was asaccomplished as he was unscrupulous, --that a French party was formed. Genet took advantage of the formation of this party to arouse prejudiceagainst Washington; and such was his success, that John Adams, whowas afterwards President, says that there was a multitude of men inPhiladelphia ready to drive Washington from the executive chair. 

A considerable army was raised, recruits reported to General Clarke fromthe Ohio River to the St. Mary's, and everything was ready for action. At that moment the heavy hand of Washington descended on the enterprise. The recall of Genet was demanded, the French party went to pieces, the project collapsed, and Elijah Clarke was left without resources, surrounded by a considerable force of men who had come at his biddingto take part in the attack on the Spanish possessions. These men were onhis hands, expecting the fulfillment of promises that had been made tothem. What was to be done? It was at this critical period that the eyesof General Clarke turned to the Indian reservation west of the Oconee. He marched his men to these lands, and took possession. He, and thosewho engaged in the movement for settling the lands, had risked theirlives for their country on a hundred battlefields. They thought thatthe lands that had been claimed by the King belonged to those who hadconquered the King's armies. They were right in principle, but wrongin action. The lands that had belonged to the King now belonged tothe people, not as individuals, but as a corporate body, --to the wholepeople represented by the State government. These principles had notbeen made as clear by discussion in General Clarke's day as they havebeen made since. He engaged in no speculation. He boldly settled thelands, and was prepared to boldly hold his position. The settlement wasmade in 1794. On the 28th of July, Governor George Matthews issued aproclamation forbidding the settlement, and likewise directed one ofthe judges to issue a warrant for the general's arrest. At the SuperiorCourt of Wilkes County, Clarke surrendered himself to the judge, whoreferred the case to the county justices. These judges made a decision, setting forth the fact that Elijah Clarke had surrendered himself intocustody; that, being desirous to do speedy justice to the State as wellas to the party charged, they had proceeded to maturely consider thecase; and that after examining the laws of the State, and the treatiesmade and laws passed by the United States, they gave it as their"decided and unanimous opinion that the said Elijah Clarke be andis hereby discharged. " Encouraged by this decision, General Clarkereturned to his settlement with the intention of holding the lands; butfinally both the Federal and the State governments moved againsthim, and he abandoned the enterprise. The policy that Clarke began insettling the Indian lands without regard to the rights of the savage hassince become the policy of the government. It is not a wholesomepolicy, nor is it authorized by the moral or civil law; but it has beenunblushingly carried out nevertheless. 

The Yazoo Fraud was a far different matter. The very name of it wasforeign to Georgia. It was borrowed from the Indian name of a smallstream which empties itself into the Mississippi River. When theColony of Georgia was first settled, the land granted to Oglethorpe wasdescribed as lying along the Savannah River, extending southward alongthe coast to the Altamaha, and from the head waters of these riverswestward to "the South Seas. " Afterwards Great Britain changed the linewhich he had established. She carried the boundary line of West Florida, a part of her possessions, higher up. The new line started from theMississippi at the mouth of the Yazoo River, and ran due east to theChattahoochee at a point near where the town of West Point now stands. As the upper boundary of British West Florida this line came to be knownas the Yazoo line, and the country above and below it to an indefiniteextent came to be known as the Yazoo country. No boundary can now befixed to the region then known as the Yazoo country. At the close ofthe Revolutionary War, Great Britain made a treaty which has beeninterpreted as vesting in the United States and in Georgia the rightand title to these lands, reaching from the Chattahoochee to the YazooRiver, and extending on each side of this line to a distance that hasnever been estimated. 

The Yazoo Fraud itself had a somewhat vague beginning. From the bestinformation that can now be obtained, it may be said that it was set onfoot in 1789, shortly after the close of the Revolution, by a sharperwho was famous in that day. He was known as Thomas Washington, but hisreal name was Walsh. Washington, or Walsh, is described as being a veryextraordinary man. He had fought in the service of Georgia, but hehad the instinct of a speculator; and when the war was ended, he gavehimself up to the devices of those who earn their living by theirwits. He was a man of good address, and his air of candor succeeded indeceiving all whom he met. Those who dealt with him always had the worstof the bargain. 

When Washington, or Walsh, began to operate in Georgia through agents, he found the way already prepared for him. The War for Independencehad barely closed, when certain individuals, most of them men of someinfluence, began to look on our Western possessions with a greedyeye. They had an idea of securing these lands and setting up a newgovernment, --a sort of Western empire. To further their designs theybegan by forming themselves into an association called the "CombinedSociety, " the members of which were bound to secrecy by oaths and othersolemn pledges. The purpose of the Combined Society became known, andthe force of public opinion compelled the members to disband. Some ofthem were men of aristocratic pretensions. 

Thus Washington, or Walsh, found a great many sympathetic people inGeorgia. He was too well known in the State to undertake any scheme towhich his name was attached: so he worked through an agent, a man namedSullivan. This man Sullivan had been a captain in the patriot army; buthe had headed the Philadelphia mob which insulted Congress, and he wascompelled to flee to the Mississippi to save his neck. When the oldCongress went out, Sullivan felt free to return. He came to Georgia, representing, or pretending to represent, the Virginia Yazoo Company, ofwhich the celebrated Patrick Henry was a member, and made application tothe State Legislature for the purchase of the Western lands. Sullivan'sdescription of the Yazoo lands was so glowing that another companywas formed in Georgia. Some of the members of the new company formerlybelonged to the Combined Society, but others were men of good standing. This company employed active agents; but no corrupt means were used sofar as is now known, though some members of the General Assembly wereinterested. The efforts of the company were successful. Their act waspassed, and the sale made. Immediately the people began to oppose thescheme, and to demand the repeal of the act The demand grew into a Stateissue, and the new Legislature declared the sale null and void. 

[Illustration: The Yazoo Scheme 134]

For a while the land grabbers were quiet; but in 1794 it seemed to themost eager of the speculators that the time had come for them to makeanother effort to secure the rich Western lands that belonged to theState. They were evidently afraid, that, unless they made haste to gethold of the lands, the people's Legislature would divide them out orsell them to the Federal Government. So they formed another conspiracy, and this time they laid their plans very deep. Acting on the principlethat every man has his price, they managed, by bribery and otherunderhanded schemes, to win the sympathy and support of some of themost prominent men in the State, --men whose names seemed to be farabove suspicion. Some of the highest judges lent their aid to the landgrabbers. Members of Congress were concerned in the scheme. Generalsand other high officers of the militia took part in it. Nothing was leftundone that was calculated to win the support of men who, up to thattime, had enjoyed and deserved the confidence and respect of theState. The extent of the bribery and corruption that existed would bealtogether beyond belief if the records were not left to show it. Theswindlers were both bold and cunning, and in one way or another soughtto win the support of all the leading men in the State. And they camevery close to succeeding. 

The Legislature held its session in Augusta at that time; and while theYazoo land sale was up for discussion, the agents of the land grabbersswarmed around it, coaxing, bribing, and bullying the people'srepresentatives. Among these agents was a judge of the Supreme Court ofthe United States, from Pennsylvania, with twenty-five thousand dollarsin his hands. There was a judge of the United States District Court forGeorgia, paying shares in the land company for the votes of members. AUnited States senator from Georgia, James Gunn, who had neglected toreturn to his post of duty in Congress, was seen bullying members with aloaded whip, to secure their support for the land-sale scheme. A judgeof the State courts was also present, with other prominent citizens, buttonholing the members of the Legislature, offering them shares, sub-shares, and half sub-shares to secure their votes. General JamesJackson, who was then a United States senator from Georgia, was told bya prominent judge of the State that he might have any number of acres hepleased up to half a million, without the payment of a dollar, if hewould use his influence in behalf of the corrupt schemes of the landgrabbers. In reply, General Jackson said he had fought for the people ofGeorgia; that the land belonged to them and to their children; and that, should the conspirators succeed, he, for one, would hold the sale to bevoid. Many weak men in the Legislature were intimidated by threats; andsome who could not be persuaded to vote for the sale, were paid to gohome, and remain away from the Legislature. 

In this way the representatives of the people were persuaded and bribedto support the scheme of the land grabbers. In 1795 the bill was passed, selling to four companies--the Georgia Company, the GeorgiaMississippi Company, the Upper Mississippi Company, and the TennesseeCompany--thirty-five million acres of land for $500, 000. Nothing was nowwanting to complete the fraud but the signature of the governor. If heput his name to the bill, it became a law. If he refused to sign it, the scheme of the swindlers would fail. General George Matthews was thegovernor at that time, and, though two of his sons had been made membersof the land-grabbing companies, it was hoped that he would refuse tosign the bill. The hope was justified by the fact that he had refused tosign a similar bill, and had given some very good reasons for it. Itwas known, too, that he was a man of great courage, and honest in hisintentions; but the influence brought to bear on him was too great. Hisjudgment was weakened by the clamor of the prominent men around him, whohad become the paid agents of the swindlers. He resisted for some time, but finally agreed to sign the bill. The secretary of Governor Matthews, a man named Urquhart, tried to prevent the signing of the bill byworking on the governor's superstitions. He dipped the pen in oil, thinking that when Matthews came to write with it, and found that theink refused to flow, he would take it as an omen that the bill shouldnot be signed. The governor was startled, when, after several efforts, he found the pen would not write; but he was not a man to let sotrifling a matter stand in his way. He directed his secretary to makeanother pen, and with this he made the land-steal bill a law. By astroke he made the bill a law, and also signed away his own popularityand influence. The people of Georgia never trusted him afterwards; andhe left the State, finding it unpleasant and uncomfortable to live amongthose who had lost their respect for him. Yet no charge of corruptionwas ever made against him. 

When the people learned that the Yazoo Fraud had become a law, they roseup as one man to denounce it. Those who lived in the neighborhood ofAugusta determined to put to death the men who had betrayed them. Theymarched to the legislative halls, and were only prevented from carryingout their threats by the persuasion of the small minority of the membersthat had refused to be coaxed, bullied, or bribed into voting for theYazoo Fraud. But the indignation of the people continued to grow asthey learned of the corrupt methods that had been employed to pass themeasure. Meetings were held in every county; and public opinionbecame so strong that those who had voted for the Yazoo Fraud found itdangerous to remain in the State. A senator from Hancock County becameso alarmed that he fled to South Carolina. He was followed by one of hisneighbors, found in a lonely cabin at night, and shot to death. Exceptin one or two counties, the men who voted for the Yazoo Fraud werecompelled to hide themselves until the anger of the people had cooled. 

In his "Sketches of the First Settlers of Upper Georgia, " GovernorGeorge R. Gilmer tells a little story that will serve to show the stateof feeling in Georgia at that time. After the Yazoo Fraud was passed, the people of the counties held indignation meetings. A meeting wascalled in Oglethorpe County, and on the morning of the day, a citizen onhis way to town stopped at the gate of a neighbor to wait until he couldget ready to go. The man who was getting ready was named Miles Jennings. The citizen, waiting, saw Mr. Jennings put a rope in his pocket. 

"What is that for?" the citizen asked. 

"To hang Musgrove!" replied Mr. Jennings, Musgrove being the name of themember of the Legislature. 

When the two neighbors arrived at the courthouse, all the people hadassembled. Mr. Jennings hitched his horse and went into the crowd, pulled the rope from his pocket, and, holding it above his head whereall could see it, cried out, --

"Neighbors! this rope is to hang Musgrove, who sold the people's landfor a bribe!"

[Illustration: Rope to hang Musgrove 138]

The words of Jennings and the sight of the rope made the people furious. Musgrove had been given a hint by Jennings's neighbor, and he had madegood his escape. But for that, no human power could have saved him. 

The whole State was in a condition of excitement that is hard todescribe. Grand juries made presentments, county and town meetingspassed resolutions, and petitions were sent from hand to hand, andsigned by hundreds of people. A State convention, called to alter theconstitution, had been chosen to meet in May, 1795, but the members hadbeen chosen at the same time that the members of the corrupt Legislaturehad been elected; and a majority of them had been "tarred with the samestick, " as the saying goes. The presentments, resolutions, and petitionscrowded so fast upon the convention, that it was decided to postpone thechanging of the constitution to a time when the people were in a betterhumor. The convention referred all the papers it had received to thenext Legislature, and adjourned in some confusion. 

This added to the excitement and anger of the people. They were in doubthow to act. Delay would give the land grabbers time to sell the landsthey had secured through bribery and corruption. But whom could thepeople trust? They had been betrayed by many of their highest judges, by one of their United States senators, and by a large majority of theirLegislature. A great many believed that all the powers of government hadcome to an end. 

During the troubled times of the Revolution it had been the custom ofmilitary officers having the confidence of the people to convene theLegislative Assembly when an emergency seemed to call for it. In themidst of their doubt and confusion, the people applied to GeneralTwiggs, the senior major general, to convene the Legislature in orderthat action might be taken before the swindlers sold the lands they hadobtained by fraud; but General Twiggs refused to act in a case in whichhe had no clear right and power, so the people remained for the timebeing without a remedy. 

From the very beginning of this scheme to defraud the people of theState, it had been bitterly opposed by General James Jackson, who wasrepresenting Georgia in the United States Senate. He denounced it in theSenate. He corresponded with the most eminent men in the State, he wroteto the newspapers, and in every possible way held up to the scorn andcontempt of the public the men who were trying to defraud the State ofits rich Western lands. On the other hand, the conspirators left nothingundone to injure the reputation of General Jackson. His character wasattacked, and his life was several times threatened. As early as thespring of 1795, he took occasion in full Senate, and in the presenceof General James Gunn (the Georgia senator who was representing theswindlers), to denounce the scheme as "a speculation of the darkestcharacter and of deliberate villany. "

By his bold, even violent opposition to the Yazoo sale, General Jacksonhad made himself the leader of the people. Therefore in 1795, while hewas still senator, many of the people requested him to resign, so thathe might use his influence and great talents in bringing about therepeal of the obnoxious law. He tendered his resignation at once, andreturned home. He was elected a member of the Legislature, and devotedall his time and all his energy to blotting out the odious law. Hebecame a member of the committee appointed to investigate the means usedto pass the law, and under his leadership the whole scandalous affairwas probed to the bottom. 

In electing the new Legislature, the only issue was Yazoo andanti-Yazoo. The people were successful in electing men who favoredthe repeal of the law. There was no other business before the GeneralAssembly until this matter was disposed of. The body was flooded withthe petitions and remonstrances that had been sent to the convention. The Legislature had met in January, 1795. At once a day was set to"consider the state of the Republic. " On that day the petitions andpresentments were considered, and referred to a committee, of whichGeneral Jackson was appointed chairman. On the 22d of January thecommittee reported not only that the act was unconstitutional, but thatfraud had been practiced to secure its passage. On these grounds theydeclared that the act was a nullity, and not binding on the people ofthe State. 

The bill declaring the sale void was drawn up by General Jackson. Itpassed both Houses by large majorities, and was signed by GovernorIrwin. The feeling of the Legislature was so strong, that, after theYazoo act had been repealed, it was decided to destroy all the recordsand documents relating to the corruption. By order of the two Houses afire was kindled in the public square of Louisville, which was then thecapital. The enrolled act that had been secured by fraud was brought outby the secretary of state, and by him delivered to the President of theSenate for examination. That officer delivered the act to the Speakerof the House. The Speaker in turn passed it to the clerk, who read thetitle of the act and the other records, and then, committing them to theflames, cried out in a loud voice, "God save the State and preserve herrights, and may every attempt to injure them perish as these wicked andcorrupt acts now do!"

The flames in which the records were burned were kindled by means ofa sun glass, so that it might be truly said that fire came down fromheaven to destroy the evidences of corruption. There is a tradition thatwhen the officers of the State had met to destroy the records, an oldman, a stranger to all present, rode through the multitude, and madehis way to where the officials stood. Lifting up his voice, he declared, that, feeble as he was, he had come there to see an act of justiceperformed, but he thought the fire in which the records of corruptionwere to be destroyed should come from heaven. The people watched him insilence. He drew from his bosom with trembling hands a sun glass, and inthis way burned the papers. Then, says tradition, the white-haired oldman mounted his horse and rode away, and was never seen again. 

GEORGE MATTHEWS AND JOHN CLARKE. 

[Illustration: George Matthews and John Clarke 143]

In giving the history of the Yazoo Fraud, mention has been made ofGeneral George Matthews, who was governor at the time, and who wascompelled to leave the State because he had been persuaded to sign thebill. General Matthews was one of the most remarkable characters of histime. Governor Gilmer has drawn a very interesting portrait of him. It is not a pleasing picture in some respects, but it gives a veryinteresting glimpse of a man who in his day was one of the strongestcharacters in the State. 

He was the son of an Irishman named John Matthews, who settled inwestern Virginia in 1737. George Matthews began to fight the Indians atan age when most boys are at school. In 1761 the Indians attacked andmurdered a family not far from his father's home. He heard the guns, andthought that a shooting match was going on. With some companions of hisown age, he rode forward to join in the sport; but the youngsters sawthe dead bodies of their neighbors lying in the yard where they had beenleft by the murderous savages, and at once turned their horses' headsand fled. They were not a moment too soon; for the Indians, who hadbeen lying in ambush, rose and fired at the boys. Matthews had a narrowescape; for a bullet cut off the wisp of hair (known as a queue) thathung dangling from the back of his head. The danger that he had passedthrough, and the sight of his murdered neighbors, roused young Matthewsto action. He collected a party of men, put himself at the head of them, followed and overtook the savages, and killed nine of their number. 

In the greatest battle that ever took place between the Virginians andthe Indians, Matthews commanded a company, and bore a very conspicuouspart. The battle took place at the junction of the Ohio River with theKanawha, on what was called Point Pleasant. The fight began at sunrise, and was kept up all day, with no great success on either side. TheIndians held their ground, and refused to give way before the moststubborn attacks of the Virginians. Near sundown, Matthews, with twoother captains, made a strategic movement. The three companies werewithdrawn from the battle. Out of sight of the enemy, they got into thebed of a creek. Hidden by the banks of the stream, they marched to therear of the Indians, and from this point made an attack. The movementhad been so cleverly carried out, that the savages were taken completelyby surprise, and driven across the Ohio. 

Early in the Revolutionary War, General Washington, who knew well thevalue of the training Matthews had received on the frontier, ordered himand the regiment which he commanded to join the main army. He took partin the battle of the Brandywine; and at the battle of Germantown heled his regiment against the British opposing him, drove them back, andpushed on to the center of the town, where he captured a regiment of theenemy. Shortly after this, while engaged in a skirmish, his courage ledhim too close to the British. He was knocked down, severely wounded bya bayonet thrust, and taken prisoner. He was sent to the British prisonship in New York Harbor. He was there treated with so much cruelty thathe appealed to his government for relief. In response to that appeal, Thomas Jefferson, who was then governor of Virginia, wrote him apersonal letter, in which he said, "We know that the ardent spirit andhatred of tyranny which brought you into your present situationwill enable you to bear up against it with the firmness which hasdistinguished you as a soldier, and look forward with pleasure to theday when events shall take place against which the wounded spirit ofyour enemies will find no comfort, even from reflections on the mostrefined of the cruelties with which they have glutted themselves. "

General Matthews was not exchanged until the close of the war. He thenjoined the Southern army under General Greene, and commanded the ThirdVirginia Regiment. While in the South, he bought a tract of land onBroad River, known as the Goose Pond. He settled there with his familyin 1784. The fame he had won as a soldier made General Matthews at thattime the principal man in Georgia. He was elected governor in 1786. Whenhis term expired, he was sent to Congress. In 1794-95 he was again madegovernor; and it was at this time, that, contrary to all expectations, he was prevailed on to sign the Yazoo Act. No charge of corruption wasever made against him. No thief or swindler was ever bold enough to tryto bribe such a high-spirited and fearless man. But excitement inthe State ran so high, that General Matthews was ruined so far as hisinfluence was concerned. He left Georgia, and never afterwards made theState his home for any long period. 

In 1811 a lot of runaway negroes, ruffians, and lawless men congregatedin Florida in such numbers that they were able to get control ofaffairs. They formed a government of their own, and then petitionedthe United States to make Florida one of their territories. PresidentMadison appointed General Matthews the agent of the United States tonegotiate with the "constituted authorities" for the annexation ofFlorida. General Matthews made a treaty with those who were in controlof Florida; but Spain protested, and the President finally declared thatthe treaty had not been made with the "constituted authorities. "

General Matthews was not a learned man (he knew nothing of books), and he could not understand the fuss that was made over the term"constituted authorities. " He became very angry with the President, saidthat that officer had a cowardly fear of Spain and Great Britain, anddeclared that he would go to Washington to "thrash" the President. Heactually set out on that errand; but the fatigue and exposure which hehad experienced in Florida, and the high state of excitement underwhich he labored, threw him into a fever while he was on his journey toWashington, and he died in Augusta in March, 1812. 

Previous to his Florida appointment, General Matthews had been nominatedto be governor of the Territory of Mississippi by President Adams; butthe opposition was so great that the President withdrew the nomination. When General Matthews heard of this, he promptly set out forPhiladelphia to call the President to account. He rode to Mr. Adams'shouse, gave a loud knock on the door, and told the servant he wishedto see the President. The servant said the President was engaged; butGeneral Matthews bristled with anger at the bare thought that any man, even the President, could be engaged in any business more importantthan talking to George Matthews, late colonel of the Virginia line, andgovernor of the State of Georgia. Therefore he told the servant to go atonce and tell the President that a gentleman wished to speak to him;and he added, that, if the message was not carried at once, the servantwould find his head taken from his shoulders. General Matthews wore hisRevolutionary sword and cocked hat, and he succeeded in convincing theservant that he was not to be trifled with. He was promptly admittedinto the presence of Mr. Adams, and, with the touch of Irish brogue hehad caught from his father, he made himself and his business known. Heintroduced himself, and then said to the President, --

"Now, sir, I understand that you nominated me to the Senate of theseUnited States, to be governor of the Territory of Mississippi, and thatafterwards you took back the nomination. Sir, if you had known me, youwould not have taken the nomination back. If you did not know me, youshould not have nominated me to so important an office. Now, sir, unlessyou can satisfy me, your station as President of these United Statesshall not screen you from my vengeance. "

Mr. Adams at once made himself agreeable, for he had nothing but goodwill for the stanch Georgia Federalist. The outcome of the meeting wasthat the President promised to appoint the general's son John to besupervisor of the revenue, and this promise he carried out. 

Governor Gilmer, in his racy reminiscences of the people who settledin the Broad River region, draws an interesting portrait of GeneralMatthews. He describes him as a short, thick man, with stout legs, onwhich he stood very straight. "He carried his head rather thrown back. His features were full and bluff, his hair light red, and his complexionfair and florid. He admitted no superior but General Washington. Hespoke of his services to his country as unsurpassed except by those ofhis great chief. He wore a three-cornered cocked hat, top boots, a shirtfull ruffled at the bosom and wrists, and sometimes a long sword athis side. To listen to his talk about himself, his children, and hisaffairs, one would have thought that he was but a puff of wind. Tradeor talk of history with him, and he was found to be one of the shrewdestof men. Fight with him, and he never failed to act the hero. He wasunlearned. He spelled 'coffee' k-a-u-g-h-p-h-y. He wrote 'Congress' witha K. "

When it is considered that he had small opportunity to train himself inany direction except rough fighting, General Matthews must be regardedas one of the most remarkable men of his time. 

Another remarkable man who figured largely in both the military andpolitical history of the State was General John Clarke, son of thefamous Elijah Clarke. John Clarke became a soldier in the RevolutionaryWar when a mere boy. He had followed his father to camp, and remainedwith him. He took part in many skirmishes; but at the battle of KettleCreek, in Wilkes County, he distinguished himself by his coolness andcourage. He fought through the war. He was made a lieutenant at sixteenyears of age, and when the war ended he was a major. After the war hewas made a brigadier, and then a major general of the militia. Afteraiding to run the British out of the State, and subduing the Tories, General Clarke turned his attention to the Indians. At the battleof Jacks Creek, in Walton County, in 1787, he greatly distinguishedhimself, having charge of one of the wings of the Georgia forces. 

It was natural that a man raised in camp, and brought up in the midst ofthe rough and tough elements that are collected together there, shouldpossess qualities not calculated to fit him for the polite transactionsthat take place in drawing rooms and parlors. General Clarke'sself-reliance was extreme. Having commanded men from the time he wassixteen, it was natural that his temper and his manners should beoffensive, to some extent, to those who were not thoughtful enough tomake due allowance for these things. It thus happened that when peacecame, John Clarke's methods and practices made him many bitter enemies. On the other hand, the sterling qualities of his character made him manystrong friends. 

Coming out of the war with neither trade nor profession, and with onlythe rudiments of an education, John Clarke was compelled to turn hisattention to politics. With him politics was simply a modified form ofwar. He had never given any quarter to the Tories, and he gave smallquarter to his political enemies. But he was as faithful to his friendsin politics as he had been to the cause of American liberty. He wasuncompromising, whether dealing with friends or enemies, and his temperwas such that he regarded his opponents as his personal enemies. Ofhis political career, mention will be made in another place. It issufficient to say that a quarrel he had with a judge divided the peopleof the State into two parties, and the contest between them was carriedon for several years. The prejudices that sprang up in that contestlasted for more than a generation, and strong traces of them are to befound in estimates of General Clarke's character written long after hewas dead. 

Only a man of the strongest character, and possessing the mostremarkable qualities, could have made such a marked impression on thepolitical history of a commonwealth. 

AFTER THE REVOLUTION. 

[Illustration: After the Revolution 152]

The Revolution came to an end in Georgia when, on the 11th of July, 1782, Savannah was taken possession of by the American troops underGeneral Anthony Wayne. It ended for the whole country when, on the 30thof November of the same year, the treaty of peace was signed at Parisbetween the United States and Great Britain. The King of Great Britainacknowledged the independence of the Thirteen States, and declared themfree and sovereign. This was a very happy event for the country, andhad been long looked forward to by the people, sometimes doubtfully, butalways hopefully. 

But the great victory that had been won found the people of Georgiaprostrate. The little property that they possessed when the warbegan had either been spent in maintaining the struggle, or well-nighdestroyed by the raids of the British and Tories. In the largercommunities of Savannah and Augusta, the citizens had the resources oftrade and commerce to fall back on, but in the smaller settlementsand rural districts the condition of the inhabitants bordered ondestitution. 

At the time that Savannah was surrendered to the American troops, therewas almost a famine in the land. The soldiers were without shoes, andsometimes they were without supplies. The crops were short on accountof the lack of farmers. The condition of the people was quite as bad asthat of the troops, especially when the disbanded militia returned totheir homes. Houses, barns, and fences had been burned; stock and cattlehad been slaughtered or driven away; and there was a great lack of eventhe necessities of life. 

But those whose energy and spirit upheld them through the long strugglefor independence were not the men to surrender to the hard circumstancesthat surrounded them. They went to work as bravely as they had fought;and the sacrifices they made to peace were almost as severe, thoughnot so bloody, as those they had made to war. Slowly, but surely andsteadily, they reclaimed their waste farms. Slowly, but surely andsteadily, they recovered from the prostration that the war had broughton their industries. Slowly, but surely and steadily, the people workedtheir way back to comparative prosperity. There may have been a fewdrones in the towns, but there were no idle hands in the country places. 

The men built for their families comfortable log cabins; and these, with their clean sanded floors, are still the fashion in some parts ofGeorgia. This done, they went about the business of raising crops, andstocking their farms with cattle. The women and children were just asbusy. In every cabin could be heard the hum of the spinning wheel, andthe thump of the old hand loom. While the men were engaged in theiroutdoor work, the women spun, wove, and made the comfortable jeansclothes that were the fashion; while the girls plaited straw, and madehats and bonnets, and in many other ways helped the older people. Ina little while peddlers from the more northern States began to travelthrough Georgia with their various wares, some with pewter plates andspoons, and some with clocks. The peddlers traveled in wagons insteadof carrying their packs on their backs, and in this way brought a greatdeal of merchandise to the State. 

As was natural, the political development of Georgia was much more rapidthan its industrial progress. In January, 1783, Lyman Hall was electedgovernor. He was distinguished for the patriotic stand he took at thevery beginning of the controversy between the Colony and the King. TheLegislature met in Savannah after the evacuation of the town by theBritish; but it was so far from the central and upper portions of theState, and there was so much dissatisfaction among the people on thisaccount, that in May Augusta was made the capital. In that town theGeneral Assembly met July 8, 1783. Measures were at once taken to seizeland, and confiscate the property of those Royalists who had livedin Georgia. This property was sold for the benefit of the public. InNovember of the same year a new cession of land was obtained from theCreek nation by treaty. This was divided into the counties of Franklinand Washington, and the land distributed in bounties to the soldiers ofthe war. 

It is worthy of note that about this time, when the State had hardlybegun to recover from the effects of the war, the representatives ofthe people began to move in the matter of education. The Constitutionof 1777 had declared that "schools shall be erected in each county, andsupported by the general expense of the State. " On the 31st of July, 1783, the Legislature appropriated one thousand acres of land to eachcounty for the support of free schools. In 1784, a short time afterthe notification of the treaty of peace, the Legislature passed anact appropriating forty thousand acres of land for the endowment of acollege or university. A year later the charter for this university wasgranted; and the preamble of the act declares it to be the policy of theState to foster education in the most liberal way. It so happened thatsome of the provisions that had been made for public education werenot carried out at once, and the people of the various settlementsestablished schools of their own. Many of the best teachers of thecountry came to Georgia from the more northern States; and some of themwon a reputation that has lasted to this day. Later, more than oneof these teachers established schools that became famous all over thecountry. In this way the reign of the "old field schoolmaster" began, and continued for many years. 

[Illustration: Early Cultivation of Cotton 156]

The people had been cultivating cotton on a small scale before 1791; butthe staple was so difficult to handle, that the planting was limited. Those who grew it were compelled to separate the seed from the lint byhand, and this was so tedious that few people would grow it. But in1793, Eli Whitney, who was living on the plantation of General Greene, near Savannah, invented the cotton gin. The machine was a very awkwardand cumbrous affair compared with the gins of the present day; but inthat day and time, and for many years after, the Whitney was sufficientfor the needs of the people. It was one of the most important inventionsthat have ever been made. It gave to the commerce of the world a staplecommodity that is in universal demand, and it gave to the people of theSouth their most valuable and important crop. But for this timelyinvention, the cultivation of cotton would have been confined to thenarrowest limits. The gin proved to be practicable, and it came into usevery quickly. The farmers prospered, and gradually increased the cottoncrop. 

The population also increased very rapidly. The rich lands werepurchased and settled on by farmers from Virginia and the Carolinas. Thecolony that had been planted by Oglethorpe had never ventured very farfrom the seacoast. A few probably followed the course of the SavannahRiver, and made their homes in that region; but the people broughtover by Oglethorpe were not of the stuff that pioneers are made of. Theexperience they had undergone in the mother country had tamed themto such a degree that they had no desire to brave the future in thewilderness. Adventures of that kind were left for the hardy NorthCarolinians and Virginians who first settled what was then known asUpper Georgia. After the Revolution, this tide of immigration increasedvery rapidly, and it was still further swelled by the profits that theWhitney gin enabled the planters of Georgia to make out of their cottoncrops. 

The settling of Georgia began with the charitable scheme of Oglethorpe. The making of Georgia began when the North Carolinians and Virginiansbegan to open up the Broad River region to the north of Augusta. It wasdue to the desperate stand taken by these hardy pioneers that Georgiacontinued the struggle for American independence. To Upper Georgiacame some of the best families from Virginia and North Carolina, --theGrattons, the Lewises, the Clarkes, the Strothers, the Crawfords, the Reeses, the Harrises, the Andrewses, the Taliaferros (pronouncedTollivers), the Campbells, the Barnetts, the Toombses, the Doolys, and many other families whose names have figured in the history ofthe country. Here also settled James Jack, the sturdy patriot whovolunteered to carry the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence toPhiladelphia. The Congress then in session chose to shut its eyes tothat declaration, but it was the basis and framework of the Declarationafterwards written by Thomas Jefferson. 

After the Revolution, when the Cherokees went on the warpath, theVirginia settlement was in a state of great alarm. Men, women, andchildren met together, and decided that it would be safer to camp inthe woods in a body at night rather than run the risk of being burned todeath in houses that they could not defend. They went into the depthsof the woods and made an encampment. One night while they were around afire, cooking their supper, suddenly the report of a gun was heard, andthen there was a cry of "Indians!" The men seized their guns; but theyhardly knew where to turn, or what to do. Suddenly a lad who had notlost his head emptied a bucket of water on the fire. This was thething to do, but no one else had thought of it. The name of the ladwas Meriwether Lewis. He went into the regular army, became the privatesecretary of President Jefferson, and was selected to head the partythat explored the Territory of Louisiana, which had been bought fromFrance. Meriwether Lewis selected for his companion Captain Clark, anold army friend and comrade. Leading the party, Lewis and his friendClark left St. Louis, and pushed westward to the Pacific coast, throughdangers and obstacles that few men would have cared to meet. The famousexpedition of Lewis and Clark has now become a part of the history ofthe country. Lewis took possession of the Pacific coast in the name ofthe United States. There was a controversy with Great Britain some yearsafterwards as to the title of Oregon, but that which Lewis and Clark hadestablished was finally acknowledged to be the best. 

Meriwether Lewis won a name in history because the opportunity came tohim. His name is mentioned here because he was a representative of themen who settled Upper Georgia, --the men who kept the fires of libertyalive in the State, and who, after helping to conquer the British andthe Tories, became the conquerors of the wilderness that lay to the westof them. From Wilkes, Burke, Elbert, and the region where Clarke and hismen had fought, the tide of emigration slowly moved across the State, settling Greene, Hancock, Baldwin, Putnam, Morgan, Jasper, Butts, Monroe, Coweta, Upson, Pike, Meriwether, Talbot, Harris, and Muscogeecounties. 

Some of the more adventurous crossed the Chattahoochee into Alabama, andon into the great Mississippi Valley and beyond. Their descendants livein every part of the South; and Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas have hadGeorgians for their governors, and their senators and representatives inCongress, --men who were descended from the Virginia and North Carolinaimmigrants. One of the most brilliant of these was Mirabeau B. Lamar, scholar, statesman, and soldier, the president of Texas when thatTerritory had declared itself a free and an independent republic. 

THE COTTON GIN. 

Brief mention has been made of Whitney's invention of the cotton gin. The event was of such world-wide importance that the story should betold here. Whitney, the inventor of the gin, was born in Massachusettsin 1765, in very poor circumstances. While the War of the Revolution wasgoing on, he was earning his living by making nails by hand. He was suchan apt mechanic that he was able to make and save enough money to payhis way through Yale College, where he graduated in 1792. In that yearhe engaged himself to come to Georgia as a private tutor in the familyof a gentleman of Savannah; but when he reached that city, he found thatthe place had been filled. 

While in Savannah, Whitney attracted the attention of the widow ofGeneral Nathanael Greene, who lived at Mulberry Grove, on the river atno great distance from the city. Mrs. Greene invited the young man tomake his home on her plantation. He soon found opportunity to show hisfine mechanical genius, and Mrs. Greene became more interested in himthan ever. 

The story goes, that soon after the young man had established himself onthe Mulberry Grove Plantation, several Georgia planters were dining withMrs. Greene. During their conversation the difficulty of removing theseed from the cotton fiber was mentioned, and the suggestion was madethat this might be done by machinery. At this Mrs. Greene mentioned theskill and ingenuity of young Whitney, and advised her guests that heshould be given the problem to solve. This advice was followed. Theplanters had a talk with the young man, and explained to him thedifficulty which they found in separating the seed from the lint. 

At that time one pound of lint cotton was all that a negro woman couldseparate from the seed in a day; and the more cotton the plantersraised, the deeper they got in debt. The close of the war had found themin a state of the utmost poverty, so that they had been compelled tomortgage their lands in order to get money on which to begin business. Cotton was the only product of the farm for which there was any constantdemand; but, owing to the labor of separating the lint from the seed, it could not be raised at a profit. Thus, in 1791, the number of poundsexported from the South to Europe amounted to only about 379 bales of500 pounds each. 

When the planters went to Whitney with their problem, he was entirelyignorant of the whole matter. He knew nothing of cotton or of cottonplanting; but he at once set himself at work. He made a careful study ofthe cotton plant. He shut himself in a room with some uncleaned cotton, and worked at his task during a whole winter. He made his own tools atthe plantation blacksmith shop; and all day long, and sometimes far intothe night, he could be heard hammering and sawing away. 

In 1793 he called together the planters who had asked him to solve theproblem, and showed them the machine, which he called a cotton gin. Whenthey saw it work, their surprise and delight knew no bounds. Theyknew at once that the problem had been solved by the young genius fromMassachusetts. Little calculation was needed to show them that thecotton gin could clean as much cotton in a day as could be cleaned ona plantation during a whole winter. What before had been the work of ahundred hands for several months could now be completed in a few days. 

[Illustration: Whitney and his Cotton Gin 163]

But it seems to be the fate of the majority of those who make wonderfulinventions never to enjoy the full benefits of the work of their genius. Eli Whitney was not an exception to the general rule. While he wasworking on his cotton gin, rumors of it went abroad; and by the time itwas completed, public expectation was on tiptoe. When the machine wasfinished, it was shown to only a few people; but the fact, of suchimmense importance to the people of the State, was soon known throughoutthe State, and the planters impatiently waited for the day when theywould be able to put it in use. 

One night the building in which Whitney's cotton gin was concealedwas broken into, ransacked, and the machine carried off. It was a boldrobbery, and a very successful one. The inventor made haste to buildanother gin; but before he could get his model completed, and obtaina patent right to the invention, the machine had been manufactured atvarious points in the South by other parties, and was in operation onseveral plantations. Whitney formed a partnership with a gentleman whohad some capital, and went to Connecticut to manufacture his gin; but hewas compelled to spend all the money he could make, fighting lawsuits. His patent had been infringed, and those who sought to rob him of thefruits of his labor took a bold stand. The result of all this was, thatthe inventor never received any just compensation for a machine thatrevolutionized the commerce of the country, and added enormously to thepower and progress of the Republic. Lord Macaulay said that Eli Whitneydid more to make the United States powerful than Peter the Great did tomake the Russian Empire dominant. Robert Fulton declared that Arkwright, Watt, and Whitney were the three men that did more for mankind than anyof their contemporaries. This is easy to believe, when we remember thatwhile the South shipped 6 bags of cotton to England in 1786, and only379 in 1791, ten years after the cotton gin came into use, 82, 000bales were exported. The very importance of Whitney's invention madeit immensely profitable for the vicious and the depraved to seize andappropriate the inventor's rights. These robberies were upheld by thosewho were anxious to share in the profits; and political demagogues madethemselves popular by misrepresenting Whitney, and clamoring againstthe law that was intended to protect him. It was only by means of thisclamor, half political and wholly dishonest, that the plain rightsof Whitney could be denied and justice postponed. His invention wasentirely new. It was distinct from every other. It had no connectionwith and no relation to any other invention that had been made. It stoodalone, and there could be no difficulty whatever in identifying it. Andyet Whitney had just this difficulty. In his efforts to prove that hewas the inventor of the cotton gin, and that he was entitled to a shareof the immense profits that those who used it were reaping, he had totravel thousands of miles, and spend thousands of dollars in appearingbefore Legislatures and in courts that denied him justice. The lifeof his patent had nearly expired before any court finally enforcedhis right, and Congress refused to grant him an extension beyondthe fourteen years that had then nearly expired. Associations andcombinations had been formed for the purpose of defrauding Whitney, andthese were represented by the ablest lawyers that could be hired. It isno wonder that Whitney, in writing to Robert Fulton, a brother inventor, declared that the troubles he had to contend with were the result of alack of desire on the part of mankind to see justice done. The truth is, his invention was of such prime importance that the public fought forits possession, and justice and honesty were for the moment lost sightof. At one time but a few men in Georgia were bold enough to go intocourt and testify to the simplest facts within their knowledge;and Whitney himself says, that in one instance he had the greatestdifficulty in proving that the machine had been used in Georgia, although at that very moment three, separate gins were at work withinfifty yards of the building in which the court sat. They were all sonear, that the rattle and hum of the machinery could be heard from thecourt-house steps. 

In December, 1807, a judge was found to affirm the rights of Whitneyunder his patent. The judge's name was Johnson; and in his decision hesaid, "The whole interior of the Southern States was languishing, andits inhabitants emigrating for want of some object to engage theirattention and employ their industry, when the invention of this machineat once opened views to them which set the whole country in activemotion. From childhood to age it has presented to us a lucrativeemployment. Individuals who were depressed with poverty, and sunk inidleness, have suddenly risen to wealth and respectability. Our debtshave been paid off. Our capital has increased, and our lands havetrebled themselves in value. We cannot express the weight of theobligation which the country owes to this invention. The extent of itcannot now be seen. "

The language of the learned judge was high-flown; but he was a justjudge, and he had a faint and glimmering idea of the real importance ofthis remarkable invention. It was a very simple affair. The principlecame to Whitney in a flash, and he had a model constructed within tendays after the despairing planters had gone to him with their problem. But it may be doubted whether any other individual, by one simpleinvention, ever did so much for the progress and enrichment of humaninterests, and for the welfare and the comfort of the human race. Thislittle machine made the agriculture of the South the strongest and therichest in the world, and gave to this section a political power thatwas for years supreme in the nation, and was only surrendered as theresult of a long and exhausting war. By means of the cotton gin, townsand cities have sprung up, and a vast network of railways has beenbuilt; and yet the most that Whitney received was a royalty on his ginin North Carolina, and a donation of fifty thousand dollars from theState of South Carolina. In Georgia his right to his invention wasstolen, and all that he got out of it was a number of costly lawsuits. 

After struggling for five years against the overwhelming odds thatavarice and greed had mustered to aid them, Whitney turned his attentionin another direction, and made a still more remarkable display of hisgenius. This part of his career does not belong directly to the historyof Georgia, but it is interesting enough to be briefly recorded here. The United States Government was in want of arms, and this want variouscontractors had failed to meet. Through the influence of the secretaryof the treasury, Whitney was given a contract to make ten thousandmuskets at $13. 40 apiece. He had no capital, no works, no machinery, notools, no skilled workmen, no raw material. In creating a part of theseand commanding the rest, he called into play an inventive genius, theextent of which must always excite wonder and admiration. 

Within ten years he created his own works, and invented and made his owntools, invented and made his own machinery. More than this, he inventedand applied a wholly new principle of manufacture, --a principle thathas done more to advance human industry and increase wealth all over theworld than any other known effort of the human mind to solve materialproblems. He invented and developed the principle or system of makingthe various parts of a musket or any other complex manufacturedarticle, such as the sewing machine, so absolutely uniform as to beinterchangeable. This principle has been carried out in hundreds ofthousands of different ways. It has entered into and become a feature ofa vast range of manufactures. The principle was established by a seriesof inventions as wonderful as any that the human mind ever conceived, so that Whitney has been aptly called the Shakespeare of invention. Hisinventions remain practically unchanged. After ninety years of trial, they are found to be practically perfect. 

It was his peculiar gift to be able to convey into inanimate machinerythe skill that a human being could acquire only after years of study andpractice. 

It is almost like belittling the greatest of marvels to call it astroke of genius. He made it possible for the most ordinary laborerto accomplish a hundred times as much in an hour, and with the mostexquisite perfection, as a skilled laborer could accomplish in a day. 

On these wonderful inventions Whitney took out no patents. He gave themall to the public. In this way he revenged himself on those who hadsuccessfully robbed him of the fruits of his labor and genius in theinvention of the cotton gin. Perhaps if he had been more justly treatedin Georgia, he might have set up his works in this State, and this factmight have made the South the seat of great manufacturing industries. Who knows?

SOME GEORGIA INVENTIONS. 

The credit of inventing the steamboat is by general consent given toRobert Fulton. Every schoolboy is taught that such is the case, and yetthe fact is at least very doubtful. There is preserved among the papersin the Archives of Georgia a document that indicates, that, while RobertFulton has won the credit for an invention that has revolutionizedthe commerce of the world, the real inventor may have been WilliamLongstreet of Augusta, an uncle of General James B. Longstreet, and thefather of Judge A. B. Longstreet, author of "Georgia Scenes. " On the26th of September, 1790, William Longstreet sent the following letter toEdward Telfair, who was then governor of Georgia:--

 Sir, --I make no doubt but you have heard of my steamboat and as often heard it laughed at. But in this I have only shared the fate of all other projectors, for it has uniformly been the custom of every country to ridicule even the greatest inventions until use has proved their utility. 

 My not reducing my scheme to practice has been a little unfortunate for me, I confess, and perhaps for the people in general, but until very lately I did not think that either artists or material could be had in the place sufficient. However, necessity, that grand science of invention, has furnished me with an idea of perfecting my plans almost entirely with wooden materials, and by such workmen as may be got here, and from a thorough confidence of its success, I have presumed to ask your assistance and patronage. 

 Should it succeed agreeable to my expectations, I hope I shall discover that source of duty which such favors always merit, and should it not succeed, your reward must lay with other unlucky adventurers. 

 For me to mention to you all the advantages arising from such a machine would be tedious, and, indeed, quite unnecessary, Therefore I have taken the liberty to state in this plain and humble manner my wish and opinion, which I hope you will excuse, and I will remain, either with or without approbation, Your Excellency's most obedient and very humble servant, William Longstreet. 

There are two features of this letter that ought to attract attention. One is that William Longstreet has the name of "steamboat" as pat as ifthe machine were in common use. The second is his allusion to the factthat his conception of a boat to be propelled by steam was so well knownas to be noised abroad. 

Credit is sometimes given to John Fitch, who, it is said, invented aboat propelled by steam, that carried passengers on the Delaware Riverin 1787. An Englishman named Symington is said to have run a steamboatin 1801, while Robert Fulton's success was delayed until 1806. All thesemen have received credit for their efforts to benefit humanity, buthistory is silent in regard to William Longstreet. In one book aboutGeorgia the remark is made that "James Longstreet is said to haveinvented the steamboat in 1793, " but in this instance neither the namenor the date is correct. 

In old St. Paul's churchyard in Augusta there is a tombstone whichbears the inscription, "Sacred to the memory of William Longstreet, whodeparted this life September 1, 1814, aged 54 years, 10 months, and26 days. " Below this runs the pleasant legend, "All the days of theafflicted are evil, but he that is of a merry heart hath a continualfeast. " We are thus left to infer that William Longstreet was a man of amerry heart; and that fact is certified to by the cleverness with whichhis son, the author of "Georgia Scenes, " has preserved for us some ofthe quaint characters that lived and moved and had their being on theborders of Georgia society directly after the Revolution. 

[Illustration: William Longstreet and his Steamboat 172]

Being an inventor, a man of ingenious ideas, and somewhat ambitious ofserving the public in that way, William Long-street certainly had needof a merry heart; for, as he himself says, the way of the projectoris hard. The term itself is used in Georgia to this day to express acertain sort of good-natured contempt. Go into the country places andask after some acquaintance who has not prospered in a worldly way, andthe answer will be, "Oh, he's just a prodjikin around. "

It is certain that William Longstreet knew that steam could be used asa motive power long before it was so applied; and because he employeda good deal of his time in trying to discover the principle, he wasridiculed by his neighbors and friends, and the more thoughtless amongthem didn't know whether he was a crank, a half-wit, or a "luny. " Fromall accounts, he was a modest, shy, retiring man, though a merry one. Hehad but little money to devote to the experiments he wished to make, andin this was not different from the great majority of inventors. 

For a long time Longstreet's zeal and enthusiasm attracted the attentionof a few of his wealthy friends, and these furnished him such money ashe wanted; but no very long time was needed to convince those whowere spending their money that the idea of propelling a boat by steam, instead of by sails or oars, was ridiculous. Longstreet made manyexperiments, but he had not hit upon the method of applying theprinciple he had in mind: consequently his rich friends closed theirpurses, and left him entirely to his own resources. A newspaperpublication, in giving some of the facts in regard to Longstreet'sefforts, says that he and his steamboat were made the subject of a comicsong:--

 "Can you row the boat ashore, Billy boy, Billy boy? Can you row the boat ashore, Gentle Billy?

 Can you row the boat ashore Without a paddle or an oar, Billy boy?"

Though he had failed many times, Longstreet was not disheartened. Hecontinued his experiments, and at last succeeded in making a toy boat, which he exhibited to a few friends. His idea at this time, it seems, was not to construct a steamboat, but merely to convince some of hisfriends that steam could be used as a motive power. But in this he wasnot very successful. His toy boat did all that he wanted it to do; buthis friends declared, that while steam might be used to move a smallboat, it could never be used to move a large one. The experience of anew generation showed that there was one wise man in Augusta and a greatmany fools. Nevertheless William Longstreet determined to show thata large boat could be moved by a large amount of steam as easily as asmall boat could be moved by a small volume. 

Now, while he was making his experiments; and trying to overcome thedifficulties that presented themselves, Robert Fulton was living inParis with Joel Barlow. He was in Paris when Napoleon became firstconsul. At that time he was experimenting with his diving boat andsubmarine torpedo. Napoleon was so much interested in this work thathe gave Fulton ten thousand francs to carry it on. The inventor wasin France in 1803 when Napoleon organized his army for the invasion ofEngland. He was surrounded by influential friends, and he had money athis command. 

Compared with William Longstreet, Robert Fulton was "in clover. "Longstreet was compelled to work without money, and in the midst of acommunity whose curiosity had developed into criticism and ridicule. Thus it was not until 1806 that he succeeded in completing a steamboatthat would accommodate twenty or twenty-five persons. He went on board, accompanied by such of his friends as he could persuade, and in thepresence of a curious and doubting crowd the first real steamboat waslaunched on the Savannah River. Some of the friends of those on board, feeling anxious for their safety if the "contraption" should explode, secured a skiff, and followed the steamboat at a safe distance, readyto pick up such of the passengers as might survive when the affair hadblown to pieces. Longstreet headed the boat down the river, and went inthat direction for several miles. Then he turned the head of the littleboat upstream; and, although the current was swift, he carried hispassengers back to the wharf, and several miles above. 

From that hour William Longstreet became a man of some consequence inthe community. Those who had ridiculed him now sang his praises, andthose who had doubted that steam could be used as a motive power werenow convinced. His friends tried hard to get him to go to Washington andsecure the benefits of a patent for his invention; but he persistentlyrefused to take any steps to profit by the results of his genius, orindeed to make his invention known. His constant reply to all those whotried to persuade him to go to Washington was, that he had carriedon his experiments simply to prove the truth of his theory to his ownsatisfaction, and to convince those whose respect he coveted that he wasneither a fool nor a crank. 

Some of his friends and admirers were themselves preparing to go toWashington in behalf of the inventor, but they had put off their journeyuntil the year after the exhibition was made in Augusta, and atthat time they heard that Robert Fulton had exhibited his steamboat"Clermont" on the Hudson River. They then gave up their design, andWilliam Longstreet continued to remain in the seclusion that was sopleasant to him. 

It is a noteworthy fact, that twelve years after William Longstreet madehis successful experiments on the Savannah River, Georgia enterprisebuilt, launched, and managed the first steamship that ever crossed theocean. This great enterprise was organized in Savannah in 1818. TheGeorgia Company contracted to have the ship built in New York; and whencompleted, it was named the "Savannah. " The vessel was finished andbrought to Savannah in April, 1819. In May the steamship left Savannahbound for Liverpool. From Liverpool it went to St. Petersburg, and thenreturned to Savannah, having made the voyage in fifty days. 

The first sewing machine was invented by Rev. Frank R. Goulding, aGeorgian who has won fame among the children of the land as the authorof "The Young Marooners. " He invented the sewing machine for the purposeof lightening the labors of his wife; and she used it for some yearsbefore some other genius invented it, or some traveler stole the ideaand improved on it. 

Dr. Crawford W. Long, in 1842, when twenty-seven years of age, performedthe first painless surgical operation that is known to history. In 1839, Velpeau of Paris declared that the attempts to find some agent by whichto prevent pain in surgical operations was nothing less than chimerical;and as late as 1846 Sir Benjamin Brodie said, "Physicians and surgeonshave been looking in vain, from the days of Hippocrates down to thepresent time, for the means of allaying or preventing bodily pain. " Andyet three years after the declaration of Velpeau, and four years beforethe statement of Sir Benjamin Brodie, the young Georgia physician hadremoved a tumor from the neck of a patient, and that patient had felt nopain. 

The story is very interesting. Dr. Crawford W. Long was born inDanielsville, Madison County, Ga. , on the 1st of November, 1815. Hegraduated at the University of Georgia, studied medicine, and graduatedat the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. He thenwent to Jefferson, Jackson County, where he opened an office, andpracticed medicine for many years. 

[Illustration: Laughing Gas 177]

In those days the young men living in the country districts, for wantof something better to amuse them, were in the habit of inhalingnitrous-oxide gas, or, as it was then popularly known, "laughing gas. "The young people would gather together, and some of them would inhalethe gas until they came under its influence. The result was in mostcases very amusing. Some would laugh, some would cry, and all invarious ways would carry out the peculiarities of their characters anddispositions. Thus, if a young man had an inward inclination to preach, he would, under the influence of "laughing gas, " proceed to deliver asermon. As these "laughing-gas" parties were exhilarating to the youngpeople who inhaled the gas, and amusing to those who were spectators, they became very popular. 

But it was not always easy to secure the gas. On one occasion a companyof young men went to Dr. Long's office and asked him to make them asupply of "laughing gas. " There was no apparatus in the office suitablefor making it, but Dr. Long told the young men that the inhalation ofsulphuric ether would have the same effect. He had become acquaintedwith this property of ether while studying medicine in Philadelphia. The young men and their friends were so well pleased with the effectsof ether inhalation, that "ether parties" became fashionable in thatsection, as well as in other parts of the State. At these ether parties, Dr. Long noticed that persons who received injuries while under itsinfluence felt no pain. On one occasion a young man received an injuryto his ankle joint that disabled him for several days, and he told Dr. Long that he did not feel the slightest pain until the effects of theether had passed off. Observing these facts, Dr. Long was led to believethat surgical operations might be performed without pain. 

Dr. Long's theory was formed in 1841, but he waited for some time beforetesting it, in the hope that a case of surgery of some importance--theamputation of an arm or a leg--might fall in his practice. On the 30thof March, 1842, Dr. Long removed a tumor from the neck of Mr. JamesM. Venable. On the 6th of June, the same year, another small tumor wasremoved from the neck of the same patient, and both operations werepainless. Mr. Venable inhaled sulphuric ether, and the effect of it wasto render him insensible to the pain of cutting out the tumors. 

Dr. Long had told Mr. Venable that he would charge little or nothing forremoving the tumors under the influence of ether. The bill renderedfor both operations amounted to $4. 50; but, small as the bill was, it represented the discovery and application of ether in surgicalpractice, --one of the greatest boons to mankind. Up to that time nopatient under the surgeon's knife had ever been able to escape thehorror and pain of an operation. 

Dr. Long did not at once print the facts about his discovery. He wantedto make assurance doubly sure. He waited in the hope of having animportant case of surgery under his charge, such as the amputation ofa leg or an arm. But these cases, rare at any time, were still rarer atthat time, especially in the region where Dr. Long practiced. He finallysatisfied himself, however, of the importance of his discovery, but, having waited until 1846, found that at least three persons--Wells, Jackson, and Morton--had hit on the same discovery, and had madepublication of it. Morton patented ether under the name of "Letheon, "and in October, 1846, administered it to a patient in the MassachusettsGeneral Hospital. 

In 1844, Horace Wells, a native of Vermont, discovered that theinhalation of nitrous-oxide gas produces anaesthesia. He was a dentist. He gave it to his patients, and was able to perform dental operationswithout causing pain. Thus we may see how the case stands. Long producedanaesthesia in 1842; that is to say, he caused his patients to inhalesulphuric ether in that year, whenever he had a painful operation toperform, and in each case the operation was painless. 

In 1846, when the surgeons of the Massachusetts General Hospitalperformed painless operations on patients, after administering to themMorton's patented "Letheon, " which was his name for sulphuric ether, there came about a great war of pamphlets, and it ended tragically. Long had never made any secret of the substance which he used. He gaveinformation of it to all the surgeons and doctors with whom he came incontact; and he was not in any way concerned in the conflict that wascarried on by Jackson, Morton, and Wells. He simply gathered togetherthe facts of his discovery, proved that he was the first physician toperform painless operations in surgery, and that was the end of it sofar as he was concerned. 

Wells became insane, and committed suicide in New York in 1848. Mortondied in New York City of congestion of the brain. Jackson ended his daysin an insane asylum. 

In Boston a monument has been erected to the discoverer of anaesthesia. The name of Crawford W. Long should stand first upon it, and should befollowed by the names of Wells, Morton, and Jackson. 

[Illustration: Early Progress of the State 181]

THE EARLY PROGRESS OF THE STATE. 

After the invention of the cotton gin, the progress of the peopleand the development of the agriculture of the State went forward veryrapidly. The population began to increase. The movement of families fromVirginia and North Carolina grew constantly larger. In Virginia, andin settled portions of North Carolina, it was found that the soiland climate were not favorable to the growth of the cotton plant:consequently hundreds of families left their homes in these States, andcame to Georgia. 

When Oglethorpe settled the Colony, the charter under which he actedprohibited the introduction and use of negro slaves in the Colony. Itis hard to say at this late day whether this portion of the charter wasdictated by feelings of humanity, especially when we remember thatin those days, and in most of the Colonies, there were many whitepeople--men, women, and children--employed and used as slaves. Fromthe very first, many of the Georgia colonists were anxious to introducenegro slaves, but the trustees firmly refused to allow it. There was astrong party in favor of introducing negroes, and those who opposedthe movement presently found themselves in a very small and unpopularminority. By 1748 the excitement over the question had grown so great, that those colonists who were opposed to negro slavery were compelled toabandon their position. Rev. Mr. Whitefield, the eloquent preacher, hadalready bought and placed negro slaves at his Orphan House at Bethesda, near Savannah. The colonists had also treated this part of the charterwith contempt. They pretended to hire negroes' homes in South Carolinafor a hundred years, or during life. They paid the "hire" in advance, the sum being the full value of the slaves. Finally negroes werebought openly from traders in Savannah. Some of them were seized; buta majority of the magistrates were in favor of the introduction ofnegroes, and they were able to postpone legal decisions from time totime. 

Rev. George Whitefield, whose wonderful eloquence has made his namefamous, and Hon. James Habersham, had great influence with the trustees;and it was mainly due to their efforts that the colonists were legallyallowed to purchase and use negro slaves. Mr. Habersham affirmed thatthe Colony could not prosper without slave labor. Rev. Mr. Whitefield, on the other hand, was in favor of negro slavery on the broad ground ofphilanthropy. He boldly declared that it would be of great advantageto the African to be brought from his barbarous surroundings and placedamong civilized Christians. When we remember what has happened, whocan deny that the remark of the eloquent preacher was not more to thepurpose, and nearer to the truth, than some of the modern statementsabout American slavery? What really happened (as any one may discover bylooking into impartial history) was, that thousands of negroes who hadbeen captured in battle, and made slaves of in their own country, were taken from that dark land and brought into the light of Christiancivilization. Their condition, mentally and morally, was so improved, that, in little more than a century after White-field made hisstatement, the government of the United States ventured to make citizensof them. The contrast between their condition and that of the negroeswho remained in Africa is so startling, that a well-known abolitionist, writing twenty years after emancipation, has described slavery as agreat university, which the negroes entered as barbarians, and came outof as Christians and citizens. 

The efforts of the Colony to secure a repeal of the act prohibitingslavery were successful. The trustees in London concluded that it wouldbe better to permit slavery, with such restrictions and limitations asmight be proper, than to permit the wholesale violations that were thengoing on; and so in 1749 the colonists of Georgia were allowed by law toown and use negro slaves. 

Thus, when the cotton gin came fairly into use, slavery had been legallyallowed in Georgia for nearly half a century. The rest of the Colonieshad long enjoyed that privilege. The cotton gin, therefore, had atwofold effect, --it increased the cotton crop and the value of thelands, and it also increased the use of negro slaves. The Virginians andNorth Carolinians, who came to Georgia, brought their slaves with them;and the Georgians, as their crops became profitable, laid out theirsurplus cash in buying more negroes. The slave trade became veryprosperous, and both Old England and New England devoted a large amountof capital and enterprise to this branch of commerce. 

As the population increased, and the cotton crop became more valuable, the demand for land became keener. To this fact was due the intenseexcitement kindled by the Yazoo Fraud in 1794. The cotton gin had beenintroduced the year before, and the people were beginning to see andappreciate the influence the invention would have on their prosperity. Instead of selling land to speculators, they wanted to keep it forthemselves and children, or at least to get something like its realvalue. 

The cotton gin had increased not only the demand for negro slaves, butalso the demand for land; and indirectly it was the cause of the varioustroubles the State had with the Indians after the close of the War forIndependence. The troubles with the Indians also led finally to seriousmisunderstandings between the United States Government and that ofGeorgia. In May, 1796, a treaty was made between the United States andthe Creeks. This treaty created some indignation among the people, andwas denounced as an interference by the General Government with Stateaffairs. The lands which the Indians ceded to the United States were apart of the Territory of Georgia, and the transaction gave rise to muchdiscussion and considerable bad feeling. 

In ten years, from 1790 to 1800, the population in Georgia had increasedmore than eighty thousand. During the next ten years the increase in thepopulation was more than ninety thousand. This increase meant a stillgreater demand for farm lands. Westward the Territory of Georgiaextended to the Mississippi River. The agitation which began over thisrich possession when the Yazoo Fraud was attempted, was kept up until1800, when Georgia appointed four of her most prominent citizens tomeet with commissioners appointed by the United States; and settle allquestions that had arisen. The result was, that Georgia ceded to theGeneral Government all her lands belonging to the State, south ofTennessee and west of the Chattahoochee River. These lands were to besold, and out of the proceeds the State was to receive $1, 250, -000. Itwas also provided that the United States, at its own expense, shouldextinguish the Indian titles to the lands held by the Creeks betweenthe forks of the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers, and that in like manner theGeneral Government should extinguish the Indian title to all the otherlands within the State of Georgia. Under this agreement, and the Indiantreaty based upon it, nearly all of the lands lying between the Oconeeand Ocmulgee rivers were opened up for occupation and cultivation. 

All the Territory of Georgia was looked upon by the people as a publicdomain, belonging to the State for distribution among the citizens. Thelands east of the Oconee were divided among the people under the planknown as the "Head Right System. " By this system every citizen wasallowed to choose, and survey to suit himself, a body of unoccupiedland. This done, he received a title called a "head right land warrant, "which was issued to him when he paid a small fee and a nominal pricefor the land. If no one had previously appropriated the same land, thewarrant was his title. But much confusion arose in the distribution oftitles, and serious disputes grew out of it. The poorer sections of landwere neglected, and only the most fertile sections surveyed. 

When the lands west of the Oconee were acquired, the clumsy Head RightSystem was given up for what is known as the "Land Lottery System. " "Allfree white males, twenty-one years of age or older, every married manwith children under age, widows with children, and all families oforphan minors, " were allowed to draw in the lottery. Lists of thesepersons were made out in each count, and sent to the governor. Thelottery was drawn under the management of five responsible persons. Thetickets to be drawn were marked with the numbers of the land lots, andthese were put into boxes with numerous blanks. Those who were fortunateenough to draw numbered tickets were entitled to plats and grants oftheir lots, signed by the governor. 

The lots were not all of the same size. Some contained 202 1/2 acres, others 490 acres. Twelve months after the drawing was completed, thefortunate person was required to pay into the State treasury fourdollars for every hundred acres contained in his lot. 

Many of those who had the good fortune to draw prizes in theland-lottery scheme paid the necessary amount of money, and receivedtitles to their land lots; but many others neglected to pay in themoney, and thus forfeited their titles. 

It has been said that the land hunger of the people at this time wasboth selfish and sordid; but if we come to look at the matter closely, selfishness is behind much of the material progress that the world hasmade. The selfishness of individuals is not more conspicuous than theselfishness of communities, commonwealths, and nations. In history wefind the rumseller, the land grabber, and the speculator followinghard upon the heels of the missionary. The selfishness of nations isfrequently given the name of "patriotism, " and rightly so, since it is amovement for the good of all. 

When Georgia had fairly begun to recover from the disastrous results ofthe War for Independence, the troubles that resulted in the War of 1812began to make themselves felt. France and England were at war; and theUnited States Government tried to remain neutral, giving aid to neitherthe one nor the other. But this was not pleasing to either of thesegreat powers. Both were interested in the trade and commerce of thiscountry, and both issued orders affecting American affairs. The UnitedStates resented the interference, and protested against it GreatBritain, with an arrogance made bitter by the remembrance of herhumiliating defeat at the hands of a few feeble Colonies, replied to theAmerican protest, declaring that American ships would still be searched, and American sailors impressed into the service of the British, whereverfound on the high seas. In 1807 a British man-of-war fired on anAmerican merchant vessel as it was leaving harbor. Three men werekilled, eighteen wounded, and four sailors seized. This outrage inflamedthe whole country, and in December of that year Congress passed a lawpreventing American vessels from leaving their ports to trade withforeign nations. This law was deeply resented by the New England States, and they held at Hartford, Conn. , the first secession convention thatever met in this country. 

[Illustration: British Impressement of Americans 188]

Georgia was foremost among the States to denounce and resist theaggressive acts of Great Britain. In 1808 the Legislature sent anaddress to the President of the United States, approving the measures hehad taken, and declared that the people of Georgia were strong in theirindependence, and proud of their government, and that they would neverwish to see the lives and property of their brethren exposed to theinsult and rapacity of a foreign power; but if the war should come, theywould, in proportion to their number and resources, give zealous aid tothe government of their choice. 

The British, meanwhile, made arrangements to force a cotton trade withGeorgia and South Carolina, and for the purpose fitted out a numberof vessels of from ten to fifteen guns each. These vessels were tobe employed in opening the ports of Georgia and Carolina. A war briganchored at Tybee, and two of its officers went to Savannah. When theyhad made known their purpose, they were peremptorily ordered away. Theyreturned to their vessel and put to sea; but as they were leaving, theyfired at a pilot boat in the harbor, and committed other outrages. 

This incident and others aroused the indignation of the people. TheLegislature passed resolutions, addressed to the President of theUnited States, declaring that all hope of a peaceful termination ofthe difficulty had been lost, that the duty of the United States was tomaintain its sovereign rights against the despots of Europe, and thatthe citizens of Georgia would ever be found in readiness to assert therights and support the dignity of the country whenever called on by theGeneral Government. By the time the treaty of peace was made, the daybefore Christmas in 1814, the war spirit in Georgia had been rousedto the highest pitch by the numerous outrages committed by the Indianallies of the British. 

But the story of the Indian troubles belongs to a chapter by itself. 

THE CREEKS AND THE CREEK WAR

[Illustration: The Creek War 191]

If all the stories of the troubles of the early settlers of Georgia withthe Indians could be written out, they would fill a very large book. Allthe whites with whom the red men came in contact in Georgia were not asjust, as generous, and as unselfish as James Edward Oglethorpe. On theother hand, not all the Indians with whom the whites had dealings wereas wise and as honest as old Tomochichi. Consequently misunderstandingsarose, and prejudices grew and developed. This was greatly helped bydishonest traders and speculators, who were keen to take advantage ofthe ignorance of the Indians. 

The controlling influence among the Indians in Georgia was the CreekConfederacy (or nation); and this, in turn, was practically controlledby the Muscogees. 

North of the Creeks, Broad River being the dividing line, lived theCherokees, a nation even more warlike than the Creeks. The impressionmade upon the Indians by Oglethorpe and some of his more prudentsuccessors, made them the strong friends of the British. Of course, thered men were unable to appreciate the merits of the quarrel betweenthe Georgia settlers and King George: but, even if matters had beendifferent, they would probably have remained on friendly terms with theRoyalists; for Governor Wright, who was a wise as well as a good man, took great pains, when the Liberty Boys began their agitations againstthe Crown, to conciliate the Indians, and to show them that the King wastheir friend. What was known as "the royal presents" were promptlysent from England, and promptly delivered to and distributed among theIndians. The governor sent for the chiefs, and had conferences withthem; so that when the Revolution began, the Upper and the Lower Creeks, and the Cherokees as well, were the firm friends of the British. During the Revolution, as we have already seen, they made constant andunprovoked attacks on the patriots, burning their houses, carrying offtheir cattle, and murdering their helpless women and children. Theseraids were continued even after the Americans had compelled GreatBritain to recognize their independence, and hundreds of incidentsmight be given to show the ferocity with which the savages attacked thewhites. In many cases the settlements were compelled to build stockades, in which the people took shelter, for safety as well as defense, whenever there was an alarm. 

On one occasion shortly after the close of the war, the Indians attackedthe family of a man named William Tyner, who was living in what is knownas Elbert County. Tyner himself was absent, and his family was entirelywithout protection. Mrs. Tyner was killed, the brains of her youngestchild were dashed out against a tree, and another child was scalped andleft for dead. A young boy named Noah, the son of Mr. Tyner, escaped inthe general confusion, and hid himself in a hollow tree. This tree wasfor many years known as "Noah's Ark. " Mary and Tamar, two daughters, were suffered to live; but the Indians carried them off to the Cowetatowns on the Chattahoochee. These children remained with the Indiansseveral years. John Manack, an Indian trader, saw them there, andpurchased Mary. He then brought her to Elbert County, and afterwardsmade her his wife. He returned to the Indian nation shortly afterwards, and tried to purchase Tamar; but, as she was useful to the Indians inbringing wood and fuel for their fires, they refused to sell her. WhenManack went away, an old Indian woman, who was fond of Tamar, learnedthat the Indians, suspecting the girl was preparing to escape, haddecided to burn her at the stake. The old woman helped her to escapeby providing her with provisions and a canoe. She also gave Tamardirections how to go down the Chattahoochee. By day the fleeing girl hidherself in the thick swamps along the banks of the river, and bynight she floated down the river in her canoe. She finally reachedApalachicola Bay, took passage on a vessel, and shortly afterwardsarrived at Savannah. Here she was assisted to her home in Elbert Countyby the citizens. She married a man named Hunt, and no doubt many of herdescendants are still living in Georgia. 

There was once an Indian village in Troup County, on the west bank ofthe Chattahoochee, where the Indians who lived on the Alabama side ofthe river were in the habit of meeting before and after their raids uponthe white settlements. Before the raids they would meet there to arrangetheir programme; and afterwards they would assemble at the village tocount the scalps they had taken, dispose of their prisoners, and dividethe spoils. On one occasion, after a very destructive raid into thewhite settlements, the Indians returned to this village, and began tocelebrate the success with which they had been able to creep upon thesettlements at dead of night, murder the unsuspecting whites, burn theirdwellings, and drive off their horses and cattle. This time, however, the Indians had been followed by a few hundred men, under the leadershipof General David Adams, who was at that time a major in the militia, and a scout. Major Adams had taken part in the closing scenes ofthe Revolution when quite a young man. When the Creeks renewed theirdepredations after the war, Major Adams, both as a scout and as aleader, fought the Indians with such success as to win distinction. 

He followed the Indians on this occasion with a few hundred men, who hadvolunteered to accompany him. His pursuit was not active. The men underhim were not seasoned soldiers; and even if they had been, the forceof Indians was too large to justify an attack. Major Adams followed theIndians in the hope that he and his men would find an opportunity tosurprise them. The Indians marched straight for the village on the westbank of the Chattahoochee, about eight miles beyond the point where LaGrange now stands. At this village, which was the central point of theLower Creek nation at that time, there were many Indians--men, women, and children--awaiting the return of the raiders. It was in the lateafternoon when they reached the village, and as the sun went down theybegan the celebration of their victories; and in this they were joinedby the Indians, who had been waiting for their return. 

Major Adams had halted his command a few miles from the river, where hewaited until night fell. He then advanced silently to the banks of thestream, which was not so wide that he and his men could not see theIndians dancing around their fires, and hear their whoops and yells. Onone bank stood the men whose families and friends had been murdered; onthe opposite shore, and almost within a stone's throw, the red murderersdanced and howled in savage delight. 

For half the night, at least, the orgies were kept up by the Indians;but at last they grew weary of the song and dance. Their fires slowlydied out, and there came a moment when the whites, who were watching andwaiting, could hear nothing but the murmur of the flowing water, as itrippled over the shoals or lapped the bank. The time had come to strikea blow, if a blow was to be struck. It was characteristic of MajorAdams, that, instead of sending one of his little party to find out theposition of the village and its surroundings, so as to be able to make aswift, sudden, and an effective attack, he himself proposed to go. 

[Illustration: Major Adams scouting and Indian camp 197]

It was a hazardous undertaking, and required a bold heart to undertakeit. Major Adams knew there was a ford near the point where his men lay. The trail led into the river; but, once in the river, it was lost. Hehad to find the ford for himself, and it proved to be a very narrow anddifficult one. It led in a direct line across the river nearly halfway, and then turned down the stream in an oblique direction. A part of theford was over a slippery shoal. At some points the water was knee-deep, at others it was chin-deep. 

With great difficulty Major Adams reached the opposite bank in safety. The paths leading from the ford into the swamp that lay between theIndian village and the river were so numerous that the stout-heartedscout hardly knew which one to take. He chose one almost at random, and, after following it through the thick underbrush, he found that it hadled him some distance below the village. He followed the margin ofthe swamp back again, and soon found himself in the outskirts of thevillage. There he paused to listen. A dog somewhere in the settlementbarked uneasily and sleepily. 

Pushing forward, but moving with the utmost caution, Major Adams soonfound himself in the center of the village. In every hut the Indianswere sleeping; and, in addition to these, the ground seemed to becovered with warriors, who lay stretched out and snoring, their riflesand tomahawks within easy reach. The brave Georgian went through thevillage from one end to the other. Once a huge Indian, near whom hewas passing, raised himself on his elbow, grasped his gun, and lookedcarefully in every direction. Having satisfied himself, he lay down, and was soon snoring again. Fortunately, Major Adams had seen the Indianstir, and sank to the ground near a group of sleeping warriors, where heremained until he was sure the savage was asleep. 

He had examined every point of attack and defense in the village, andwas returning to the river, when he saw a pony tethered to a sapling. Thinking that the little animal would be able to find the ford withouttrouble, and could thus be used as a safe guide, Major Adams resolvedto capture it. He approached the pony with that intention, but not untiltoo late did he discover that it had a bell hung on its neck. The pony, frightened at the sight of a white man, broke the rope by which he wastied, and went scampering through the village, arousing and alarmingwarriors, squaws, children, and dogs with the jingling bell. 

At the sound of the bell, Major Adams knew that there would be atremendous uproar in the village, and he made an instant rush towardthe river, but soon found himself entangled in the briers and thickunderbrush of the swamp. It was fortunate that he missed the pathleading to the ford; for a party of Indians ran in that direction, either to catch the pony, or to find out whether they were about to beattacked. Some of them passed within a few feet of the spot where MajorAdams stood. 

In a short time the Indians returned to the village, and it was not longbefore everything was as quiet and as peaceful as before the uproar. Major Adams, instead of hunting for the path, made his way directlyto the river, slipped into the water, and swam straight across to theopposite bank. He soon found his men, and told them of his adventureand of the plans he had matured. Up to this moment he had been second incommand. A colonel of militia was with the party, and it was his rightto be the leader of the expedition; but now the men declared that theywould cross the river under the leadership of no one but Adams. It wasAdams or nobody; and the militia colonel, as gracefully as he could, yielded to the demand. 

Major Adams led the volunteers safely across the treacherous ford andinto the Indian town. The surprise was complete. Scarcely a warriorescaped. The women and children were spared as far as possible, but thevillage was burned to the ground. In retreating from that point, whichwas the center of the famous Muscogee nation, Major Adams made longmarches during the day, and camped without fires at night, and in thisway brought his command out of the Indian country without the loss of aman. 

But Adams's excursion to the center of the Muscogee (or Creek) nationdid not settle matters. The troubles continued. The temper of the peoplewas not improved by the efforts of the United States Government to takeaffairs into its own hands. In some instances the agents of the GeneralGovernment sought to stir up active strife between the people of theState and the Indians, and it was their habit to belittle the Stategovernment by speaking of it contemptuously before the Indians. In manyinstances the United States stepped in between the agents of the Stateand the Indians, and prevented settlements and treaties that would havebeen of lasting benefit to both the whites and the Indians. This was notdue to any purpose or desire of the General Government to trample on therights of the State, but grew altogether out of the folly of the agents, who wanted to put on airs and advertise their importance. 

In 1796 there was a treaty of peace arranged between the Creek nationand the United States. Three commissioners represented the GeneralGovernment, and Georgia also had three present; but the business wasconducted without regard to the wishes of the Georgia commissioners, and, as the commissioners thought, without regard to the interests ofthe State. Seagrove was the name of the agent representing the GeneralGovernment at that time, and his attitude toward Georgia was notcalculated to give the Indians any respect for the commonwealth. Afterthe treaty was signed, General James Jackson, on the part of Georgia, made an eloquent speech, in which he showed that the Creeks had notfaithfully observed the treaties they had made with the State. Heexhibited two schedules of property which they had stolen, amounting invalue to $110, 000, and demanded its restoration. When General Jacksonhad concluded, one of the prominent chiefs of the Creeks remarked thathe could fill more paper than Jackson showed with a list of outrages ofthe Georgians upon his people. There was something more than a grain oftruth in this; but on that very account the Indians and the Georgiansshould have been allowed to settle their difficulties in their own way, without the interference of the United States. 

The result of the treaty at Coleraine, in 1796, was, that the Georgiaagents were offended with Seagrove (the Indian agent for the UnitedStates), offended with the Indians, and displeased with the UnitedStates commissioners. To these last the Georgians presented a protestin which the Federal commissioners were accused of disregarding theinterests of Georgia. Charges were brought against Seagrove, who, it wasclaimed, had influenced the Creeks not to cede the lands as far as theOcmulgee. A bitter controversy grew out of this. It was, in fact, verynearly the beginning of the discussion that has continued from that dayto this, in some shape or other, over the rights of the States and thepower of the General Government. Pickett, in his "History of Alabamaand Georgia, " says that General Jackson, and Seagrove the Indian agent, became enemies, and afterwards fought a duel. 

Other treaties were made with the Creeks up to 1806, but all these wereviolated when the Indians became the allies of the British during theWar of 1812. It is only fair to the Indians to say that the leader inwhom they placed the greatest confidence was a man who for many yearsnourished hot resentment against the United States, and especiallyagainst Georgia. This man was General Alexander McGillivray, who becamefamous as an opponent of the Americans and the Georgians in all theirefforts to come to a just, fair, and peaceable understanding with theCreeks. 

As has been stated, when the War of 1812 began, the Creeks became theallies of the British, and the attacks they made on the unprotectedsettlements were so numerous and so serious as to call for some actionon the part of the General Government. In September, 1813, Congresscalled for a levy of Georgia troops, and, the State authorities ordered3, 600 men to assemble at Camp Hope, near Fort Hawkins, on the OcmulgeeRiver. The ruins of Fort Hawkins may be seen to this day on theOcmulgee, in the city of Macon. 

The men who assembled at Camp Hope were volunteers, and all eager forservice. The command of this force fell to General John Floyd, who madehaste to take charge, and endeavored to make arrangements for taking thefield at once. He found his men assembled according to orders, and allanxious to be led against the hostile Indians. But the little army couldnot march. The Federal Government had failed to supply the necessaryfunds. What is called "red tape" stood in the way of prompt action. Adispute arose. Federal officials placed the blame on the contractorswho were to furnish supplies, and the contractors placed it on theofficials, who had failed to furnish the necessary money. While thisdispute was raging, General Floyd, who was a brave and gallant spirit, applied to the State Legislature, then in session, for a loan of$20, 000. The request was granted, and he was able to equip his troops, procure supplies, and march into the country of the Creeks, by themiddle or latter part of November. 

Meanwhile the hostile Creeks had already challenged Georgia and beguntheir attack. On the 30th of August, seven hundred and twenty-fiveCreek Indians attacked Fort Mims on the Chattahoochee. The attack was assudden as it was unexpected. It was made at twelve o'clock in the day, and the inmates of the fort were taken entirely by surprise. The savagesmassacred nearly three hundred men, women, and children in the mostcruel manner. This horrible outrage spread consternation on thefrontier, and aroused indignation in all parts of the country. Hundredsof frontier settlers fled from their homes, and sought safety in themore thickly settled regions. 

It was owing to this massacre that the troops commanded by General Floydwere called out. This active and energetic leader began his campaignby building a line of forts and blockhouses from the Ocmulgee to theAlabama River, and in this way completely protected the northern part ofthe State from invasion by the Creeks. General Floyd accomplished thiswork in spite of the failure of the United States officials to supplywith provisions and transportation the troops they had called out. 

He completed his line of defense by building Fort Mitchell. Leaving asufficient garrison in this fort, General Floyd placed himself at thehead of nine hundred and fifty men, and marched on Autossee, one of themost populous towns of the Creek nation, situated on the left bank ofthe Tallapoosa River, and near the town of Tallassee, which was nearlyas large. The distance from Fort Mitchell to Autossee was sixty miles, and General Floyd made it by forced night marches, resting his troopsduring the day. He was accompanied on this expedition by General WilliamMcintosh, the famous Indian chief, who led four hundred friendly Creeks. 

Arriving at Autossee and Tallassee at daybreak on the 29th of November, 1813, General Floyd arranged and ordered a simultaneous attack on bothtowns. By nine o'clock the Indians had been defeated and driven from thetowns, and their houses burned. Four hundred houses were burned, withall the provisions and stock. Two hundred Indians were killed, includingthe kings of both towns. The pipe which the old chief of Tallassee hadsmoked at a treaty forty years before, was taken and presented to thegovernor, who placed it in the executive office of the State Capitol. Eleven whites were killed, and fifty-four wounded; among them, GeneralFloyd himself, who had received a ball in the knee early in the fight. He refused to have his wound dressed, and continued on horseback, directing his troops, until after the battle was over. He never entirelyrecovered from the effects of this wound. After the towns had beenentirely destroyed, the troops returned to Fort Mitchell, having marcheda hundred and twenty miles in bitter cold weather, and fought a severeengagement on five days' provisions. 

In January, 1814, General Floyd heard that the Upper Creeks hadcollected in great force at the Indian town of Hothlewaulee. By thattime his wound had so far healed that he was able to ride a horse, and he determined to make an attack on the town. For this purpose hedetached from the troops at Fort Mitchell a force of fifteen hundredmen. The weather was cold, and the winter rains had so obstructed theroads that the troops found the march a weary and a difficult one; butthey pressed on, nevertheless, cheered by the energy and enthusiasm oftheir gallant leader. They marched to within fifteen or twenty miles ofthe town, and there encamped. Between midnight and day a large bodyof Indians, led by the warrior Weather-ford and Colonel Woodbine, anEnglish officer, attacked General Floyd's camp. His troops were taken bysurprise, but they were not demoralized. They had been fighting for sixmonths, and were seasoned to all the dangers of Indian warfare. Aboveall, they had a leader who possessed in a wonderful degree a genius forwar. 

No sooner had the alarm been sounded than General Floyd rallied hislittle army, formed it in a square, the baggage in the center, and heldthe savages at bay until daylight. There was no faltering in any partof the line or on any side of the square. The dauntless courage of Floydhimself seemed to control every man, down to the humblest private. Whenday dawned, a charge was sounded, and Floyd's troops drove the Indiansbefore them at the point of the bayonet. Within a quarter of an hourafter the charge was made, the battle was won. The loss of the Indianswas never discovered, as they had an opportunity to carry off theirkilled and wounded up to the moment the charge was sounded. SeventeenGeorgians were killed, and a hundred and thirty-two wounded. Floyd'scamp was known as Camp Defiance, but in the official report the fight iscalled the battle of Chalibbee. The attack was made on Floyd in orderto prevent a junction between his troops and those of General AndrewJackson, who was fighting the Indians in the lower part of Alabama. Theresult of the fight made a junction unnecessary; and shortly afterwardsthe term for which Floyd's Georgia troops had enlisted expired, and theywere discharged. 

In 1814, when peace was declared between the United States and GreatBritain, the Creeks remained quiet for some time. 

TWO FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEFS. 

Among the Indian leaders who made Georgia the scene of their operations, the most celebrated were General Alexander McGillivray and GeneralWilliam Mcintosh. If these men had been born and brought up among thewhites, both of them would have won lasting renown. They possessed theenergy and the genius: all they lacked was the opportunity to directtheir gifts into channels that would have benefited humanity. 

Alexander McGillivray was one of the most remarkable men of his time, whether we regard him as a leader of the Indians or simply as anindividual. His father, Lachlan McGillivray, being a lad of adventurousturn, ran away from a home in Scotland where he enjoyed all theadvantages and comforts that wealth could give him, took passage ona ship bound for South Carolina, and shortly afterwards landed atCharleston. Wandering about in that city, and enjoying the sights thatwere new to his experience, he soon found himself in the suburbs of thecity. There he found the headquarters of the Indian traders, who came toCharleston with their pack horses to carry merchandise of all kinds tothe red men. One of these traders persuaded young McGillivray to go withhim. His Scotch eye and mind were quick to appreciate the possibilitiesof this new business, and in a few years he became one of the mostenterprising and prosperous of the Indian traders. He pushed his tradefarther than any of his predecessors had ever dared to go. He went, indeed, to the neighborhood of Fort Toulouse. A few miles above thatfort, where Wetumpka, Ala. , now stands, he met Sehoy Marchand, abeautiful girl of about sixteen years. This girl was the daughter ofCaptain Marchand, who had commanded at Fort Toulouse, but who had beenkilled by his own soldiers in August, 1722. The soldiers rose againstthe officers of the garrison on account of the failure of France toforward money and supplies to the troops in her American settlement. The girl's mother was a Creek woman of the tribe of The Wind, the mostpowerful and influential family in the Creek nation. The young Scotchmanfell in love with the dark-haired maiden, and she fell in love with theblue-eyed Scotchman, with his fair skin and red hair. LachlanMcGillivray built him a trading house on the Coosa, not far away, andsoon married Sehoy, and carried her home. He became very wealthy. Heowned two plantations on the Savannah River, which were well stockedwith negroes, and stores filled with merchandise in both Savannah andAugusta. When Lachlan McGillivray's son Alexander reached the age offourteen, he was carried to Savannah and placed at school, and in a fewyears was made a clerk in a counting-house at Savannah. 

But the humdrum business of buying, selling, and adding up long rows oftiresome figures, did not please him, and so he neglected his duties toread books, mainly histories. His father, taking the advice of friends, placed young Alexander under the tutorship of a clergyman in Charleston, where the lad learned Latin and Greek, and in that way became wellgrounded in what our dear old grandfathers called polite literature. Butone day word came to the young man that the chiefs of the Creek nation, who were getting into trouble with the people of Georgia, were waitingfor the moment when he, as a descendant of the tribe of The Wind, shouldreturn and take charge of the affairs of the nation. So he departedsuddenly from Charleston, and turned his horse's head toward thewilderness. 

[Illustration: McGillavray joins the Indians 208]

On his way to the Creek nation, he fell in with Leclerc Mil-fort, anadventurous Frenchman, who afterwards wrote a book of travels, andwas made a general of brigade by Napoleon. Milfort married one ofMcGillivray's sisters, was made Tustenug-gee (or grand war chief), andwas the right-hand man of his powerful brother-in-law. The first thatwas heard of McGillivray after he left Charleston, he was presiding ata grand national council of the Creeks at the town of Coweta on theChattahoochee. When Alexander arrived among the Creeks, Colonel Tait ofthe British army was stationed on the Coosa, and he used all his tactand influence to prevail upon the young man to take the side of theEnglish in the war that was then going on between the Colonies andthe mother country. To this end Colonel Tait pursued McGillivray withattentions, loaded him with favors, and finally caused him to be giventhe rank and pay of a colonel in the army. The result was that the greatchief was throughout the war devoted to the cause of the British. This would have been natural in any event, for his father was a stanchRoyalist. During the war, McGillivray frequently acted in concert withthe notorious Daniel McGirth, sometimes leading his Indians in person;but his main dependence was on his brother-in-law Milfort, who waspossessed of the most daring spirit. McGillivray preferred to plan andengage in intrigue, which gave the remarkable powers of his mind fullplay. 

There is no doubt that the authorities of Georgia made a great mistake, after the war, in neglecting to win the friendship of McGillivray. Sucha course would have prevented much suffering and bloodshed. The fatherof the great chief, Lachlan McGillivray, was living in Savannah at theclose of the Revolution; and when the British were compelled to evacuatethe city, he scraped together an immense amount of money and othervaluables, and sailed for Scotland. He abandoned his plantations andnegroes, in the hope that his wife and three children might be permittedto inherit them; but the Georgians confiscated the whole of the valuableestate, and thus the Creek leader had another reason for entertaining abitter prejudice against the Whigs. 

The result was, that until the day of his death, which occurred in1792, he succeeded in baffling all the efforts of the Federal and Stateauthorities to come to an understanding with the Creek nation. He wasperhaps the most accomplished diplomat in the country, --a veritableTalleyrand, able to cope with the most distinguished statesmen among theAmericans. Such of his letters as have been preserved do not suffer bycomparison with the writings of even the greatest of the Americans. Themost of these depended on a stately and scholarly diction to attractattention. McGillivray paid little regard to diction; but his letterspossess the distinction of style, and in this particular but oneAmerican writer can be compared to him, --Benjamin Franklin. There is, in fact, a modern touch and flavor about McGillivray's letters thateven the writings of Franklin do not possess. He wrote thus toAndrew Pickens, who had addressed him on behalf of the United StatesGovernment:--

"When we found that the American independence was confirmed by thepeace, we expected that the new government would soon have taken somesteps to make up the differences that subsisted between them and theIndians during the war, to have taken them under their protectionand confirmed to them their hunting grounds. Such a course would havereconciled the minds of the Indians, and secured the States theirfriendship, as they considered your people their natural allies. TheGeorgians, whose particular interest it was to conciliate the friendshipof this nation, have acted in all respects to the contrary. I am sorryto observe that violence and prejudice have taken the place of goodpolicy and reason in all their proceedings with us. They attempted toavail themselves of our supposed distressed situation. Their talks to usbreathed nothing but vengeance, and, being entirely possessed with theidea that we were wholly at their mercy, they never once reflected thatcolonies of a powerful monarch were nearly surrounding us, to whom, inany extremity, we might apply for succor and protection, and who, toanswer some ends of their policy, might grant it to us. However, we yetdeferred any such proceeding, still expecting that we could bring themto a true sense of their interest; but still finding no alterationin their conduct towards us, we sought the protection of Spain, andtreaties of friendship and alliance were mutually entered into; theyguaranteeing our hunting grounds and territory, and granting us a freetrade in the ports of the Floridas. 

"How the boundary and limits between the Spaniards and the States willbe determined, a little time will show, as I believe that matter isnow on foot. However, we know our limits and the extent of our huntinggrounds. As a free nation, we have applied, as we had a right to do, for protection, and obtained it. We shall pay no attention to anylimits that may prejudice our claims, that were drawn by an Americanand confirmed by a British negotiator. Yet, notwithstanding we havebeen obliged to adopt these measures for our preservation, and from realnecessity, we sincerely wish to have it in our power to be on the samefooting with the States as before the late unhappy war, to effect whichis entirely in your power. We want nothing from you but justice. We wantour hunting grounds preserved from encroachments. They have been oursfrom the beginning of time, and I trust that, with the assistance of ourfriends, we shall be able to maintain them against every attempt to takethem from us. "

Undoubtedly McGillivray was unscrupulous, and the probability is thathe was mercenary; but such charges may be brought against some of theablest men who have figured in history. When all is said, the factremains that Alexander McGillivray was one of the most accomplished andingenious of the politicians of his time. If he had been on the side ofthe whites, and had managed their interests with the skill and abilitywhich he displayed in behalf of the Creeks, history would have writtenhim down as a great statesman. It was only by an accidental suit at lawthat some of his most characteristic letters were brought to light; butthose that have been rescued from oblivion show that in wielding thepen he was more than a match for the many able men who corresponded withhim. 

In September, 1789, Washington sent General Andrew Pickens, with threeother commissioners, to treat with McGillivray. They found the greatchief at Rock Landing, on the Oconee, with two thousand Creek warriors, where he had been encamped more than a week. The Indian camp was on thewestern bank of the river. The commissioners pitched their tents on theeastern bank. They were received by McGillivray with great courtesy. Everything progressed favorably, so much so that the commissioners readto the assembled chiefs a copy of the treaty which they had drawn up. This treaty was all in favor of the whites. The Indians were offeredno equivalent for the terms proposed. It is worthy of note that AndrewPickens wholly dissented from the terms of the proposed treaty. He knewthat the Indians would have to be paid for the valuable land which theGeorgians were then cultivating in the neighborhood of the Oconee, andthe commissioners had been advised by the Federal authorities to payfor these lands. McGillivray broke up his encampment and retired tothe Ocmulgee, nor could he be induced at that time to renew thenegotiations. 

President Washington was urged by the Georgia delegation in Congress todeclare war against the Creeks, and this indeed was his first impulse;but when he found, from a careful estimate, that the expenses of sucha war would amount to fifteen millions of dollars, he prudently gaveup the idea. He took the matter in hand in a more conservative way. Heappointed Colonel Marinus Willett a secret agent to visit Mc-Gillivray, and urge him to visit President Washington in New York. In this ColonelWillett was entirely successful. Accompanied by McGillivray and a numberof the leading men of the Creeks, Willett set out on his return journey. At Guilford Court House, McGillivray attracted great attention onaccount of a very pathetic incident that occurred there some yearsbefore. A man named Brown had been killed by the Creeks, and his wifeand children captured and made slaves. Their unfortunate condition cameto the notice of Alexander McGillivray, and, as he had done in the caseof many other captive white women and children, he paid their ransom andredeemed them from slavery. He maintained them at his house for over ayear, and finally assisted them to return to their friends. Mrs. Brown, hearing that McGillivray had arrived, went to see him. At that momenthe was in the courthouse, the center of a large assembly of ladiesand gentlemen who had gathered to pay their respects. But this was noobstacle to Mrs. Brown. She rushed through the assembly, and, in a floodof tears, expressed her gratitude to him for saving her life and thelives of her children. She also expressed her strong admiration for hischaracter. 

In due course, McGillivray arrived in New York, where he was treatedwith great consideration. He had long private conferences withWashington and other officials of the government, and was finallyinduced to make a treaty which was satisfactory to the United States, and would have been satisfactory to Georgia if it had been carried out, but in fact the terms of it were never fulfilled. While in New York, McGillivray made a secret treaty with Washington, a fact that was notdiscovered for many years. It provided, that after two years from date(August, 1790) the commerce of the Creek nation should be carried onthrough the ports of the United States, and in the mean time throughthe present channels; that a number of chiefs of the Creeks and of theSeminole nation should be paid one hundred dollars a year each, andbe furnished with handsome medals; that the United States should feed, clothe, and educate Creek youth at the North, not exceeding five at onetime; and that Alexander McGillivray should be constituted agent of theUnited States, with the rank of brigadier general, and the pay of twelvehundred dollars a year. In 1792, McGillivray was a British colonel, anAmerican brigadier general, an agent of the United States, and anagent of Spain. This extraordinary man died in Pensacola on the 17th ofFebruary, having been seized with a fatal illness while returning fromone of his plantations on Little River in Putnam or Baldwin. 

Another famous Creek was General William Mcintosh, a half-breed. Hisfather was Captain William Mcintosh, and his mother was an Indianof unmixed blood. He was not so brilliant a man intellectually asMcGillivray; but he had a native force of character, and an inborn senseof justice, that McGillivray seems to have been a stranger to. Historytells us little enough of Mcintosh, but that little is all to hiscredit. Almost from the days of Oglethorpe, there were two parties inthe Creek nation, and the issue on which they divided was thetreatment that should be accorded to the whites. The party division wasgeographical as well as political. The Upper Creeks, living upon theAlabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa rivers, were not present at the Cowetatown when James Oglethorpe treated with the Lower Creeks in August, 1730. At that time they were under the influence of the French, andafterwards they sought the protection of the Spaniards. They refused torecognize any of the treaties made by the Lower Creeks with the English, and the great body of them remained to the end the bitter enemies ofthe Georgians. On the other hand, the majority of the Lower Creekswere friendly with the English from the days of Oglethorpe; and thatfriendship continued, with but few interruptions, down to the days ofGovernor Troup. 

Now, McGillivray, in his day and time, represented the Upper Creeksof the Tallapoosa country and their policy, while William Mcintoshrepresented the Lower Creeks of the Coweta country and their policy. Thedivision in the Creek nation was so serious, that, when the Upper Creekstook sides with the British in the War of 1812, they found themselvesopposed in the field by a large party of Lower Creeks under the commandof Mcintosh. Thus, at the battle of Autossee, William Mcintosh led alarge band of Lower Creeks against those who were making war on thewhites. He made himself so conspicuous in that affair, that GeneralFloyd mentions him in the official report of the battle. 

The treaty at Indian Spring, and the results that followed, cannot beclearly understood unless we bear in mind the political differences thatexisted between the Upper and the Lower Creeks. The Creek chiefs and thecommissioners met at Indian Spring on the 15th of February, 1825. Thechiefs and warriors of the Upper Creeks declared that no treaty couldbe made for a cession of lands, and on the night of the 11th they wenthome. On the 12th a treaty was signed with the Mcintosh party. ColonelJohn A. Crowell, agent for the Creek Indians, sent a letter to thesecretary of war, in which he declared that the treaty was in directopposition to the letter and spirit of the instructions to thecommissioners; but the treaty was sent to Washington, and was ratifiedon the 3d of March, 1825. When the Indians of the Upper Creeks and theirparty learned that the treaty had been ratified, they became very muchexcited. Mcintosh and his party went to Milledgeville, and told thegovernor that they expected violent treatment at the hands of theUpper Creeks. They begged the protection of the State and of the UnitedStates, and this was promised them. 

Out of this treaty grew a very serious conflict between the Federal andState governments. After a good deal of discussion, the President askedCongress to reconsider the treaty of Indian Spring, and presented anew one as a substitute, which was ratified and proclaimed; but popularindignation ran so high in Georgia, that Governor Troup felt justifiedin paying no attention to this new treaty. He proceeded to carry out theterms of the Indian Spring treaty. Charges were brought against Crowell, the Indian agent. The governor informed T. P. Andrews, the specialagent, that he would hold no further correspondence with him. Theconduct of General Gaines had been such that Governor Troup requestedthe Federal Government to recall, arrest, and punish him. In 1826 theState Legislature declared that the attempt to repeal the treaty ofIndian Spring by the substitution of another treaty was illegal andunconstitutional. In September, 1826, Governor Troup ordered thedistricts ceded by the treaty of Indian Spring to be surveyed. When theIndians complained of this, the secretary of war wrote to Governor Troupthat the President felt himself compelled to employ all the means underhis control to maintain the faith of the nation by carrying the treatyinto effect, meaning the treaty made at Washington, and intended to bea substitute for the Indian Spring treaty. In his reply, Governor Troupdeclared that he would feel it to be his duty to resist to the utmostany military attack which the President of the United States shouldthink proper to make upon the Territory, the people, or the sovereigntyof Georgia. "From the first decisive act of hostility, " he wrote to thesecretary of war, "you will be considered and treated as a publicenemy. You have referred me, as the rule of my conduct, to the treatyof Washington. In turn I refer you to the treaty of prior date and priorratification, concluded at the Indian Spring. "

The President issued orders that the surveyors appointed by the Statebe prosecuted. Governor Troup thereupon ordered the proper officers, inevery instance of complaint made of the arrest of any surveyor, to takeall necessary and legal measures to effect their liberation, and tobring to justice all the parties concerned in such arrests, as violatorsof the peace and personal security of the State. He also orderedthe major generals of the militia to hold the various regiments andbattalions in readiness to repel any hostile invasion of the State. Butno acts of violence were committed. The surveyors were not arrested, thesurveys were made, and the lands ceded by the treaty of Indian Springwere divided by lottery in 1827. 

The Upper Creeks, who had always been unfriendly to the Georgians, were so angry at the signing of the treaty of Indian Spring, that theydetermined to assassinate General William Mcintosh. They had neverforgiven him for leading his party of Lower Creeks against them in thecampaign that was made necessary by the terrible massacre of Fort Mims, and they now determined to rid themselves of him at once and forever. 

We have seen that General Mcintosh, and his party of Lower Creeks, suspecting that an attack would be made on them by the powerful tribeson the Tallapoosa, went to Milledgeville to beg the governor to protectthem. Protection was promised, but never given. Meanwhile the UpperCreeks held a secret council, and selected a hundred and seventy of theboldest warriors in the nation to murder Mcintosh. They marched in themost cautious way. They reached the neighborhood of Mcintosh's home, and concealed themselves, to wait for night to fall. About sundown, ora little before, the Indians saw from their hiding place two personsriding along a trail. One was Mcintosh, and the other a man namedHawkins, who had married one of Mcintosh's daughters. It would have beenan easy matter for the savages to have killed Mcintosh at this time; butthey had made up their minds to kill him upon his own premises, so thathis blood might stain the land that had been granted him by the State. While still in sight of the men who had been sent to slay him, Mcintoshbade Hawkins good evening, wheeled his horse, and rode back on the trailtoward his home. Although he was now alone, the Indians would not killhim. They had fixed up a different plan, and they carried it out. 

Before dark the Indians gathered together a supply of "fat lightwood, "as the resinous pine was called. This they split into convenient length, and made up into three bundles to be carried on the backs of theirwarriors. They remained hidden within half a mile of Mcintosh's housetill three o'clock in the morning, and then silently and swiftly marchedto the place. They had taken along with them a man named James Hutton toact as interpreter, the reason for this being that Mcintosh was in thehabit of entertaining travelers. 

It was to be Hutton's duty to assure such as might be found there thatthey would not be disturbed in any manner. Guests of Mcintosh werecommonly lodged in an outhouse in the yard; and Hutton, accompanied bytwo Indians, went to this building to see who might be sleeping there. They found a peddler in one bed, and Chilly, a son of General Mcintosh, in another. 

Young Mcintosh, as if instinctively understanding the nature of thevisit, sprang from the bed and leaped out at a window. He was fired uponby the Indians, but was not touched, and succeeded in making his escape. The peddler was nearly scared out of his wits; but his pack of goodswas removed to a place of safety, and the house in which he had beensleeping was soon in flames. 

[Illustration: Indian Attack 220]

Meanwhile most of the Indians had surrounded Mcintosh's house, andtorches of the fat pine were used to set it on fire. The red men dancedaround the burning building, yelling, and crying out, "Mcintosh, we havecome, we have come! We told you if you sold the land to the Georgianswe would come. Now we have come!" At the first alarm Mcintosh hadbarricaded his front door. He stood near it; and when it was brokendown, he fired upon his assailants. At that moment, one of his firmestfriends, Toma Tustenuggee, who had thrown himself upon the party at thedoor, fell on the threshold, riddled with bullets. General Mcintosh thenretreated to the second story with four guns, which he continued to firefrom the windows. 

The flames drove him from the second story to the first floor again. Hefought bravely to the end, but was soon compelled to expose himself tothe fire of his enemies. He fell to the floor, pierced by many bullets, and was dragged into the yard by his heels. He breathed defiance tothe last, and was finally stabbed to death. After this savage deed, theIndians plundered the houses, killed such cattle as they could find, and committed other outrages. A small party of the Indians had followedHawkins the evening before. His house was surrounded about daybreak thenext morning, and he was ordered to come out. He refused, and defendedhimself the best he could; but he was finally taken prisoner and tied, until the fate of Mcintosh was known. Then he was murdered, and his bodythrown into the river near where he lived. The Indians marched backto the Tallapoosa country with the scalps of these unfortunate men. Mcintosh's scalp was suspended from a pole in the public square ofOcfuskee, and young and old danced around it with shouts of joy. 

General Mcintosh was a cousin of Governor Troup, being the son ofGovernor Troup's uncle, Captain William Mcintosh, who was frequently onthe Chattahoochee before the breaking-out of the Revolution. 

REMOVAL OF THE CHEROKEES. 

When Georgia had begun to recover its breath, after the difficultieswith the Creeks, the people had time to discover that they had a muchmore serious problem to deal with in the Cherokee nation, which occupiedall the northwestern portion of the State. Those who mingled thrift withtheir benevolence, and had the courage to think about the future ofthe whites as well as the future of the savages, thought that bothends would be attained by making a permanent settlement for the Indiansbeyond the Mississippi River. Those whose benevolence was a mixture ofsentimentality and romantic misinformation thought the Indians oughtto be left where contact with the whites would tend to civilizeand Christianize them. Consequently there were two parties to thediscussion, and a good deal of practical selfishness at the bottom of itall. There used to be an old song running in this wise, --

 "All I want in this creation, Is a pretty little wife and a big plantation Away up yonder in the Cherokee nation, "--

and this song no doubt represented the real feeling behind the wholematter. The big plantation was what was really wanted. At the same timeit should not be forgotten that it was for the benefit of the Indians aswell as the whites that they should be settled in a section where theywould remain undisturbed. This policy has been proven by time to be thetrue one. 

Travelers and romancers have done no end of harm by exalting the Indiancharacter, covering up its faults, and exaggerating its merits. Romancehas made great heroes of the Indians; but in the whole history of thered men, so far as it has been faithfully chronicled, the names of theIndians of unmixed blood who are worth remembering can be counted on thefingers of two hands. 

Sequoia, or George Guess, who invented the Cherokee alphabet, was thegrandson of a white man. This invention, however, was a very remarkableachievement, and it is worthy of a word here. Sequoia was altogetherilliterate. He could neither write nor speak English, but he saw thatthe whites could talk with each other by means of pieces of paper. Sohe set himself to work to examine his own language. He found that sixtymonosyllables could be so combined as to represent every word inthe Cherokee language, and for each of these syllables he formed acharacter. Many of these characters were taken from an English spellingbook which he managed to get hold of. Some are Greek characters, andothers are letters of the English alphabet turned upside down; buteach character in the Cherokee alphabet stands for a monosyllable. Ithappened, too, from the structure of the Cherokee language or dialect, that the syllabic alphabet is also in the nature of a grammar; so thatthose who know the language by ear, and master the alphabet, can at onceread and write. Owing to the extreme simplicity of this system, it canbe acquired in a few days. Some have learned it even in one day. Thusit happened that the Cherokees, who were at the beginning of one yearignorant and illiterate, had become in the course of a few months ableto read and write their own language. They accomplished this withoutgoing to school, and without expense of time or money. 

This curious and useful invention is dwelt on here because it standsalone. The Indian grandson of a white man remains to-day the only man, in the long history of the aborigines, who has done anything for thereal and lasting benefit of his race. 

When the people of Georgia insisted on the removal of that nation to theFar West, the Cherokees were neither better nor worse than the rest ofthe Indians. Some of the half-breeds had indeed begun to put on the airsof civilization, and many of them had put off their barbarian garbs; butfrom time to time they gave evidence that contact with the whites hadonly whetted their savage appetites for cruelty. The Indian in Cooper'snovels and the Indian in real life are two different creatures. Theywere tall and straight because they refused to do manual labor. Thedrudgery was left to the women, who hoed the corn when at home, andcarried the burdens when the warriors were moving about. They cultivatedthe passion of revenge. Those who know them best have declared ina thousand ways that they never found in the red men any solidsubstantial, or agreeable quality. They were brave, but so is a bulldog. 

There is no wonder that Georgia wanted to get rid of them as neighbors. The people showed their anxiety in this matter when, in 1802, theyconveyed to the United States Government all the valuable lands that nowform the States of Alabama and Mississippi; the consideration being thatthe General Government would secure from the Indians, and open up tosettlement, the lands which they then held in the State. In 1808 theCherokees asked the United States to allow them to examine the publicland west of the Mississippi, and, if pleased, to settle on it. Permission was given, and the Cherokees sent a party to explorethe lands. The country suited them so well that many of the Indiansemigrated at once. The General Government thus had an opportunity tocarry out the contract of 1802, but failed to do so. It had anotheropportunity in 1814, when the conquered Creeks sued for peace. TheGeneral Government had the right to demand of them the cession of theland they occupied in Georgia. Instead, it took land in Alabama, whichit sold for its own benefit. 

And so the matter went on from year to year, and the people waitedpatiently; for they had become aware, from costly experience, that oneof the prices they have to pay for popular government is the occasionalrule of the political demagogue. 

In 1827, when the people of Georgia began to grow restive under thefailure of the government to carry out its contracts, the Cherokeeshad declared themselves to be an independent state. They had their ownprinted constitution and code of laws. So that here in the limits ofGeorgia there were three governments going on at one and the sametime. The United States prohibited any person from settling on Indianterritory, or trading with any Indian, without a special license fromthe proper authority. In addition to this, the State of Georgia hadfound it necessary to extend her criminal courts over the Cherokeeterritory, in order to protect her own citizens. 

The half-breeds among the Cherokees were very shrewd and unscrupulous. They had caused some of their tribe to take possession of lands cededto Georgia by the Creeks, and in this way sought to add confusion to thediscussion that was then going on. The Indians took possession by force. They were armed and painted, and led by Chief Ridge. Fourteen or fifteenhouses were burned by these savages, and the white women and childrenwere left exposed to the weather, the ground being covered with snow. 

The great trouble with the Cherokees then and afterwards was, that thegovernment of their nation had fallen into the hands of half-breeds, whose education only gave them fresh opportunities to gain wealthand power at the expense of the rest of the tribe. They owned tradinghouses, big plantations, numbers of slaves, had charge of the ferries, and controlled all the traffic between the whites and the Indians. Asthese half-breeds became wealthier, the rest of the tribe became poorer. They had forsaken their primitive habits and customs, and taken up thoseof the most depraved whites who lived among them. It is worthy of notethat the most progressive spirits among the Cherokees were in favorof emigration beyond the Mississippi. The leaders of this party werenatives of unmixed blood, who saw that the control of the corrupthalf-breeds was carrying the nation to ruin. Several of these leaderswere waylaid and shot down by the agents of those whose policy they wereopposing. The alarm in some sections was very great. The citizens met, and adopted resolutions requesting the government to station troops atsuitable points, for the protection of the lives and property of thewhites and friendly Indians. 

Under an act of the Legislature, a body of militia had been organized, under the name of the "Georgia Guard. " It was the duty of the Guard toprotect the citizens of Georgia and the friendly Cherokees. John HowardPayne, the famous author of "Home, Sweet Home, " was arrested by thisGuard. The poet was traveling among the Cherokees for information, andwas no doubt ignorant of the state of feeling then existing. He wasfinally suspected by the vigilant Georgia Guard of writing improperpapers. He had been seen making notes, and when he was arrested hispapers were searched. The commander of the Georgia Guard, ColonelWilliam N. Bishop, reported to the governor that he had examined someof Mr. Payne's papers, and found some very improper and indiscreetstatements about the President, the government, and the Stateauthorities, and many bitter remarks concerning Cherokee matters. Evidently, Colonel Bishop was of the opinion, that, while a politicianor a newspaper editor might be allowed to indulge in improper andindiscreet statements about Presidents and other public men, a poethad no such rights. But the colonel finally discharged Mr. Payne fromcustody, and the very foolish proceeding was condemned by a resolutionof the General Assembly. 

In 1835 two parties had developed in the Cherokee nation. One was infavor of removal to the Western lands, and the other was opposedto removal. John Ridge headed the removal party, and John Ross theopposition. In February of that year these men went to Washington atthe head of deputations, and entered into negotiations with the GeneralGovernment. After a great deal of talk, excitement, confusion, andtrouble, the Cherokee people finally concluded to hold a meeting at RedClay in October, 1835. There was a good deal of angry feeling betweenthose of the Cherokees who were in favor of a treaty of removal andthose who were opposed to it. Major Ridge, John Ridge, and David Vannwere impeached for holding opinions contrary to those held by theCherokee authorities. On the other hand, many of those in favor ofremoval met, and passed resolutions, in which they declared that theirpeople could not prosper in the midst of a white population, and that, while they loved the lands of their fathers, and would leave the placeof their birth with regret, they considered that it would be better tobecome exiles than to submit to the laws of the State. 

At the Red Clay meeting, arrangements were made for discussing with theUnited States authorities the terms of a treaty of removal. The Rossparty was still violently opposed to removal. John Ross, the leader ofthis party, was only one fourth Indian, the other three fourthsbeing Scotch and American. Ross was very shrewd and thrifty, and hadaccumulated a great deal of property, with the prospect of accumulatingmore. He had many sympathizers and admirers in all parts of the country. It seems to have been thought a wonderful thing in that day, that a manone quarter Indian should be able to read and write English, and makepolitical speeches. When everything had been arranged for the finaltreaty, and while negotiations were going forward, Ross and his partyput an end to them, and went to Washington, where they hoped to delaymatters. But the Ridge party met the United States commissioners at NewEchota on the 21st of December, 1835, according to appointment, and onthe 29th the treaty was concluded. On May 23, 1836, it was ratified. 

By the terms of this treaty, the Cherokees, in consideration of the sumof five million dollars, relinquished all claims to lands east of theMississippi. In addition to the money to be paid, they were to receiveseven million acres of land west of the Mississippi. Should thisterritory be found to be insufficient, the United States, inconsideration of five hundred thousand dollars, was to convey to theman additional body of land. The land thus granted was not to be includedwithin the limits of any State at any future time. The Cherokees wereguaranteed protection against domestic strife and foreign enemies, andit was provided that the tribe should be entitled to a delegate in theHouse of Representatives whenever Congress passed a law to that effect. The United States authorities were to remove the Cherokees to their newhomes, and to provide for their support for one year after they weresettled. There were other provisions, all in favor of the Cherokees. TheIndians were to be removed within two years after the ratification ofthe treaty. 

Ross, and other leaders opposed to removal, had gone to Washington. While there they were informed, by Major Ridge and others, of the treatyat New Echota. Ross refused to make any reply to the communication, buttried to make a new treaty. He was told that he could not be received tomake a new treaty. The attitude of the Ross party, together with certainthreats that had been made by their followers, led many citizensof Georgia to believe that the Indians opposed to removal would, inaccordance with their character and history, revenge themselves bymaking night attacks on the unprotected people. Consequently those mostlikely to be the victims of such attacks petitioned the governor forarms, ammunition, and troops; and these petitions were granted. Abattalion of militia was raised, and placed at Lashley's Ferry on theCoosa River, with orders to keep the Cherokees in check, and also toprevent the Creeks from coming into Georgia. Many of the Cherokees weredisarmed; and five hundred muskets, with ammunition, were sent intoCherokee County, for the use of the people in the event of any hostilemovement on the part of the Indians. 

The State of Georgia was to take possession of the territory ceded bythe treaty on the twenty-fourth day of May, 1838, and the military weregot in readiness for removing the Indians. General Scott, of the UnitedStates army, called on the governor of Georgia for two regiments, and tothis call there was a prompt response. By the 18th of May enough men hadarrived at New Echota, where the troops were to assemble, to organize aregiment; and on the morning of the 24th the troops took up the line ofmarch for the purpose of collecting the Indians. This continued untilthe 3d of June, when the troops and the Indians started for Ross'sLanding on the Tennessee River. About fifteen hundred Indians had beencollected by the Georgia troops, and these troops were then dismissedfrom the service of the United States. 

The rest of the work was done by the regular army, which, beingdivided into small detachments, went about the Cherokee country, makingprisoners of family after family, and carrying them to the camps. Themost careful arrangements had been made to prevent cruelty or disorder, and there has never been any complaint as to the manner in which thetroops performed their duty. Nearly the whole nation had been gatheredinto camps by the end of June. At that time some of the Indians begantheir march to the West; but the great body of the tribe, fourteenthousand in number, did not begin their westward journey untilSeptember, owing to the hot weather. Every arrangement that could besuggested was made for the comfort of the Indians in their march; butfrom May, when the removal began, to the time when the last company hadcompleted its journey, more than four thousand persons died. 

One year afterwards, on the 22d of June, 1839, Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot, all of whom had taken an active part in negotiatingthe treaty of removal, were assassinated. 

Since their removal the Cherokees have prospered to a greater extentthan any other Indian tribe. They have a government of their own, flourishing schools, and books and newspapers printed in their ownlanguage. It is the only tribe of American Indians that has shown anydesire or ability to share in the benefits of civilization. 

THE BEGINNING OF PARTIES IN GEORGIA. 

The first serious political division in Georgia after the Revolution hada very curious beginning. There is always, of course, a division amongthe people on great public questions as they arise. But the War of theRevolution had so solidified public sentiment that nothing occurred tojar it until the Yazoo Fraud created some division. Even then publicsentiment was so overwhelmingly opposed to the sale of the lands tothe speculators, that the few who favored it were not numerous norrespectable enough to be called a party. 

On the 24th of February, 1806, Mr. Josiah Glass, having come all the wayfrom North Carolina in search of a Mr. Robert Clary, went to the town ofSparta with a warrant which he requested Judge Charles Tait to indorse. This Judge Tait did in due form. The warrant was for negro stealing, and was directed against Mr. Robert Clary. Mr. Clary was arrested byMr. Josiah Glass in Washington County, and was carried to Greene CountySuperior Court. On the first day of the court, Mr. Josiah Glass wrotea letter to Judge Tait, and requested him to attend, and take theexamination of a man then in his custody, who would make confessionshighly interesting to the State and the United States. Judge Tait, accompanied by Squire Oliver Skinner, attended that night, and tooka part of the confessions of Mr. Robert Clary, and completed them thefollowing night. Then he gave Mr. Josiah Glass a certified copy of thesame to take with him to North Carolina, to which State he was takingMr. Robert Clary, on a warrant charging him with negro stealing. 

Now, it seems that the warrant against Clary was merely intended asa scheme to get him to North Carolina to testify against a man namedCollins. History has suppressed the confessions made by Mr. RobertClary; but it is certain that they contained a most offensive chargeagainst General John Clarke, whose patriotic services in behalf of thepeople during the Revolution gave him great fame and popularity. Nosooner did John Clarke hear of this affair than he proceeded to act withhis usual promptness. When he learned the particulars about the takingof the affidavit at night, he at once jumped to the conclusion thathe had been made the victim of a conspiracy. There had been somedisagreement between him and Hon. William H. Crawford; and as JudgeTait had been the partner of Mr. Crawford, and was his firm friend, --forCrawford was a man great enough to command and deserve friends, --GeneralClarke suspected that Clary and Glass had been made tools of to damagehis reputation. General Clarke acted at once. He presented a memorial tothe Legislature, making certain charges against Judge Tait with respectto the taking of the "dark-lantern affidavits, " as they were called byhis friends. The Legislature found, as it ought to have done, that thecharges made in the memorial of General Clarke were unsupported by factor evidence. In the very nature of things, it could not be shown thatan honorable judge of the Superior Court of Georgia, in certifying to anaffidavit containing the confession of a mere adventurer, was engagedin a conspiracy; but the question with which General Clarke had todeal was, how did the offensive and malicious matter, contained inan affidavit taken by a judge and one witness at night, become publicproperty? If General Clarke had been a more thoroughgoing politician, hewould have found a better way to confound his enemies than that which headopted; but he was deeply wounded by a foul charge made at night, andput in circulation by means of nods and winks and whispers. His firstrecourse was to the Legislature, consequently it had the effect ofstrengthening both his friends and his enemies. His friends wereindignant at the action of the Legislature. His enemies professed tobe astonished that arrogance should fly so high as to bring before theLegislature unfounded charges against a judge of the superior courts. 

The legislative record is not as full as it might be. There wassomething behind the Clary business that does not appear on the recordsof the House and Senate. General Clarke wrote a pamphlet entitled "ALegacy for My Children, " in which, according to Judge Garnett Andrews(see "Reminiscences of an Old Georgia Lawyer"), the matter of hismemorial to the Legislature is differently stated. According to JudgeAndrews, who bases his authority on General Clarke's pamphlet and on thetestimony of those who were familiar with the facts, Clary was arrestedand carried before Judge Tait on a charge of stealing horses. Clarycharged General Clarke with complicity. Mr. Crawford was the prosecutingattorney. General Clarke accused Judge Tait and Mr. Crawford withinstigating Clary to make the charge. 

The truth seems to be, that Clary, knowing the differences that existedbetween these distinguished men, sought to help his own case by makingthe charge against General Clarke, and that the latter was quite readyto believe that his two opponents had originated the charges for thepurpose of doing him a mortal injury. Feeling assured of the justiceof his cause, he appealed to the Legislature. This failing, he took thematter into his own hands. He challenged Mr. Crawford, shot him throughthe wrist, and then challenged him again. A little later, canteringalong a street in Milledgeville on his fine sorrel horse, General Clarkesaw Judge Tait before him in a sulky. He spurred his horse forward, andlaid his whip across the judge's shoulders two or three times. 

[Illustration: General Clarke whips Judge Tait 237]

These events created great excitement throughout the State. There hadalready been controversy and division caused by the duel between Mr. Crawford and Van Allen, a cousin of President Van Buren, and at thattime attorney-general of the State. Van Allen was killed; and there wasa great controversy in Georgia, in consequence, as to who was rightand who was wrong. This excitement became furious in the course of thecontest between Clarke and Crawford. Crawford was fortunately lifted outof it by being made a United States senator in 1807. His distinguishedcareer afterwards is well known. He was minister to France, secretary ofthe treasury, Vice-President of the United States, and would have beenelected President but for reports circulated throughout the country thathe had been stricken down with a fatal illness. But the contest betweenthe Clarke and Crawford parties continued to rage. Whatever issue theClarke men were favorable to, the Crawford men opposed. Whatever schemethe Clarke men suggested, the Crawford men fought. There was nothingpolite about the contest. People who wore gloves pulled them off. In cold weather the voters were warm, and in hot weather they weresteaming. The contest went on before elections, and was kept up withjust as much energy after elections. No vote could settle it, and nosuccess could quiet it. It was in the nature of a political squabble, covering the whole State, dividing districts, counties, cities, towns, villages, settlements, beats, crossroads groceries, and families. Itwas a knock-down-and-drag-out fight, in which hair pulling, gouging, andbiting were allowed. 

While Crawford was advancing step by step in national politics, hisparty in Georgia took up George M. Troup, one of the most brilliant andaggressive men in the State. The contest had been going on for twentyyears when Troup came upon the scene, in 1830, as a candidatefor governor. He had been a member of the State Legislature, arepresentative in Congress, and a United States senator: therefore in1820, when he was nominated for governor by the Crawford party, he wasripe in experience. He was forty years old, and full of the fire andenergy that marked his whole career. The Crawford party now became theTroup party, and the contests that followed were the most excitingthat ever took place in the State before, or that have ever taken placesince. 

At that time the General Assembly elected the governor, the peopleselecting members favorable to the candidates they preferred. As theresult of the first campaign between the Clarke and Troup parties, General John Clarke was elected by a majority of thirteen legislativevotes. When Governor Clarke's term expired, he was again opposed byTroup, and was again elected, but this time by a majority of only twolegislative votes. In 1823, Matthew Talbot represented the Clarke party, but was defeated by Troup. In 1825, General Clarke again entered thecontest. The election was no longer in the hands of the Legislature, butwas by popular vote. Governor Troup's treatment of the Indian question, and the firm stand he had taken in favor of the rights of the State, hadmaterially increased his influence, and he was elected over Clarke by amajority of 683 votes. 

Curious to relate, the old Clarke party became the Union party, andin 1840 was the Democratic party. The Crawford party became the StatesRights party, and in 1840 was the Whig party. Such was the evolution ofparties in Georgia. 

A QUEER CASE. 

[Illustration: A Queer Case 241]

A very queer, not to say mysterious case, was brought to trial in JonesCounty in 1837, at the April term of the Superior Court. It has had noparallel in Georgia before or since, and had none in any other country, so far as the present writer is aware, until the celebrated Tichbornecase was brought to trial in England a few years ago. The Bunkley casecreated quite as much excitement, and caused quite as much division inpublic opinion in Georgia, as the Tichborne case did in England. 

Jesse L. Bunkley belonged to a good family in Jones County, and whenhe came of age would have fallen heir to an estate worth forty thousanddollars. An effort was made to give him all the advantages of education, but these he refused to accept. He was a wild boy, and was fonderof wild company than of his books. He went to school for a while inEatonton, but got into some scrape there and ran away. He was afterwardssent to Franklin College, now the State University, where he entered thegrammar school. Such discipline as they had in those days was irksome toyoung Bunkley, and he soon grew tired of it. He left the college, and, after roving about for a while, returned to his home in Jones County. In his twentieth year, 1825, being well supplied with money, he left hishome for the purpose of traveling. He went to the Southwest, and in thatyear wrote to his mother from New Orleans. 

No other letter was received from him during that year or the next, andin 1827 word was brought to Jones County that Jesse Bunkley was dead. The rumor, for it seems to have been nothing more, was regarded by thefamily as true. At any rate, no attempt was made to investigate it. Jesse was the black sheep of the family; he had been away from home agood deal; his conduct when at home had not been such as to commendhim to the affections of his people; and his mother had married a thirdhusband, a man named Lowther: consequently the vague news of the youngman's death was probably received with a feeling of relief. There wasalways a probability that such a wild and dissipated youngster wouldcome to some bad end; but with his death that probability ceased tobe even a possibility, and so, no doubt with a sigh of relief, youngBunkley's people put aside the memory of him. He was dead and buried. Those who survived him were more than willing to take the care andtrouble of managing the estate which young Bunkley would have inheritedhad he returned and claimed it. 

But in 1833, Major Smith of Jones County received a letter purporting tobe from Jesse L. Bunkley, and it related to matters that both Smith andBunkley were familiar with. In December, 1833, Mrs. Lowther, his mother, received a letter from a person claiming to be her son Jesse. The letterwas dated at the New Orleans prison. It appears from this letter thatthe family of Bunkley had already taken steps to disown the person whohad written to Major Smith, and who claimed to be Jesse Bunkley. Theletter to Mrs. Lowther was very awkwardly written. It was misspelled, and bore no marks of punctuation; and yet it is just such a letteras might be written by a man who took no interest in his books when aschoolboy, and had had no occasion to look into them or to handle a pen. He said in this letter that he wrote to convince his mother that he washer own child, though it appeared that she wished to disown him. This, he declared in his awkward way, he knew no reason for, unless it was onaccount of his past folly. He then went on to relate some facts aboutthe family and his own school days. The mother did not answer thisletter, because, as she said afterwards on the witness stand, she didnot consider that it was from her son. She was satisfied, she said, thatthe letter was not in her son's handwriting. 

The person claiming to be Jesse L. Bunkley reached Jones County sometime afterwards. His case, in the nature of things, excited great publicinterest. Hundreds of people who had known Jesse recognized him in thisclaimant. On the other hand, hundreds who had also known Bunkley whena boy failed to recognize him in the claimant. Meanwhile those who hadcharge of the Bunkley property took prompt action. They went before thegrand jury, and had the claimant indicted for cheating and swindling;and thus began the celebrated case of the State against Elijah Barber, alias Jesse L. Bunkley. 

The claimant came to Jones County in 1836, was indicted in that year, and his case was brought to trial in the Superior Court in April, 1837. A great deal of time was taken up in the investigation. More than onehundred and thirty witnesses were examined. Ninety-eight, the majorityof these being disinterested persons, declared that they believedthe claimant to be an impostor. More than forty disinterested personsdeclared under oath that they believed the claimant to be Jesse L. Bunkley, and the majority of these last witnesses had known Bunkley longand intimately. 

The efforts of the prosecution were directed to showing that the manclaiming to be Jesse Bunkley was in reality Elijah Barber, who in1824-25 was a wagoner who hauled lumber from Grace's Mill near Macon, who was also known in Upson County, and who had served in the Floridawar. Some of the witnesses who had never known Bunkley recognized theclaimant as a man who had called himself Barber. Some of the witnesseswho had known Jesse from his boyhood testified that they recognized theclaimant as Bunkley on sight. Bunkley had various scars on his face, neck, and body. The claimant exhibited all these to the jury. One of thewitnesses remembered that Bunkley bore the marks of a snake bite on oneof his legs. The claimant immediately showed these marks. Hundreds ofquestions had been put to the claimant to test his memory. A great manyhe answered correctly, a great many others he failed to answer; but hisreplies to all vital questions were wonderfully clear and satisfactory. The jury was out but a short time before it returned, bringing in averdict of guilty; and the claimant was sentenced to the penitentiary, where he served out his term. 

[Illustration: The Bunkley Trial 245]

This verdict and sentence settled the case in law, but it remained asunsettled as ever in the public mind. The writer of this has heard itdiscussed on more than one occasion among old ladies and gentlemen whoknew Bunkley, and who saw the claimant; and, without exception, theydeclared that the verdict of the jury was cruelly unjust. 

And yet, if any wrong was done, Bunkley himself was to blame for it. Being a young man of fortune and of the fairest prospects, he owed it tohimself, his family, his friends, and to society at large, to becomea good citizen, so that his ample means might be properly employed. Instead of that, he became a rowdy and a rioter, spending his days andhis nights in evil company and in dissipation. If the claimant in thismysterious case was really Jesse Bunkley, it may be said of him that hissins had found him out. 

GEORGIA WIT AND HUMOR. 

The wit and humor of Georgia stand by themselves. They have nocounterpart in any other section of the country. Many attempts have beenmade to imitate them, but there is always something lacking. The flavor, the "bouquet, " the aroma, is gone. The sun, the soil, the air, andeven the spring water, seem to have something to do with it. Just what, nobody knows. Wit and humor are elusive, --they are unsubstantial. On theother hand, the Georgia watermelon is something solid. It may be handledand felt. It may be "thumped" and "plugged" and tested. Those who knowwhat a watermelon is and should be, know that there is none to comparewith the melons that are grown in Georgia, no matter what the variety. The same may be said of the wit and humor that belong to Georgia. An oldman--Uncle Tom Norris he was called, on account of his gray hairs--wasonce heard to say (speaking professionally), "Let me clap a drop ofthe low-wines to my tongue, and I'll tell you what branch the fire waskindled on. " He was a distiller, and knew his business. One need notbe an expert to say the same of Georgia humor. It is almost possible totell the very militia district in which it originated. It carries notonly the flavor, but the color. 

For a hundred years Georgia has remained the most democratic part of thecountry. The sons of the richest men were put in the fields to workside by side with the negroes, and were thus taught to understand theimportance of individual effort that leads to personal independence. It thus happened that there was a cordial, and even an affectionate, understanding between the slaves and their owners, that perhaps had noparallel elsewhere. The poorer whites had no reason to hold their headsdown because they had to work for their living. The richest slave ownersdid not feel themselves above those who had few negroes or none. Whena man called his neighbor "Colonel, " or "Judge, " it was to show hisrespect, nothing more. For the rest, the humblest held their heads ashigh as the richest, and were as quick, perhaps quicker, in a quarrel. 

The Virginians and North Carolinians who settled in the Broad Riverregion intermarried, and spread out over middle Georgia. Those who werenot akin were bound to each other by ties of long acquaintanceship; butthe homogeneousness of the people, complete and thorough as it was, wasnot marked by any monotony. On the contrary, character and individualityran riot, appearing in such strange and attractive shapes as to puzzleand bewilder even those who were familiar with the queer manifestations. Every settlement had its peculiarities, and every neighborhood boastedof its humorist, --its clown, whose pranks and jests were limited byno license. Out of this has grown a literature which, in some of itscharacteristics, is not matched elsewhere on the globe; but that whichhas been preserved by printing is not comparable, either in volume ormerit, with the great body of humor that has perished because of thelack of some one industrious enough to chronicle it. 

One of the most perfect types of the Georgia humorist was the late JohnM. Dooly. Judge Dooly was a remarkable man in other respects, but it ishis wonderful fund of humor that has made his name famous in Georgia andthroughout the country. It has been told in these pages how Colonel JohnDooly was dragged from his bed by the Tories and murdered. This ColonelDooly was the father of John M. , who was hid under the bed when theTories dragged his father out and murdered him. It might be supposedthat such an event would have a tendency to give a boy a very seriousview of life. Judge Dooly's views were no doubt serious enough; but theywere overwhelmed and overpowered by a temperament which found cause forlaughter in almost every person and passing event, and was the cause ofinnocent mirth in others. 

Judge Dooly was born in what he called the "Dark Corner" of LincolnCounty, which had not then been cut off from Wilkes. After the murder ofhis father, the family was left in poverty. When he went to Washington, the county seat of Wilkes County, to read law with Mr. Matthews, theclothes he wore were in such a condition that he was compelled toconfine himself to the office in the daytime. He was very poor andvery bright. Old people who knew him when a boy, described him to JudgeGarnett Andrews as "a sallow, piney-woods-looking lad. " "Piney-woodspeople" was the local name for the tackies, the clay eaters, theno-accounts, that had settled about on the poorer lands in that sectionof Georgia, and given themselves over to thriftlessness for good andall. But young Dooly had that within him which made him superior to theconditions and limitations of poverty. Apart from his remarkable gift ofhumor, he had a native brilliancy of mind that gave him an easy masteryover the principles of law that he found in the books. He was admittedto the bar in 1798, and was immediately successful as a lawyer. Hiseducation had been limited to that which he found in the "old fieldschools, " and in that day they were not of the best; but such a mind ashis needed only the rudiments, the rest came as by instinct. 

[Illustration: Judge Dooly 250]

Judge Dooly was not a student while practicing at the bar. He hadthoroughly mastered the principles, the groundwork, of the law; and hismind, as logical as it was brilliant, fitted these principles to everycase he had charge of. His love of humor, and his fondness for thesociety of those who preferred fun and frolic, placed many temptationsin his way, and some of these he did not always resist; but the faultshe had were the faults of the time in which he lived, the faults of thesociety in which he was brought up and by which he was surrounded. JudgeDooly has been described by a contemporary as having a large head, with a bold, high forehead, heavy eyebrows, prominent nose, a smallcompressed mouth, and large, vivid, sparkling eyes, which, when thespirit of humor had possession of him, illuminated his countenance as ifan electric battery were in play. 

On one occasion, Judge Dooly had been challenged by Judge Tait, --thesame Judge Tait who had made himself so obnoxious to General JohnClarke. Judge Tait had a wooden leg; and Judge Dooly, in replying to thechallenge, referred to this fact, and said he did not think they couldfight on equal terms. He hoped his refusal would not be interpreted as areflection on the misfortunes of Judge Tait. This reply made Judge Taitmore indignant than ever. He wrote a severe reply, suggesting to JudgeDooly that his refusal to fight was the result of cowardice rather thana desire not to shed the blood of an unfortunate cripple. In answer tothis insinuation, Judge Dooly declared boldly that he was ready to fighthis adversary on anything like equal terms. He announced that he wouldmeet Judge Tait anywhere, on any day, and exchange a shot with him, provided he (Judge Dooly) was allowed to stand on the field of honorwith one leg in a bee-gum! The bee-gums of that day were made ofsections of hollow trees. Naturally this remarkable proposition madeJudge Tait madder than ever, and he wrote to Judge Dooly that heintended to publish him as a coward. Judge Dooly calmly informed JudgeTait by letter that he had no sort of objection to the publication, provided it was at Tait's expense. He declared, that, for his part, hewould rather fill a dozen newspapers than one coffin. These unexpectedstrokes of humor disarmed the anger of Judge Tait, and set the wholeState in a roar. They did more: they cleared the political atmosphere, and took the edge off of party rancor, which was at that time veryfierce and keen. 

Once, when dining at a public table, Dooly said something or didsomething to irritate Major Freeman Walker. The latter, remarking thathe had borne with the liberties taken by Judge Dooly quite long enough, said he proposed to resent them then and there. The attack on hisfeelings had been made in public, and he proposed to resent it inpublic. Seizing a chair, he advanced on Judge Dooly. The judge seized acarving knife, and braced himself for defense. Several gentlemen caughthold of the judge to prevent him from using the knife, while only oneheld Major Walker. Surveying the scene, Judge Dooly calmly remarked, "Gentlemen, one of you will be sufficient to prevent me from doing anymischief. The rest of you had better hold Walker. " The explosion thatthis remark created put even Major Walker in good humor, and he and thejudge settled their differences in the most amiable and rational manner. 

When the Legislature passed severe laws against gaming, Judge Doolyenforced them rigidly. Some of the gamblers were brought to trial andfined, and others were only saved from arrest by the fact that they keptout of the way when court was in session. 

But one night in Washington, Wilkes County, after the judge had beenholding court all the week and had closed the term, he went to his roomin the hotel and made all preparations to retire. He had barely settledhimself in bed, when he heard a noise in an adjoining room, and soondiscovered that a game of faro was going on. The noise disturbed him so, that he dressed himself, went to the room, and told the players, that, having tried all legal methods to break them up, and failed, he wasnow determined to try another plan. He thereupon seated himself at thetable, and before the night was spent broke the bank. He then told thegamblers to clear out, and be more careful in future how they interferedwith the court. 

Once when sitting up late at night, trying a very complicated case, thesheriff voluntarily placed on the bench beside the judge a small pitcherhalf filled with toddy. When he had finished the toddy, the judge calledto the officer, "Mr. Sheriff, fetch in some more water out of the samespring. " A murder case was once tried before him. The point in the casewas whether the prisoner had shot in self-defense. There was a good dealsaid by the lawyers about the right to shoot. The jury, intending tojustify the prisoner, brought in this verdict: "The prisoner has a rightto shoot. " When this verdict was read to the court, the judge held uphis hands in pretended alarm, and cried out, "Mr. Sheriff, don't let himshoot this way!"

A story is told of Judge Dooly and Tom Peter Carnes, another rarehumorist, that fairly illustrates the statement made in the beginningof this chapter in regard to the plain and democratic character of thepeople who settled Middle Georgia. Dooly and his friend Carnes weretraveling to court, having gone without breakfast in order to be up andon their way at an early hour. At last they reached the place where theywere to get breakfast, and called for it with some show of impatience. The lady of the house, however, was in no hurry. She said that theyshould have breakfast the moment Charles came. So she called forCharles, blew the horn for Charles, and finally sent for Charles. WhenCharles put in an appearance, the two travelers found that he was a bignegro, so black and fat that he fairly glistened when the sun shone onhim. Naturally Dooly and Carnes were surprised. They were still moresurprised when the negro's mistress said in a coaxing tone, "Now, Charles, I do wish you would sit down and let the gentlemen eat, as theyare in a hurry to go to court. " Charles didn't like so much company;but he finally sat down to the table, on which there was a big bowl ofclabber, three "hunks" of corn bread, and three pewter spoons. "Now, Charles, " said the woman, "do eat, and then the gentlemen will begin. "Making the best of the situation, and somewhat enjoying the humor of it, Dooly and Carnes sat down at the table and began to eat. Carnes shookhis big spoon at the negro, and cried out, "Now, Charles, you mustspoony on your own side;" and he kept on warning him, "Spoony on yourown side, Charles, spoony on your own side. " The two lawyers ate untilCharles's spoon began to make raids on their side of the bowl, and thenthey abandoned the feast to him and went on their way. 

A landlord of a hotel, having heard some of the lawyers, among themJudge Dooly, bragging about the toothsomeness of a baked pig they hadtasted, probably at Milledgeville during the session of the Legislature, concluded that he would surprise and please them by having something inthat line himself. 

He was either ignorant or ill-advised; for, instead of baking a sucklingpig, he roasted a half-grown pig, stuffed him, put an apple in hismouth, and stood him upon his stumps in a dish. In those days the seatof honor at the head of the hotel table was reserved for the judge ofthe court At the head of the table Mr. Pig was placed, facing JudgeDooly's seat. The judge and the lawyers came in, sat down, and atedinner in comparative silence. They were overawed by Mr. Pig. Thoughthe carving knife lay handy, and the landlord and his wife were watchingwith impatience and uneasiness to see what the lawyers would say whenthey had tasted this particular roast pig, no one dared to touch it. Atsupper Mr. Pig was still standing defiantly in his place. He presided atevery meal during the day following. On the morning of the second day, when Judge Dooly came to the table, Mr. Pig was in his old position. Thereupon the judge bowed to him gravely. "Good-morning, sir!" he said. "I am afraid you have lost your appetite, seeing you have not eaten thatapple yet. I presume you are tired attending court. --Mr. Sheriff, youmay discharge him on his own recognizance, until court in course, seeingwe shall have no further use for him at this session, and return him thethanks of the court for his prompt and faithful attendance. "

[Illustration: The Roast Pig 255]

Judge Dooly was a member of the Clarke party; but on one occasion, when he was a candidate for reëlection to the judgeship of the northerncircuit, some of the Clarke men declared that Governor Troup's warlikemessage was an evidence that he was mad. Judge Dooly made the comment, "If he is mad, I wish the same mad dog that bit him would bite me. " Thishappy remark came to the ears of the Troup men in the Legislature, andit so pleased them that they put an end to all opposition to the judgein the election. 

Judge Dooly was one of the most charitable of men. He once refused togive alms to an unfortunate woman in Savannah, and the refusal hauntedhim all his life He declared that it taught him never to let Satan cheathim out of another opportunity to help the unfortunate; that he haddetermined to err on the safe side ever after. 

Just before he died, a friend called to ask after his condition. Hisreply was that he had a bad cold without any cough to suit it. And so, humor bubbling from his lips to the last, there passed away, on the 26thof May, 1827, the rarest humorist that Georgia, the especial motherof humorists, has ever produced. Judge Dooly had a humor that was asilluminating as it was enlivening. It stirred to laughter or it moved totears, according as this wonderful man chose to direct it. 

A great deal of the humor that originated in Georgia has been printedin books. We find it in Judge Long-street's "Georgia Scenes, " in MajorJones's "Travels, " in Colonel Richard Malcolm Johnston's "Storiesof Georgia Life, " and in other volumes that have attracted publicattention. But the best of it has been lost. It originated when thelawyers were riding about on horseback or in buggies from court tocourt, and tradition has only preserved a small part of it. 

SLAVERY AND SECESSION. 

The dispute over slavery, which had been going on for many years, grewfurious in 1850; and its fury increased until, in 1860-61, it culminatedin the secession of the Southern States from the Union. Some of thosewho have written the history of the secession movement contend thatslavery had little or nothing to do with the matter; that the Southseceded because the North had refused to grant her people their rightsguaranteed under the Constitution. This is true as far as it goes; butthe fact remains, that secession and the war grew out of the efforts ofthe abolitionists of the North, and those who sympathized with them, tokeep slavery out of the Territories, and to prevent the new States thenforming from becoming slave States. There is no doubt that these effortswere illegal and unconstitutional; and yet, in the minds of those whomade them, constitutionality was not a sufficient excuse for slavery, which, whatever might be its political status, was morally wrong: thatis to say, they believed that such a wrong as slavery could not bejustified by paper constitutions and the like. Some of the more extremeabolitionists of the North were just as ready to secede from the Unionthat recognized slavery as the Southerners were to break up a Unionwhose constitutional guaranties meant nothing. 

It must be borne in mind that the antislavery movement began in theSouth. While slavery was in full blast both North and South, ThomasJefferson, the greatest political leader the South has ever produced, was at the head of an emancipation movement, and in all parts of theSouth there were men whose minds revolted at the possibilities thatswarmed about human slavery. Georgia was the only one of the OriginalThirteen Colonies in which slavery was prohibited, and we have seenhow this prohibition was repealed at the demand of the planters. SevenNorthern States, finding slavery unprofitable, abolished the system, and a majority of the slaves were sold to the Southern States. But theemancipation movement went on in the South. There were more than fiftythousand free negroes in Virginia in 1856, and there were a great manyin Georgia. A number of planters in Georgia, the most prominent amongthem being Alfred Cuthbert, emancipated their slaves, and arranged tosend them to Liberia. 

Nevertheless the invention of the cotton gin did more to strengthenthe cause of slavery than all other events combined. It became moreprofitable than ever to own slaves; and in this way, and on thisaccount, all the cotton-growing States became interested in the system. They had the excuse not only that slavery was profitable, butthat self-interest combined with feelings of humanity to make it apatriarchal institution. And such, in fact, it was. It is to the gloryof the American character and name, that never before in the history ofthe world was human slavery marked by such mildness, such humanity, asthat which characterized it in the United States. 

But all such considerations as these, as well as the moral objectionsto slavery of any sort, humane or cruel, were lost sight of in the greatcontroversy that grew so furious in 1850. In that controversy some ofGeorgia's ablest men took part, --men who were famous as statesmen allover the country. There were Alexander H. Stephens, who afterwardsbecame the Vice-President of the Confederacy; Robert Toombs, whose fieryand impetuous character and wonderful eloquence made him a man of mark;Howell Cobb, who was speaker of the House of Representatives; HerschelV. Johnson, who was a candidate for Vice-President on the ticket withStephen A. Douglas in 1860; Benjamin H. Hill, who was just then cominginto prominence; and Joseph E. Brown, whose influence on the politicalhistory of the State has been more marked than that of any otherindividual. 

The controversy growing out of the slavery question became so warm thatit led to the breaking-up of parties in 1850. Stephens and Toombs, who had been Whigs, united with Howell Cobb, who was a Democrat. OtherSouthern Whigs united under the name of the American party. At the Norththe Whigs either joined the Republican party or united with the Americanparty. The spirit of disunion was rampant in all parts of the South. In Georgia the Legislature had called a State convention, and a greateffort was made by some of the politicians to commit the State tosecession. Both Toombs and Stephens were strong Union men, and theyopposed the spirit and purpose of the call for the convention. The speeches that Toombs had made in Congress were garbled by thenewspapers, and he was made to appear as favoring immediate secession. He made short work of that scheme, however. He returned to Georgia inthe fall of 1850, and immediately began one of the most extraordinarycampaigns that has ever taken place in the State. He was in the primeof life. His fiery energy, his boldness, his independence, and hisdauntless courage, were in full flower. He took issue with what seemedto be the unanimous sentiment of the State. He declared that the callfor the convention had dishonored the State. He sent out a ringingaddress to the people, urging the South to stand by the Constitution andthe laws in good faith. 

By the time the convention was held, the efforts of Toombs, supplementedby those of Stephens and other conservative men, had turned the tide ofdisunion. Whigs united with Democrats. When the returns of the electionwere made known, it was found that a large majority of the memberswere for the Union. "With no memory of past differences, " said Toombs, "careless of the future, I am ready to unite with any portion or all ofmy countrymen in defense of the integrity of the Republic. " So it wasthat the convention met, and adopted what is known in our politicalhistory as "The Georgia Platform. " This platform said that Georgia heldthe American Union secondary in importance to the rights and principlesit was bound to perpetuate; that, as the Thirteen Colonies found unionimpossible without compromise, the thirty-one of that day would yieldsomewhat in the conflict of opinion and policy, to preserve the Union;that Georgia had maturely considered the action of Congress in adoptingthe compromise measures, and, while she did not wholly approve thataction, would abide by it as a permanent adjustment of this sectionalcontroversy; that the State would in future resist, even to thedisruption of the Union, any act prohibiting slavery in the Territories, or a refusal to admit a slave State into the Union. 

Thus the Union was saved in 1850 by the very man who had been chargedwith trying to break it up. The eyes of the whole South were turned toGeorgia during that campaign; and when the people, under the leadershipof Toombs, Stephens, and Howell Cobb, voted to save the Union, the tideof disunion was turned everywhere. The Georgia platform was made theplatform of the constitutional Union party in the Southern States. InMississippi, Henry S. Foote, the Union candidate, defeated JeffersonDavis for governor. The action of Georgia strengthened the Unionsentiment in all parts of the country. 

For a while the situation was secure and satisfactory; but, in thenature of things, this could not last. The politicians were busy whilethe people were asleep. The Know-nothing party sprang up in a night, and divided the people again; and in Congress the slavery discussion wasrenewed with extreme bitterness over the bills to admit the Territoriesof Kansas and Nebraska as States. This controversy was even moreexciting than that which resulted in the Compromise Laws of 1850. Following close upon this agitation came John Brown's raid intoVirginia, and his attack on Harpers Ferry. In ordinary times this raidwould have been regarded with contempt by the Southern people. It wasa ridiculous affair, --the act of a man who had worked himself up intoa frenzy of folly. If the people themselves had not been influenced bypassion cunningly played on by the smaller politicians in both sections, poor old John Brown would not have been regarded as a murderer by theSouth nor as a martyr by the North. He would have been an object of pityto the sensible men of both sections. 

But the state of public opinion was such at that time, that thisridiculous venture of a crazy old man was a tremendous shock to theSouth. It contributed more largely than any other event to alarm thepeople of this section, and to turn their minds to secession as a relieffrom, and a remedy for, such attacks upon the peace and good order ofsociety. It was a great stimulant to those who had long been in favor ofdisunion, as well as to those at the North who were ready to get rid ofslavery by violence. Following this raid, public opinion both North andSouth became so violently agitated, that the voices of conservative mencould not be heard above the storm. It was the hour of the agitator andthe extremist, and they made the most of it. The Democratic Convention, to nominate a candidate for President and Vice-President, met inCharleston on the 23d of April, 1860, and remained in session until thesecond day of May. The confused state of public opinion was shown by theturbulent division in that convention. 

At a moment when the wise men of the Democratic party, or of any party, ought to have taken hold of affairs and made their influence felt, theyseemed to be unequal to the occasion. The members of the conventioncould not agree, and the body adjourned to meet in Baltimore. But thedivision continued and grew wider. The differences could not be settled. One faction nominated Douglas and Johnson, and the other nominatedBreckinridge and Lane. The result was the election of Lincoln and Hamlinas the candidates of the Republican party. 

[Illustration: Georgia Politics 264]

In Georgia three of the ablest men still stood for the Union, --AlexanderH. Stephens, Herschel V. Johnson, and Benjamin H. Hill. But they wereunable to stem the tide. The vote of the State for members of theconvention that passed the ordinance of secession showed a majorityof only thirteen thousand for disunion; but Toombs, Thomas R. R. Cobb, Howell Cobb, and others seized the advantage that events gave them, and, in a whirlwind of passion, swept aside all the arguments and appealsof the more conservative men. But, of all those who were in favor ofsecession, Toombs was at that time the most powerful and influential. He so managed matters in Congress as to make the secession of Georgiafollow the inevitable failure of measures that he proposed in that body. 

With the people of the South, and indeed with the people of the wholecountry, divided between three parties, the election of a Republicancandidate was a foregone conclusion. Following this came secession, withall the terrible disasters of a war in which the South could not havehoped to succeed if reason and common sense had ruled. If the Southhad fought for her constitutional rights in the Union and under theold flag, the result might have been different. She would have hadthe active sympathy and support of that large and influential bodyof Northern men who were sincerely anxious to see the terms of theConstitution faithfully carried out. But disunion was more than theseconstitutional Democrats could stand. Daniel Webster had solidifiedtheir love for the Union, and no consideration of party could affect it. 

The course of the South, considering all that was involved, should havebeen conservative; but it was not. It is perfectly well known now thatAbraham Lincoln was willing to sacrifice the abolition party on thealtar of the Union. He was prompt to announce his policy in thisrespect. But secession came, and with it came the doom of slavery. Thatall was ordered by Providence, it would be foolish to deny; and yet itis impossible not to regret the great sacrifice of blood and treasurethat was demanded by the unhappy war that followed secession. 

THE FARMER BOY OF GADDISTOWN. 

In 1857, when Bob Toombs was looking after his large landed possessionsin Texas, and bringing the squatters to terms, he received a letterfrom one of his political friends, announcing that the Democratic StateConvention had adjourned after nominating Joseph E. Brown as a candidatefor governor. Toombs was traveling with a party of friends, and to oneof them he read the letter. Then in a dazed way he asked, "Who is JoeBrown?" His friend knew no more about Joe Brown than Senator Toombs did, and all the way home the travelers were puzzling themselves with thequestion, "Who is Joe Brown?" They were destined to find out; for theconvention that nominated Joe Brown for governor brought to the frontin Georgia politics one of the most remarkable men the State has everknown. 

Shortly after his return to Georgia from Texas, Toombs was compelled tomeet Joe Brown to consult in regard to the details of the campaign inwhich both were interested. It must have been an interesting meeting. Itwas as if Prince Charlie and Cromwell had met to arrange a campaign. It was a meeting between Puritan and Cavalier. Toombs was full-blooded, hotheaded, impetuous, imperious. Joe Brown was pale, angular, awkward, cold, and determined. It was as if in a new land the old issues had beenburied. Toombs was a man of the people, but in his own way, and it wasa princely and a dashing way. Brown was a man of the people, but inthe people's way; and it was a cold, calculating, determined, andcommon-sense way. Howell Cobb had written to Toombs to go to the aid ofBrown, expressing a fear that the nominee, being a new and an untriedman, would not be able to hold his own against Ben Hill, who was thecandidate of the American or Know-nothing party for governor. So thedashing and gallant senator sought out the new and unknown Democraticcandidate for governor, and had a conference with him. Toombs found theyoung man strangely cold and placid, and yet full of the determinationthat martyrs are made of. He found that Joe Brown had already mappedout and arranged the plans for his campaign, and the more experiencedpoliticians saw nothing to change in them. They were marked byshrewdness and sagacity, and covered every detail of party organization. This was satisfactory; but how could the young man sustain himself onthe stump against such a speaker as Ben Hill, who, although a youngman, was a speaker of great force and power? Toombs thought it would bebetter to meet Hill himself, and he started out with that purpose;but when he heard Joe Brown make two or three speeches, and saw thetremendous effect he produced on the minds of the audiences thatassembled to hear him, the older campaigner went home, satisfied thatyoung Brown needed no instruction and no coaching in the difficult artof influencing the people and winning their votes. 

The personal history and career of Joseph E. Brown should be studied byevery ambitious boy in the land, especially by those who imagine theycannot succeed because they lack opportunities that money and friendswould obtain for them. From 1857 to the close of the war, and after, the political history of Joe Brown is the history of the State; but thathistory, attractive as it is, is not so interesting as his struggleto make a name for himself in the world. Joseph E. Brown was born inPickens County, South Carolina, and was the eldest of eleven children. His family was English. His grandfather fought manfully against theBritish and Tories in the Revolutionary War. His father fought underAndrew Jackson during the War of 1812, and was at the battle of NewOrleans on the 8th of January, 1815. 

Joe Brown was born in 1821. His parents were not so well off as to beable to send the lad continuously to school as he grew up. He had to"take his chances. " He was compelled to work in the fields in season, and was permitted to go to school only when there was nothing for himto do on the little farm. He did farm labor from the time he was eightuntil he reached the age of nineteen, and the schooling he had receivedwas only of the most haphazard kind. 

Before he was grown, his father moved from South Carolina into Georgia, settling in Union County, near a little valley named Gaddistown. Up tothis time, though young Brown was nineteen years of age, he had learnednothing but reading, writing, and arithmetic, and very little ofthese. He was now compelled to work harder than ever. Settling in a newcountry, and on new land that had to be cleared before it would yield acrop, the Browns had as much as they could do to get the farm in orderin time for the planting season; and in this severe work, Joseph E. , being the eldest son, was the chief reliance of the family. He had apair of small steers with which he plowed; and when he wasn't plowingon the farm, he was hauling wood and butter and vegetables to the smallmarket at Dahlonega, and taking back in truck and trade some necessaryarticle for the family. In this way he learned the lessons of patience, self-control, and tireless industry that all boys ought to learn, because they are not only the basis of content and happiness, but of allsuccess. 

When Joe Brown was twenty years old, his father allowed him to seek aneducation. All he could do for the industrious and ambitious boy wasto give him his blessing and the yoke of steers with which he had beenplowing. With these young Brown returned to South Carolina and enteredan academy in Anderson district He gave the steers for eight months'board, and went into debt for the tuition fee. In the fall of 1841 hereturned to Georgia and taught school for three months, and with themoney he received for this he paid for the schooling he had gone in debtfor. He returned to the Carolina academy in 1842, and went into debt notonly for his schooling, but for his board. His patience and his untiringindustry enabled him to make such rapid progress that within two yearshe had fitted himself to enter an advanced class in college. But thelack of means prevented him from entering college. Instead he returnedto Georgia and opened a school at Canton, Cherokee County. He openedthis school with six pupils, and the number rapidly increased to sixty, so that he was able in a short time to settle the debts he had madein Carolina. He taught school all day, and at night and on Saturdaysdevoted himself to the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1845, and was at once successful. He made no pretense of oratory; but hissimple and unpretending style, his homely and direct way of puttinga case, and his faculty of applying the test of common sense to allquestions, were as successful with juries as they afterwards proved tobe with the people; and before the people he was irresistible. 

[Illustration: Joe Brown and his Steers 270]

But he was not yet through with his studies. A friend advanced himthe money necessary to enter the Law School of Yale; and there, fromOctober, 1845, to June, 1846, when he graduated, he took the lead in allhis classes, and had time to attend lectures in other departments ofthe college. He returned home, began active practice, and was soonprosperous. He became a State senator, and was afterwards made a judgeof the superior courts. 

When the Democratic Convention met in Milledgeville in 1857, for thepurpose of nominating a candidate for governor, it had so many popularcandidates to choose from, and these candidates had so many and suchstrong friends, that the members found it impossible to agree on aman. A great many ballots were taken, and there was a good deal of"log-rolling" and "buttonholing, " as the politicians call it, on behalfof the various candidates by their special friends. But all this did nogood. There was a deadlock. No one of the candidates was able to obtaina two-thirds majority, which, according to Democratic law, was thenumber necessary to a nomination. Twenty-one ballots had been taken withno result, and the convention had been in session three days. Finallyit was decided to appoint a special committee made up of three delegatesfrom each congressional district. It was the duty of this committee toname a candidate on whom the convention could agree. When this committeeretired, it was proposed that a ballot be taken, each committeemanwriting the name of the candidate of his choice on a slip of paper, anddepositing the slip in a hat. This was done; but before the ballots werecounted, Judge Linton Stephens, a brother of Alexander H. , stated thatsuch a formality was not necessary. He thereupon moved that Judge JosephE. Brown of Cherokee be selected as the compromise man, and that hisname be reported to the convention. This was agreed to unanimously, andJoseph E. Brown was nominated; and yet, if the written ballots hadbeen counted, it would have been found that Alfred H. Colquitt, whoafterwards became so distinguished in Georgia, had been nominated bythe committee. He received a majority of one of the written ballotswhen they were afterwards counted through curiosity. Twenty-three yearslater, Colquitt, who was then governor, made Joseph E. Brown a UnitedStates senator under circumstances that aroused strong opposition, andimmediately afterwards Brown aided Colquitt to a reelection in one ofthe bitterest contests the State has ever witnessed. 

The unexpected nomination of Brown by the convention of 1857 introducedinto State politics the most potent element that it had ever known. Thenomination, surprising as it was, was not half so surprising as someof the results that have followed it. At the moment the conventionnominated him, Joe Brown was tying wheat in one of his fields nearCanton, in Cherokee County. He was then judge of the Blue Ridge Circuit;and on the day that his name was placed before the Democratic Conventionat Milledgeville, he had returned home. After dinner he went out intohis farm to see how his men were getting on. He had four men cuttingwheat with cradles, and he found the binders very much behind. Abouthalf-past two o'clock he pulled off his coat and ordered the binders tokeep up with him. It was on the 15th of June, 1857. The weather was verywarm, but he kept at work all the afternoon. About sundown he went home, and was preparing to bathe, when a neighbor, who had been to Mariettaand heard the news, rode to his house and told him about the nomination, which had been made at three o'clock that afternoon. Telling about theincident afterwards, Joe Brown, with a twinkle in his eye, said that hehad heard that a good many men were anxious to buy that wheat field, so as to have an opportunity to tie wheat in it while a nominatingconvention was in session. 

The great majority of the people of the State were as much puzzled aboutJoe Brown as Toombs was. Either they had not heard of him before, orthey had forgotten him. In those days a man who made a reputation in theCherokee country was not known to the rest of the State for a long time. The means of communication were slow and uncertain. But the whole Statefound him out just as Toombs did. He was prompt to begin the campaign. Toombs had already left the Whig party, and was acting with theDemocrats. Stephens had left the Whigs, but had not become a Democrat. He was an Independent. He was, as he expressed it, "toting his ownskillet. " Ben Hill was Joe Brown's opponent, and these two met in debatebefore the people on two or three occasions. It was thought at firstthat Mr. Hill had the advantage of the tall and ungainly candidate fromCherokee, but the end of the contest showed that the advantage was allthe other way. Mr. Hill was a man of very marked ability. He was oneof the few good speakers who could write well, and one of the fewfine writers who could speak well. He had courage, he had wit, he hadlearning, he had eloquence; he had everything, in fact, to attractpopular approval and entice a popular following; but somehow, and untilthe very latest years of his life, he fell far short of being a popularidol. He was showy and effective before a mixed crowd, he never failedto attract applause, and it was supposed that Brown was making a losingcampaign; but the campaign was going just the other way. Hill, inthe course of his discussion, said hundreds of things that thepeople applauded; while Brown said hundreds of things that the peopleremembered, and carried home with them, and thought over. Joe Brown wasnot only a man of the people, but a man of the country people; andhe pleased the city people who had formerly lived in the country. Theresult of the campaign was that Know-nothingism was buried out of sightin Georgia. Joe Brown was elected by more than ten thousand majority, and the Democratic majority in the Legislature was overwhelming. 

Although he was only thirty-six years old when he became governor, thepeople began to call him "Old Judg_ment_. " This was due no less to hispeculiar gift of hard common sense than to his peculiar pronunciation. His speech and his ways were "countrified, " and they remained so allthe days of his life. His voice was not musical, and he had a peculiardrawling intonation, which, if it had been a little more nasal, wouldhave been an exact reproduction of the tone and manner of the Down-eastYankee. He shared these peculiarities with hundreds of the descendantsof the Puritans who settled in the mountains of East Tennessee and NorthGeorgia. He had no wish for the luxuries of life; and though he livedcomfortably, he never, even when by close economy he had accumulated oneof the largest fortunes in Georgia, cared to live finely. He was a plainman at first and a plain man at last, always temperate, industrious, andeconomical. 

His term of office in the governor's chair was for two years, and atthe end of that time he had almost entirely remolded and refashioned hisparty. He had stamped his own personality and character upon it, and itbecame in truth and in fact the party of the people, --the common people. In his management of State affairs he had introduced the plain businessmethods suggested by common sense; he dispensed with all unnecessaryofficials; he shook off all the hangers-on; he uprooted all personalschemes: so that when the time came to nominate a man to succeed him, itwas found that the people had no other choice. His party thought of noother name. 

The year of Joe Brown's second nomination, as we have seen, was the yearthat witnessed John Brown's ridiculous raid into Virginia. The people ofthe South, however, thought it was a very serious matter, and the peopleof Georgia were not different from those of the rest of the South. Somevery wise men allowed themselves to be led away by their passions. EvenJoe Brown, as Alexander Stephens once said, "tucked his judgment underthe bed" for the time being. Back of the indignation created by the JohnBrown raid was the unconfessed and half-formed fear that the Northernabolitionists would send their agents to the South and organize a negroinsurrection. Many of the Southern people remembered the horrors of SanDomingo, and there was a vague and an undefined but constant dread thatsuch a rising of the blacks would take place in the South. But therenever was any such danger in Georgia. The relations between the slavesand their masters were too friendly and familiar to make such anuprising possible. The abolitionists did send agents to the South tostir the negroes to rebellion, and some of them came to Georgia, butin every instance their mission became known to the whites through thefriendliness of the blacks. There was always some negro ready to tellhis master's family when the abolition agents made their appearance. Still the people resented to the utmost the spirit that moved certainso-called philanthropists of the North to endeavor to secure the freedomof the negroes by means of the torch and midnight murder. 

Consequently in 1859, when Joe Brown was nominated for governor thesecond time, the people were greatly stirred. Sectional feeling ranhigh. In that year began the active movement that led to secession andthe civil war. If all our statesmen had been as wise as Mr. Stephensand Mr. Hill, war would have been averted. Slavery itself, in the verynature of things, was doomed. It had accomplished its providentialmission. It had civilized and christianized millions of savages who hadbeen redeemed from slavery in their own land. It had justified its ownends, and would have passed away in good time, no matter what compromisemay have been made. 

Mr. Stephens and Mr. Hill were opposed to secession. They were forfighting, if there must be a fight, in the Union, and this was the truepolicy. For a while the people of Georgia were earnestly in favorof this; but the efforts of the abolitionists to stir the negroes toinsurrection, and the inflammatory appeals of some of the leadingmen, led them to oppose a policy which was at once just, wise, andconsiderate. Even Joseph E. Brown, cool, calculating, placid, and noteasily-swayed by emotion, became a disunionist, demonstrating once againthat beneath the somber and calm exterior of the Puritan is to befound a nature as combative and as unyielding as that which marks theCavalier. 

Joe Brown was reelected in 1859, and did everything in his power asgovernor to hasten the event of secession. The National DemocraticConvention met in Charleston, and the meeting showed that thedifferences between the Democrats could not be settled; and it sohappened, that, while the South was opposed by the solid and rapidlygrowing Republican party, the people of the South were divided amongthemselves. What is most remarkable, the people of the South, aftermaking the election of the Republican candidate certain by dividingamong themselves, seemed to be amazed at the result. In some instancescounty meetings were held in Georgia, and resolutions sent to theLegislature declaring the election of Lincoln and Hamlin "a violation ofnational comity. " Nothing could show more clearly that the minds of thevoters were upset. 

On Dec. 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union, and the eventwas made the occasion for great rejoicing by the secession element inGeorgia. Bonfires were kindled, guns were fired, and people seemed tobe wild with enthusiasm. Georgia did not secede until Jan. 19, 1861; butGovernor Brown did not wait for that event. He committed the first overtact of the war. He seized Fort Pulaski, on the Savannah, Jan. 3, 1861. 

On the 22d of January, ten cases of muskets belonging to a firm in Maconwere seized by the New York police after they had been placed on board avessel. Governor Brown sent a telegram to Governor Morgan, demandingthe release of these arms. Governor Morgan hesitated some time before hemade any response. Meanwhile, Governor Brown waited three days, and thenordered the seizure of every ship in the harbor of Savannah belonging tocitizens of New York. Two brigs, two barks, and a schooner were seizedand held by the State troops. When this seizure was made known, GovernorBrown received official notification that the arms had been released. Hetherefore ordered the release of the vessels. But when the agents of theMacon firm made an effort to get the arms, they were refused. PromptlyGovernor Brown seized other vessels, and caused them to be advertisedfor sale. 

This was merely the beginning of those greater events that cast a shadowover the whole country. The farmer boy of Gaddistown was reelectedgovernor in 1861, and continued to hold the office until 1865. 

GEORGIA IN THE WAR. 

[Illustration: Georgia in the War 279]

When the Southern Confederacy was organized at Montgomery, Ala. , therewas great enthusiasm all over the South, especially in Georgia; and thisfeeling kept up until the State had given to the Confederate armiesa hundred and twenty thousand soldiers, twenty thousand more than itsvoting population. By reason of the fame and number of its public men, Georgia had a controlling influence in the organization of the newgovernment. Howell Cobb was president of the convention of the secededStates that met in Montgomery on the fourth day of February, 1861;and it is well known that the convention itself was in favor of makingRobert Toombs president of the provisional government that was thereformed. Mr. Toombs, however, expressly forbade the use of his name. The Georgia delegates then concluded to support Jefferson Davis ofMississippi for president, and Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia forvice-president. 

Only a few men doubted that the South would conquer the North, andamong these was Herschel V. Johnson. There was an idea abroad, that oneSoutherner could whip a dozen Northerners. Nobody knows how this ideagot out, nor why the absurdity of it was not plain to all; but thenewspapers were full of it, and the speech makers insisted on it soroundly that the people began to believe it. One orator declared that hecould take one company of "Southrons, " arm them with popguns, and run aregiment of Yankees out of the country. Another stated that he wouldbe willing to drink all the blood that would be shed as the resultof secession. It is said that both of these orators were asked for anexplanation by their constituents after the war was over. The firstsaid that the reason he didn't run the Yankees out of the country withpopguns was because they wouldn't fight that way. The second one, whohad promised to drink all the blood, said that exposure in camp hadinterfered with his digestion, and his appetite wasn't as good as itought to be. 

At this time and afterwards there was an overwhelming sentiment in favorof the Union in some parts of North Georgia. The people of that sectionhad few slaves, and the arguments in favor of the protection of slaveryin the Territories did not appeal to them: consequently they wereopposed to secession. There was but one thing that prevented serioustrouble between these Union men and the State government, and thatwas the fact that Joe Brown was governor. He knew the North Georgiansthoroughly, and he knew precisely how to deal with them. GeneralHarrison W. Riley, a leading citizen of Lumpkin County, declared thathe intended to seize the mint at Dahlonega, and hold it for the UnitedStates. This threat was telegraphed to Governor Brown by some of thesecession leaders in that part of the State, and they appealed to him tosend troops to Dahlonega at once, and seize the mint by force. But thegovernor knew Riley and the people of North Georgia too well to make anyshow of force. He knew that any such demonstration would excite sympathyfor Riley, and inflame the Union sentiment there. . So Governor Brownwrote to some of Riley's friends, telling them what he had heard, andsaying that he had known General Riley too long, and had too high anopinion of his good sense and patriotism, to believe the report. At thesame time the governor informed the superintendent of the mint that theState of Georgia now held that institution. The superintendent said hewas willing to act under the orders of the governor. 

At Jasper, the county seat of Pickens County, the feeling of loyalty tothe Union was very strong. The delegate from that county to the Stateconvention had refused to sign his name to the ordinance of secession. Soon after the State had seceded, the citizens of Jasper planted a pole, and raised on it a United States flag, and kept it floating there forseveral weeks in open defiance of the Confederate and State authorities. This was an event to be delicately handled. The slightest mistake wouldhave created a state of feeling in North Georgia that would have givenno end of trouble during the whole war. But the Union flag floating inPickens County irritated the rest of the State; and hundreds of appealswere made to Governor Brown to send troops to Jasper, and have the flagtaken down by force. To these appeals he made but one response, and thenturned a deaf ear to all criticism. "Let the flag float there, " he said. "It floated over our fathers, and we all love the flag now. We have onlybeen compelled to lay it aside by the injustice that has been practicedunder its folds. If the people of Pickens desire to hang it out and keepit there, let them do so. I shall send no troops to interfere with it. "

While this wise management on the part of Governor Brown did not changethe sentiments of the Union men of North Georgia, it prevented anyserious outbreak, and kept them soothed and quieted throughout the war. Matters were managed differently in East Tennessee; and the resultwas, that the Union men of that section went into the business ofbushwhacking, and created a great deal of trouble. While Governor Brownexercised authority without regard for precedent, the time and theoccasion being without precedent, he was very wise and very prudent inmeeting such emergencies as those that arose in North Georgia. 

By the time the election for governor came on, Joe Brown had aroused agood deal of opposition. He had had a controversy with the Confederateauthorities because the latter had enrolled troops from Georgia withoutfirst making a requisition on the governor. He had seized severalcargoes of salt which the speculators had been holding for higherprices. There was at that early day, and all during the war, a saltfamine in the South. The farmers found it difficult to save their meat, owing to the scarcity of salt. It is a curious fact, that, when thefamine was at its height, a pound of salt was worth a pound of silver. Foreseeing this famine, a great many shrewd business men had laid inlarge stocks of salt, storing it about in large warehouses in differentparts of the State. They were about to realize immense fortunes out ofthe sufferings of the people, when Governor Brown stepped in and seizedall the salt the State authorities could lay hands on, and prohibitedthe shipment of the article out of the State. The Legislature afterwardscame to the support of the governor; but if the matter had beendiscussed in the Legislature in advance of the action of the executive, the speculators would have had timely notice, and the State authoritieswould have found no salt to seize. 

[Illustration: The Salt Famine 284]

This salt famine was almost as serious as any result of the war, andit hung over the State until the close of the contest. In thousands ofinstances the planters who had been prodigal of salt before the war, dugup the dirt floors of their smokehouses, and managed to extract a smallsupply of the costly article. The Legislature was compelled toorganize a salt bureau, and for that purpose half a million dollars wasappropriated. The State, in self-defense, took into its own hands themonopoly of manufacturing salt and of distributing it to the people. 

The next difficulty with which the people of Georgia had to contend wasthe Conscription Act. This act passed the Confederate Congress in April, 1862. It had been recommended by Mr. Davis in a special message, andCongress promptly passed it. Nobody in Georgia could understand whysuch a law had been recommended, or why it had passed. It was the mostruinous blunder of the Confederate Government during the war. If such alaw was necessary, it showed that the Confederacy had fallen to pieces. If it was not necessary, its enactment was a stupendous piece offolly; and such it turned out to be. Under the last call for troopsfor Confederate service, Governor Brown had no difficulty in furnishingeighteen regiments. He could have gone on furnish ing troops as long asthere was any fighting material left in the State; but as soon as theConscript Act went into operation, the ardor of the people sensiblycooled. The foolish law not only affected the people at home, but hurtthe army in the field. It was a reflection on the patriotism of thewhole Southern population. The law was the occasion of a controversybetween Governor Brown and President Davis, in which Brown, in thenature of things, had a decided advantage; for the Conscript Act wipedout the whole theory of State rights, on which the people of the Southdepended to justify secession. But Georgia did not stand in the way ofthe law. It was enforced, and the terms of its enforcement did the workof disorganization more thoroughly than the hard times and the actualwar were doing it. 

In March, 1863, the governor issued a proclamation convening theLegislature in special session to discuss the subject of bread. This wasa very important subject at that time. In his message, the governor saidthat the time had come for the farmers to raise bread instead of cotton. He also laid before the Legislature' the reports of the distribution ofthe fund of two and a half millions of dollars for the support of theindigent families of soldiers. These reports showed what havoc the warhad created among the people of a State which, not much more than twoyears before, was one of the most prosperous in the country. The fundhad been distributed among more than eighty-four thousand people. Of this number, about forty-six thousand were children, twenty-fourthousand were kinswomen of poor living soldiers, eight thousand wereorphans, four thousand were widows of dead soldiers, and five hundredwere soldiers disabled in service. Governor Brown, out of his own barn, gave the people of Cherokee County four thousand dollars' worth of corn. These events show the straits to which the people had been reduced bytwo years of actual war. 

It should be borne in mind, however, that the people had to fight theUnion army in front, and the speculators and extortioners in therear. Governor Brown tried hard to make the lives of this latter classentirely miserable, and he succeeded in a way that delighted the people. Wherever he could get his hands on a speculator or extortioner, he shookhim up. He made many seizures, and confiscated the hoards of a greatmany men who had influence with some of the newspapers; and in this waylife in the State was made almost as exciting as the experience of thesoldiers at the front. 

In 1863, Governor Brown wanted to retire from office. The strain onhis health and strength had been very severe, and he felt that he wasbreaking down. He wanted to make Toombs, who was then a general in thearmy, his successor. But Brown's friends insisted that he should makethe race. The public opinion of Georgia and of the whole Southinsisted on it. So he became a candidate for a fourth term. He had twoopponents, --Joshua Hill, who had been a strong Union man; and TimothyFurlow, who was an ardent secessionist and a strong supporter of theConfederate administration; but Governor Brown was elected by a largemajority over both candidates. 

The war went steadily on, and during the year 1864 Georgia became thebattle ground, --the strategic point. This fact the Union commandersrealized very early, and began their movements accordingly. Virginiawas merely the gateway to the Confederacy, but Georgia was very nearthe center of its vitality. This was shown by the fact that when Atlantafell, and Sherman began his destructive march to the sea, it was knownon all sides that the Confederate Government was doomed. This movement, strange to say, was hastened by the Confederate authorities. GeneralJoseph E. Johnston, one of the greatest commanders of the war, wasremoved at a critical moment, when his well-disciplined army had reachedAtlanta. He was ordered from Richmond to turn his army over to thecommand of General Hood, and within a very few days the fate ofthe Confederacy had been decided. Hood at once ordered an attack onSherman's lines. He was repulsed, and then compelled to evacuate thecity. General Sherman detached General Thomas from his main army tofollow Hood on his march toward the Tennessee, and moved across theState to Savannah. Within a very few months thereafter the war wasbrought to a close. Colonel I. W. Avery, in his "History of Georgia, "says that on the thirty-first day of December, 1864, one dollar in goldwas worth forty-nine dollars in Confederate money. The private soldierreceived eleven dollars of this money for a month's service. He couldbuy a pound of meat with his month's pay. He could buy a drink ofwhisky, and have one dollar left over. With four months' pay he couldbuy a bushel of wheat. General Toombs once humorously declared thata negro pressman worked all day printing money, and then until nineo'clock at night to pay himself off. There was a grain of truth in thishumor, --just enough to picture the situation as by a charcoal sketch. 

A DARING ADVENTURE. 

On the 12th day of April, 1862, the anniversary of the firing on FortSumter by the Confederates, a passenger train pulled out of the old carshed in Atlanta. It was a "mixed" train, being composed of three freightcars, a baggage car, and the passenger coaches. The train startedfrom Atlanta at an early hour, arrived at Marietta about daylight, and stopped at Big Shanty, about seven miles north of Marietta, for breakfast. At Marietta, early as the hour was, quite a crowd ofpassengers were waiting to take the train. This excited no remark. Therewas a good deal of travel and traffic on the State Road at that time, for it was the key to the Confederacy--the one artery that connected thearmy at the front with its source of supplies. 

The conductor of the train was Captain William A. Fuller, of Atlanta. Captain Fuller's title was not one of courtesy. He was a captain in theConfederate Army, on detached service. The engineer in charge of thelocomotive was Jeff Cain. Mr. Antony Murphy, an employee of the road, was also on the train. At Big Shanty the passengers were allowedtwenty minutes for breakfast, but the train men were in the habit ofdispatching their meal a little quicker than this, so as to see thateverything about the locomotive was shipshape when the conductor tappedthe bell. Captain Fuller, sitting at a table near a window, had afull view of the train. He had hardly begun to eat before he saw thelocomotive (the now famous "General") and the three freight cars pullout, and heard the gong sound as the cord snapped. He rose instantly andrushed from the breakfast room, followed by Engineer Cain and AntonyMurphy. He saw the "General" going at full speed up the road withthree freight cars attached. Without hesitation Captain Fuller startedafter the flying train on foot, followed by Cain and Murphy. Hundreds ofsoldiers were idling about the station. They had no idea what was takingplace. They thought either that the locomotive had been carried up thetrack to take on or leave a freight car, or that some practical jokerwas playing a prank. They showed their enjoyment of the situation bylaughing and cheering loudly when Captain Fuller, followed by EngineerCain and Mr. Murphy, started after the "General "on foot. 

[Illustration: Capture of the Locomotive 289]

The locomotive had been captured, and had the plan of its captors beensuccessful, a paralyzing, perhaps a fatal, blow would have been struckat the Confederacy. The way the capture had come about was this: Earlyin 1862 the Federal commanders planned an advance on Chattanooga; butthe fact that stood in their way was, that at various points along theline of railroad leading from Atlanta to Chattanooga, Confederate troopshad been posted: consequently the moment an advance on Chattanooga wasmade, soldiers and war supplies could be hurried forward to the reliefof the city. It was General Mitchell of the Federal army who planned theadvance; and it was J. J. Andrews, an active spy in the Union service, who planned a raid by means of which it was intended to burn the bridgeson the road north of Marietta, cut the telegraph wires, and thus destroyfor a time the lines of transportation and communication between Atlantaand Chattanooga, and make the capture of the last-named point an easymatter. Andrews suggested to General Mitchell that a party of bold mencould make their way to a station on the Western and Atlantic Railway(called the State Road because it was owned by the State), capture alocomotive, and then steam towards Chattanooga, burning the bridges andcutting the telegraph lines as they went along. Although there seemedto be small chance for the success of such a daring adventure, GeneralMitchell gave his consent to it, agreeing to pay Andrews sixty thousanddollars if he succeeded. To aid him, Andrews was allowed to select anumber of young men who had already made a reputation in the Federalarmy for intelligence and bravery. 

There were twenty-four men in this small expedition when it started forChattanooga. They were under the command of Andrews, who was a tall, handsome man with a long black beard. He was cold, impassive, and hadthe air of one who is born to command. He was bold as a lion, and neveronce lost his coolness, his firmness, or his decision. He and his menpretended to be Kentuckians who had become disgusted with the Lincolngovernment and were making their way South, where they might find morecongenial company than that of the ardent Union men who were theirneighbors at home. This story was plausible on the face of it, for manySouthern sympathizers had fled from Tennessee and Kentucky when theFederals began to take possession of those sections. 

Andrews and his men tramped southward more than a hundred miles beforethey reached Chattanooga. Before going into that city, they divided intosmaller squads, and all but two succeeded in eluding guards, sentinels, and patrols, and passing into the town. They left Chattanooga on a trainbound for Atlanta, buying tickets for Marietta. They reached Marietta insafety, and went to different hotels for the night. They had arrangedto meet again at four o'clock the next morning and take the north-boundtrain. Two of the men were not called by the clerk of the hotel at whichthey stopped: consequently they overslept, and their companions had togo on without them when the train arrived. They had learned that BigShanty had no telegraph office, and that it was a breakfast station. Atthat point Andrews determined to capture the locomotive. It was not longbefore the brakeman put his head in at the door of the car and yelledout, "Big Shanty! Twenty minutes for breakfast!"

Andrews and his men looked out of the windows of the car as the traindrew up at the station, and the sight they saw was not calculated tomake them feel certain of success. Opposite the station was a fieldcovered with the tents of soldiers, and in and around the stationthousands of soldiers were loitering and standing about. When the trainstopped, Andrews, the leader, and Knight, an engineer who had come withthe party, rose and left the coach on the side opposite the depot, andwent to the locomotive, which they found empty. They also saw that thetrack was clear. Andrews and Knight then walked back until they came tothe last of the three box cars. Andrews told his engineer to uncouplethe baggage car from the box car, and then wait for him. Knight did ashe was told, while Andrews walked leisurely back to the passenger coach, opened the door, and said quietly, "Now is our time, boys! Come on!"

The men rose at once and went out of the coach. Knight, as soon as hesaw them coming, climbed into the locomotive, cut the bell rope, andstood with his hand on the throttle, waiting for the word. Andrews stoodnear the locomotive, and motioned with his hand for the men to get intothe box cars, the doors of which were slid back. All the men were now inthe box cars except Andrews, Knight, and another engineer named Brown, who ran forward and climbed into the locomotive. While this was goingon, a sentinel stood within half a dozen yards of the train, but hehad no idea what was occurring. Andrews gave the signal to go ahead. Instantly Knight pulled the throttle valve open, and the locomotivestarted forward with a jerk. It went puffing and snorting out of BigShanty without let or hindrance. 

But the train had not gone very far before the speed of the locomotivebegan to slacken. The fire in the furnace refused to burn, and thesteam was low. While the engineer was trying to discover what was wrong, Andrews ordered the men to cut the telegraph wire and tear up a railfrom the track. By the time the rail had been torn up and the wirecut, the engineer had discovered that the dampers of the fire box wereclosed. With these open, the boiler began to make steam again, andthe locomotive was soon rattling over the rails once more. It wasthe intention of Andrews to run the captured train on the time of theregular passenger train, so that he would have only one train to meetand pass before reaching the Resaca River, where he intended to burn thebridge. This done, it would have been an easy matter to burn the bridgesover the Chickamauga. This crooked stream winds about the valleys sounexpectedly, and in such curious fashion, that the railroad crosses iteleven times within a few miles. These eleven bridges Andrews intendedto burn as he went along, and then he would not fear pursuit. Hissuccess seemed to be certain. 

The captured locomotive, an old-fashioned machine with a big heavysmokestack, went clanking and clattering along the road, and reelingand rumbling through the towns, dragging after it the three box carscontaining the men whom Andrews had brought with him. After passinga station, the locomotive would be stopped and the wire cut. When thetrain reached Cassville, wood and water were running low, and a stop wasmade to get a fresh supply. The doors of the box cars were closed, andthe men inside could not be seen. The station agent at this place wasvery inquisitive. He wanted to know why so small and insignificant afreight train was running on the time of the morning passenger train. Andrews promptly told the agent that the train was not a freight, but anexpress, and that it was carrying three cars of gunpowder to Beauregard. The agent believed the story, and furnished Andrews with a trainschedule. 

[Illustration: Tearing up the Rails 295]

From Cassville the distance to Kingston was seven miles, and at thatpoint a freight train was to be passed. When Andrews reached the place, he found that the freight had not arrived. He therefore switched histrain into a siding to wait for the freight train, and repeated hispowder story for the benefit of the inquisitive. When the freightarrived, he saw that it carried a red flag. This meant another trainwas on the road. After another long half hour's wait, the second freighttrain came in sight, and Andrews was dismayed to see another red flagdisplayed. The railroad men said another train was following. The menon the captured train were compelled to wait more than an hour. To thoseshut up in the box cars this was a very trying time. They had no meansof knowing what had happened, or what was about to happen, until Knight, the engineer, found an opportunity to saunter by and tell them what thetrouble was. At the end of an hour the long wait was over. The freighttrains had passed, and the captured locomotive, dragging the box cars, went swiftly out of Kingston. A short distance beyond, the usual stopwas made, and the wires cut An attempt was made to tear up the track bysome of the men, while others loaded the box cars with railroad ties. While engaged in this work, the men heard the screaming whistle ofa locomotive in full pursuit. They were more than amazed: they wereparalyzed. If a pursuing locomotive had sprung out of the ground attheir feet with a full head of steam on, they could not have been moreastonished. They had just passed three freight trains headed in theopposite direction, and now here was a pursuing locomotive comingafter them at full speed, and with a full head of steam on. Making onespasmodic effort, they broke the rail they were trying to tear up. 

Reaching Adairsville, Andrews and his men found that the passenger trainhad not arrived. But it was no time for waiting. They resolved to takeevery chance. The engineer had orders to send the locomotive along atfull speed. He was very willing to do this. Calhoun was nine miles away, and if that station could be reached before the passenger train left, all would be well; if not, there was danger of a collision. But Andrewstook all the chances. The throttle of the locomotive was pulled wideopen, and the train started so suddenly and so swiftly that the men inthe box cars were thrown from their feet. The distance to Calhoun wasnine miles, and the train bearing Andrews and his men made it in sevenminutes and a half, --pretty swift traveling, when it is remembered thatthe track was full of short curves, and not in the best condition. 

As the locomotive neared Calhoun, Engineer Knight gave several loudblasts on the whistle; and it was well he did so, for the passengertrain had just begun to pull out of Calhoun on its way to Adairsville. If the whistle had been blown a moment later than it was, the passengertrain would have been under full headway, and the signal would not havebeen heard; but the passenger train had just begun to move, and wasgoing slowly. The whistle was heard, and the engineer backed his trainto Calhoun again. But when Andrews and his men arrived, they found a newdifficulty in the way. The passenger train was such a long one that therear end blocked the track. Andrews tried to get the conductor to moveon to Adairsville and there meet the upbound passenger train; but thatofficial was too badly scared by the danger he had just escaped to takeany more chances, and he refused to budge until the other train shouldarrive. This would be fatal to the plans of Andrews, and that boldadventurer made up his mind that the time had come for force to be used. The conductor was finally persuaded to allow Andrews to go ahead withhis powder train. He ran a little more than a mile beyond Calhoun, stopped his train, ordered the wire cut and another rail torn up. Whilethey were busily engaged in this work, they were both amazed and alarmedto see a locomotive approaching from the direction of Calhoun. They hadonly bent the rail, and were compelled to leave it and get out of theway of their pursuers. 

Andrews and his men were bold and intrepid, even reckless; but the manwho had charge of the pursuit had all these qualities and more. CaptainFuller was possessed of an energy and a determination that allowednothing to stand in their way. 

We have seen how Captain Fuller sprang from the breakfast table at BigShanty, and went running after the flying locomotive. Engineer Jeff Cainand Mr. Murphy followed after. The soldiers loitering about the stationlaughed and cheered at the queer spectacle of a conductor giving chaseon foot to his locomotive which, with a part of his train, was runningaway under a full head of steam. All of Captain Fuller's energies werearoused to their highest pitch, and he easily distanced his companions. He ran fully three miles, and then came upon a squad of section handswho had been engaged in repairing the track. They were now very muchexcited. The captured locomotive had stopped with them long enough forthe men on the box cars to seize all their tools and cut the telegraphwire, being careful to take away about fifty feet, so that the wirecould not be promptly joined. From the demoralized section hands CaptainFuller learned of the number of men on the locomotive, and was givenreason to suspect that they were Federals in disguise. The section handshad what was then called a pole car, a small affair which they pushedwith poles from point to point. It had been derailed to make way for theup passenger train. Conductor Fuller had it lifted upon the track, and then debated with himself as to whether he should go back for hisengineer, Jeff Cain, who, with Mr. Antony Murphy, had been left farbehind. Concluding that it would be well to have his engineer withhim, Captain Fuller pressed some of the section hands into service, andpushed down the road the way he had come, going more than a mile beforehe met Cain and Murphy. Once on the old hand car, Captain Fuller turnedand again began the pursuit as energetically as before, although he knewthat valuable time had been lost. Something of their leader's energyand dauntless spirit was imparted to the men with him, and they madetolerable speed with the pole car; but, suddenly, while they were polingalong at a great rate, the car tumbled from the track. They had now cometo the place where the would-be bridge burners had torn up the firstrail. The pursuers were not hurt by the fall. They jumped to their feet, pushed the car over the obstruction, and were soon on their way again, going even more rapidly than before. In this way the pursuit led byCaptain Fuller came to Etowah Station. Here he found the old "Yonah, " alocomotive belonging to the Mark A. Cooper Iron Works. The "Yonah" wasa superannuated engine, but Captain Fuller pressed it and its crew intohis service. The rickety old "Yonah" seemed to enter into the spirit ofthe pursuit, for the distance to Kingston--thirteen miles--was made intwelve minutes. 

As Andrews and his men had been delayed at Kingston for more than anhour waiting for the freight trains to allow him to pass, the pursuers, led by Captain Fuller, arrived at Kingston only ten minutes after theraiders left. The tracks were crowded with these freight trains when the"Yonah" arrived, and Captain Fuller saw at a glance that the locomotivewould be of no further service in the chase. He leaped from the engine, and ran about two miles to the north angle of the Rome railway, wherehe knew he would find the locomotive of the Rome road standing at thishour. He pressed the engine and crew into service, and again took up thepursuit of the fleeing raiders. 

Andrews and his men, in the meantime, had stopped and loaded their boxcars with old cross-ties and discarded rails These they began to throwout of the rear end of their hindmost car as a measure of safety. Theydid not suspect pursuit at this time, but they took the precautionto obstruct the track in this manner. Six miles north of Kingston theraiders stopped and tore up several rails. Captain Fuller rode on thepilot of his engine, and removed such of the obstructions as were notknocked off by the cowcatcher. 

When Captain Fuller reached the point where the rails had been removed, his locomotive was useless. But his blood was now up. He abandoned theengine, and ran on foot towards Adairsville, where he knew he would finda through freight train. In fact he met it after he had run about threemiles, flagged it down, reversed it, and carried it back to Adairsville. There, taking the engine, tender forward, with its crew, he renewed thepursuit. The locomotive was run at an extraordinary rate of speed;but Captain Fuller felt it to be his duty to ride on the bumper ofthe tender, a precarious position even when there is no danger ofobstructions. Beyond Calhoun, Andrews and his men stopped to cut thetelegraph wire and tear up more rails. They had pried a rail above thestringers when they heard the pursuing locomotive, and saw it roundinga curve half a mile away. They scrambled into their cars in a hurry, leaving the rail bent but not removed. Captain Fuller saw the bent rail, but he had also seen the game, and he allowed his engine to be drivenover it under a full head of steam. 

From this point the chase was the most thrilling and reckless of whichthere is any record. Andrews resorted to his old trick of droppingcross-ties, but he soon saw that this would not do. Then he uncoupledone of his box cars. Captain Fuller picked it up, and pushed it ahead. Andrews uncoupled another. This was served the same way, and at Resacathe cars were run on a siding. The "General, " commanded by Andrews, was now forward, with one car, while the "Texas, " commanded by CaptainFuller, and driven by Peter Bracken, was running tender forward, withFuller standing on the brake board, or bumper. The locomotives wereabout evenly matched. Both had five-foot ten-inch drivers, and both wererunning under all the pressure their boilers could carry. 

All thought of danger was lost sight of. The pursued had no time tohatch any scheme calculated to delay pursuit. The pursuers forgot tolook for obstructions. On one side it was capture or die; on the otherit was escape at all hazards. The people of the towns and villagesthrough which the road passes knew not what to make of the spectacle. Before they could recover from the surprise of seeing a locomotive withone box car dash wildly past the station, they were struck dumb withamazement by the sight of another locomotive thundering by, tenderforward, a tall man standing on the bumper and clinging to the brakerod. 

They were going at a terrific rate of speed, but Peter Bracken, thebrave engineer of the "Texas, " knew his locomotive so well, and handledher with such a nice eye for her weak as well as her strong points, that the pursuers gradually shortened the distance between them and theraiders. The "General" was a good locomotive in its day and time, butit was in unfamiliar hands. Any locomotive engineer will tell you that aman must be thoroughly acquainted with his machine, and somewhat inlove with it to boot, to get the best speed out of it, when speed isnecessary. 

The raiders were pushed so closely that they soon found it necessary toabandon their engine and car. Three miles north of Ringgold, they sloweddown a little, and, seizing a favorable opportunity, tumbled out, andfled through the woods in all directions. It might be supposed thatCaptain Fuller would be satisfied with recapturing his locomotive, whichwas in all respects a remarkable achievement. But he had other views. Heknew that there would be no safety for the road with the bridge burnersat large, and so he made up his mind to be satisfied with nothing lessthan their capture. In passing through Ringgold, three miles back, hehad noticed a company of militia drilling in an old field. So he sentword to the commanding officer by his engineer, Peter Bracken (who, withhis fireman, took the two locomotives back to Ringgold), to mount hismen as promptly as possible, and join in the chase of the fugitives. This message dispatched, Captain Fuller and two of his men, Fleming Coxand Alonzo Martin, ran into the woods after the fleeing raiders. Jeff Cain, the engineer of the "General, " had been left with the Romelocomotive. Mr. Antony Murphy remained in the chase until the "General"was recaptured, and returned to Ringgold with the two locomotives. 

All the raiders were caught and imprisoned. Andrews was known to be aspy, and he, with seven of his men who could establish no connectionwith the Federal army in any branch of the service, was hanged. Six escaped, and made their way to the Federal lines. The rest wereregularly exchanged. 

Perhaps those that were hanged deserved a better fate. They were braveto recklessness, and were engaged in the boldest adventure of the war. Their scheme was most skillfully planned, and courageously undertaken, and if it had succeeded, --if the bridges had been burned and the doorof the Confederate granaries closed, --the result would have been whatit was when Sherman, with a large army, and at the sacrifice of manymen and much treasure, closed the State Road to the Confederates inVirginia. 

Andrews and his men came near accomplishing, by one bold stroke, prettymuch all that Sherman accomplished in crippling the Confederates. It wasonly by the merest chance that they had such a man as Captain Fuller tooppose them. If they had arrived at Marietta the day before or the dayafter, the probability is that they would have succeeded in their daringventure. Captain Fuller was more than the equal of Andrews in all thosequalities that sustain men in moments of great emergency, and greatlyhis superior in those moral acquirements that lead men to take risks andmake sacrifices on behalf of their convictions, and in the line of theirduty. 

THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. 

The people of the State had not recovered from the chaos and confusioninto which they had been thrown by Sherman's march to the sea, when thenews came that Lee had surrendered in Virginia, and General Joseph E. Johnston (who had been restored to his command) in North Carolina. Thusa sudden and violent end had been put to all hopes of establishing aseparate government. General Sherman, who was as relentless in war ashe was pacific and gentle when the war was over, had, in coming to termswith General Johnston, advanced the theory that the South never haddissolved the Union, and that the States were restored to their oldplaces the moment they laid down their arms. This theory was not onlyconsistent with the views of the Union men of the North, but withthe nature and character of the Republic itself. But in the shortand common-sense cut that Sherman had made to a solution, he left thepoliticians out in the cold, and they cried out against it as a hideousand ruthless piece of assumption on the part of a military man toattempt to have any opinions after the war was over. Any settlement thatleft the politicians out in the cold was not to be tolerated. Some ofthese gentlemen had a very big and black crow to pick with the South. Some of them, in the course of the long debate over slavery, had hadtheir feelings hurt by Southern men; and although these wrangles hadbeen purely personal and individual, the politicians felt that the wholeSouth ought to be humiliated still further. 

The politicians would have been entirely harmless if the life ofPresident Lincoln had been spared. During the war, Mr. Lincoln wasgreatly misunderstood even at the North; but it is now the generalverdict of history, that, take him for all in all, he was beyond allcomparison the greatest man of his time, the one man who, above allothers, was best fitted to bring the people of the two sections togetheragain, and to make the Union a more perfect Union than ever before. Butunfortunately Mr. Lincoln fell by the hands of an assassin, and neverhad an opportunity to carry out the great policy of pacification whichcould only have been sustained at that time by his great influence, byhis patience, that was supreme, and by his wisdom, that has proved to bealmost infallible in working out the salvation of the Union. After Lee'ssurrender, the interests of the South could have sustained no severerblow than the death of Lincoln. His successor, Andrew Johnson, was awell-meaning man, but a very narrow-minded one in some respects, and avery weak one in others. It is but justice to him to say that he did hisbest to carry out Lincoln's policy of pacification, and his failure wasno greater than that of any other leading politician of his time wouldhave been. 

It would be impossible to describe the condition of the people at thistime. There was no civil law in operation, and the military governmentthat had been established was not far-reaching enough to restrainviolence of any sort. The negroes had been set free, and were supportedby means of a "freedmen's bureau. " They were free, and yet they wantedsome practical evidence of it. To obtain this, they left the plantationson which they had been born, and went tramping about the country in themost restless and uneasy manner. 

[Illustration: The Negroes Freed 306]

A great many of them believed that freedom meant idleness, such as theyhad seen white folks indulge in. The country negroes flocked to thetowns and cities in great numbers, and the freedmen's bureau, activeas its agents were, had a great deal more than it could attend to. Suchpeace and order as existed was not maintained by any authority, but grewnaturally out of the awe that had come over both whites and blacks atfinding their condition and their relations so changed. The whites couldhardly believe that slavery no longer existed. The negroes had gravedoubts as to whether they were really free. To make matters worse, agreat many small politicians, under pretense of protecting the negroes, but really to secure their votes, began a crusade against the South inCongress, the like of which can hardly be found paralleled outside ofour own history. The people of the South found out long ago that thepoliticians of the hour did not represent the intentions and desires ofthe people of the North; and there is much comfort and consolation tobe got out of that fact, even at this late day. But at that time thebitterest dose of reconstruction was the belief that the best opinion ofthe North sustained the ruinous policy that had been put in operation. 

The leading men of the State were all disfranchised, --deprived ofthe privilege of voting, a privilege that was freely conferred on thenegroes. A newspaper editor in Macon was imprisoned, and his papersuppressed, for declaring, in regard to taking the amnesty oath, thathe had to "fortify himself for the occasion with a good deal of Dutchcourage. " The wife of General Toombs was ordered by an assistantcommissioner of the freedmen's bureau to vacate her home with only twoweeks' provisions, the grounds of the order being that the premises were"abandoned property, " and, as such, were to be seized, and appliedto the uses of the freedmen's bureau. The superior officer of thisassistant commissioner, being a humane and kindly man, revoked theorder. 

These were the days when the carpet-bagger and the scalawagflourished, --the camp followers of the Northern army, who wanted moneyand office; and the native-born Southerner, who wanted office and money. There is no doubt that the indignities heaped on the people led to actsof retaliation that nothing else could excuse; but they were drivento desperation. It seemed, in that hour, that their liberties had beenentirely withdrawn. Governor Brown, who had formerly been so popular, was denounced because he advised Georgians to accept the situation. He, with other wise men, thought it was a waste of time and opportunity todiscuss constitutional questions at a moment when the people were livingunder bayonet rule. Joe Brown's plan was to accept the situation, andthen get rid of it as quickly as possible. Ben Hill's plan was tofight it to the last. There was a fierce controversy between thesetwo leaders; and such strong expressions were used on both sides, thatGeneral Pope made them the subject of a curious letter to his commanderin chief, General Grant. 

General Pope seemed to be afraid that war was about to break out again, and he assumed charge of everything. He removed and appointed mayors ofcities, solicitors, and sheriffs. He closed the State University becausea student made a speech which was in effect a defense of civil law. After a while the general said he would reopen the institution if thepress of the State would say nothing about the affair. In 1867, GeneralPope ordered an election to be held for delegates to a State convention. The polls were kept open five days, and voters were allowed to votein any precinct in any county upon their making oath that they wereentitled to vote. The convention met, but, in the nature of things, could not be a representative body. Thousands of the best and mostrepresentative men of the State were not allowed to vote, and thousandsof other good men refused to take part in an election held under theorder of a military commander: consequently, when the convention met, its membership was made up of the political rag-tag-and-bobtail ofthat day. There were a few good men in the body, but they had littleinfluence over the ignorant negroes and vicious whites who had takenadvantage of their first and last opportunity to hold office. 

The authority of this convention was not recognized by the Stategovernment, and this contest gave rise to a fresh conflict between theState officials and the military dictators who had been placed overthem. The convention needed money to pay its expenses, and passed anordinance directing the treasurer of the State to pay forty thousanddollars for this purpose to the disbursing officer of the convention. General Pope issued an order to the treasurer to pay this amount. Thetreasurer declined to pay out the money, for the simple reason thathe was forbidden by law to pay out money except on an order or warrantdrawn by the governor, and sanctioned by the comptroller general. 

About this time General Meade was appointed to rule in Georgia in placeof General Pope, and he found this matter unsettled when he took charge. So he wrote to Governor Jenkins, and requested him to draw his warranton the treasury for forty thousand dollars. The governor could find noauthority in law for paying over this sum, and he therefore refused. But civil government was not of much importance to the military at thattime; so, when he had received the governor's letter, General Meade drewa sheet of paper before him, called for pen and ink, and issued"General Order No. 8, " in which the announcement is made that "thefollowing-named officers are _detailed for duty_ in the district ofGeorgia: Brevet Brigadier General Thomas H. Ruger, Colonel 33d Infantry, _to be Governor of the State of Georgia_; Brevet Captain Charles F. Rockwell, Ordnance Corps U. S. Army, _to be Treasurer of the State ofGeorgia_. "

In this way the rag-tag-and-bobtail convention got its money, but itgot also the hatred and contempt of the people; and the Republicanparty, --the party that had been molded and made by the wise policy ofLincoln, --by indorsing these foolish measures of reconstruction, andputting its influence behind the outrages that were committed in thename of "loyalty, " aroused prejudices in the minds of the Southernpeople that have not died away to this day. Some of the more viciousof the politicians of that epoch organized what was known as "The UnionLeague. " It was a secret political society, and had branches in everycounty of the State. Through the medium of this secret organization, the basest deception was practiced on the ignorant negroes. Theywere solemnly told that their old masters were making arrangements toreënslave them, and all sorts of incendiary suggestions were made tothem. It was by means of this secret society that the negroes were madeto believe that they would be entitled to forty acres and a mule forvoting for the candidates of the carpet-baggers. 

The effect of all this was to keep the blacks in a constant state ofturmoil. They were too uneasy to settle down to work, and too suspiciousto enter into contracts with the whites: so they went wandering aboutthe State from town to town and from county to county, committing allsorts of crimes. As the civil system had been entirely overthrown by themilitary, there was neither law nor order; and this condition was veryseriously aggravated by the incendiary teachings of The Union League. The people, therefore, in some parts of the South, offset this secretsociety with another, which was called the "Ku Klux Klan. " Thisorganization was intended to prevent violence and to restore orderin communities; but the spirit of it was very frequently violatedby lawless persons, who, acting in the name of the "Klan, " subjecteddefenseless negroes to cruel treatment. 

There is no darker period in the history of the State than that ofreconstruction. The tax payers were robbed in the most reckless way, and the rights of citizens were entirely disregarded. Even when theRepublican Congress, responsive to the voice of conservative Northernopinion, turned its back on the carpet-bag government of Georgia, these men made a tremendous effort to extend their rule unlawfully. Thecarpet-bag Legislature was in session three hundred and twenty-eightdays, and cost the State nearly one million dollars; whereas the cost oflegislation from 1853 to 1862, nine years, was not nine hundred thousanddollars. In one year the State Road took in a million dollars and ahalf; and of this immense sum, only forty-five thousand dollars was paidinto the treasury. Added to this, the road had been run into debt to theamount of six hundred thousand dollars, and it had been run down tosuch an extent that five hundred thousand was needed to place it in goodcondition. 

During this trying period, Joseph E. Brown, who had been so popularwith the people, was under a cloud. He had advised accepting thereconstruction measures in the first instance, so that they might becarried out by men who had the confidence and the esteem of the State;but this wise proposition brought upon his head only reproaches andabuse. The public mind was in such a state of frenzied uneasiness, theresult of carpetbag robbery and recklessness, that the people wouldlisten to no remedy except passionate defiance and denunciation. Whenthe name of Brown was mentioned only as a handle of abuse, Benjamin H. Hill became the leader and the idol of the people. When, in 1870, Hillissued an address declaring that the reconstruction must be accepted bythe people, he was at once made the object of the most violent attacks. But Brown was right in 1864, and Hill was right in 1870, and the peoplewere wrong. They paid dearly for their blindness in the wrongs imposedon them by men who were neither Republicans nor reconstructionists atheart, but public plunderers. 

In 1871 the carpet-bag government began to totter. The governor left theState, and staid away so long that the State treasurer, a man of sternintegrity, refused to pay warrants that were not signed by a residentgovernor. Finally the governor returned, but almost immediatelyresigned. In a short time the real representatives of the people tookcharge of affairs, and since that time the State has been in a highlyprosperous condition. 

"THE NEW SOUTH"

When the people of Georgia had once more gained control of their Stategovernment, the political tempest that had been raging slowly quieteddown. A pot that has been boiling furiously doesn't grow cool in amoment, but it ceases almost instantly to boil; and though it may coolslowly, it cools surely. There was not an end of prejudice and unreasonthe moment the people had disposed of those who were plundering them, but prejudice began to lose its force as soon as men had the opportunityto engage in calm discussion, and to look forward hopefully to thefuture. In the midst of bayonet and carpet-bag rule, the State couldnot make any real progress. It is only during a time of peace andcontentment that the industrial forces of a community begin to displaytheir real energy. 

No State in the South had suffered so severely as Georgia during thewar. She placed in the field more than a hundred and twenty thousandsoldiers, --twenty thousand more than her voting population at thebeginning of the war. The taxable wealth of the State in 1867 was morethan four hundred and eighty-one millions less than it was in 1861, --aloss of more than three fourths. After the reconstruction period, all the State had to show, in return for the treasure that had beensquandered by the carpet-bag politicians, was a few poorly equippedrailroads that had been built on the State's credit. In some instancesrailroad bonds were indorsed when there was no road to show for them;in others, bonds were issued in behalf of the same road under differentnames; so that the people lost by fraud as much or more than the amountof improvement that had been made. The "developers" who had connectedthemselves with the bayonet administration were much more interested in"developing" their own private interests than they were in developingthe resources of the State. 

But when the bayonet administration had been driven out, not lessby Northern opinion, which had become disgusted with the recklessdishonesty that was practiced under the name of republicanism, than bythe energetic opposition of all good citizens of the State, there came awelcome end to the bitter controversy that had been going on. The fiercerancor and prejudice that had been aroused gradually died out; so thatin 1872, shortly after the State had been rescued from misrule, HoraceGreeley, the great abolition editor, received in Georgia a majority ofmore than seventy-one thousand votes over the straight-out Democraticcandidate. This, more than any other event, showed the improving temperof the people, and their willingness to make compromises and concessionsfor the purpose of restoring the Union and burying the spirit ofsectionalism. 

With this improved temper there came an improvement in the materialconditions of the State. Free negro labor was a problem which theplanters had to meet. For a time it presented many difficulties. Itwas hard to make and enforce contracts with the negroes, who had beendemoralized and made suspicious by The Union League and by the harsh andunjustifiable acts of men who acted under the name, but not under theauthority, of the Ku Klux Klan. But gradually all these difficultieswere overcome. The negroes settled down to work, and with them a goodmany white men who had been left adrift by the fortunes of war and theprostration of industries. This vast change was not brought about in aday or a month, or even in a year, but was the gradual outgrowth of abitter feeling, --the slow awakening to the fact that matters were not asbad on a better acquaintance as they had seemed. There was, of course, the negro problem; but the wiser men soon saw that this problem, suchas it was, would settle itself sooner or later. The result was thateverybody began to take a day off from politics occasionally, and devotethemselves to the upbuilding of the resources of the State. 

At first, and for several years, the negro problem seemed to be a veryserious matter indeed. All the statesmen, all the politicians, all thehistorians, and all the newspaper editors, discussed it morning, noon, and night for a long time. Some wanted it settled one way, and someanother. At the North the men who had indorsed and approved the bayonetgovernments of the South thought that laws ought to be passed giving thenegroes social equality with the whites. Finally a compromise was madewith what is called the "Civil Rights Law, " which was intended to givethe negroes the same privileges at the hotels, theaters, and otherpublic places, that the whites had. The Northern politicians pretendedto believe that the efforts they were making were for the benefit of thenegroes, though no doubt the majority of them knew better. Of course, the Southern people resisted the pressure thus brought to bear bythe Northern sectionalists, and the result was what might have beenexpected. The condition of the negro was made more uncomfortablethan ever, and the color line was more closely drawn. To show howshortsighted the politicians were and are, it is only necessary to callattention to one fact, and it is this: that while the Civil Rights Lawhas kept negroes out of public places both North and South, they rideon the street cars side by side with the white people, and it frequentlyhappens that an old negro woman who comes into a crowded car is givena seat by some Southerner who has tender recollections of his negro"mammy. "

[Illustration: Streetcar in the South 318]

It is worthy of note, that while the politicians on both sides werefighting the shadows that the "negro problem" called up, the problem wassolving itself in the only way that such vast problems can be settledin the order of Providence, --by the irresistible elements of time andexperience. A great deal of misery, suffering, and discontent would havebeen spared to both races, if, after the war, the conservative men ofthe North had either insisted on the policy that Abraham Lincolnhad mapped out, or had said to the pestiferous politicians who wereresponsible for carpet-bag rule, "Hands off!" No doubt some injusticewould have been done to individuals if the North had permitted thenegroes to work out their political salvation alone, but the race itselfwould be in a better condition every way than it is today; for outsideinterference has worked untold damage and hardship to the negro. It hasgiven him false ideas of the power and purpose of government, and ithas blinded his eyes to the necessity of individual effort. It is byindividual effort alone that the negro race must work out its destiny. This is the history of the white race, and it must be the history of allraces that move forward. 

When Georgia, with the rest of the Southern States, had passed safelythrough the reconstruction period, the people, as has been seen, foundthemselves facing new conditions and new possibilities. Slavery had beenabolished utterly and forever; and wise men breathed freer when theysaw that a great obstacle to progress and development had beenabolished with it. Instinctively everybody felt that here was cause forcongratulation. A few public men, bolder than the rest, looking out onthe prospect, thanked God that slavery was no more. They expected to beattacked for such utterances, but they were applauded; and it was soondiscovered, much to the surprise of everybody, that the best sentimentof the South was heartily glad that slavery was out of the way. Thus, with new conditions, new prospects, and new hopes, --with a new fortune, in fact, --it was natural that some lively prophet should lift up hisvoice and cry, "Behold the New South!"

And it was and is the new South, --the old South made new by events;the old South with new channels, in which its Anglo-Saxon energies maydisplay themselves; the old South with new possibilities of greatness, that would never have offered themselves while slavery lasted. Afterthese hopes, and in pursuit of these prospects, Georgia has led the way. Hundreds of miles of new railroads have been built in her borders sincethe dark days of reconstruction, hundreds of new factories have beenbuilt, immense marble beds and granite quarries have been put inoperation, new towns have sprung into existence, and in thousands of newdirections employment has been given to labor and capital. In short, theindustrial progress the State has made since 1870 is more than doublethat of the previous fifty years. 

It was natural, that, out of the new conditions, new men should arise;and, as if in response to the needs of the hour and the demands of thepeople, there arose a man who, with no selfish ends to serve and noselfish ambition to satisfy, was able to touch the hearts of the peopleof both sections, and to subdue the spirit of sectionalism that wasstill rampant long after the carpetbag governments in the South had beenoverthrown by the force of public opinion. That man was Henry WoodfinGrady. He took up his public work in earnest in 1876, though he had beenpreparing for it since the day that he could read a school history. Inthat year he became one of the editors of the "Atlanta Constitution, "and at once turned his attention to the situation in which his Statehad been left by the war, and by the rapacity of those who had come intopower by means of the bayonet. Whether he used his tongue or pen, thepublic soon found out that he had control of that mysterious power whichmoves men. Whether he wrote or whether he spoke, he had the gift andthe inspiration of eloquence; and from first to last he could never beinduced to use this great gift for his personal advancement, nor couldhe be induced to accept a political office. With a mind entirely sincereand unselfish, he addressed himself to the work of restoring unitybetween the North and South, and to putting an end to the sectionalstrife which the politicians were skillfully using to further their ownschemes. He was asked to be a United States senator, and refused; he wasasked to be a congressman, and refused. For the rest, he could have hadany office within the gift of the people of Georgia; but he felt thathe could serve the State and the South more perfectly in the way that hehad himself mapped out. He felt that the time had come for some one tosay a bold and manly word in behalf of the American Union in the ear ofthe South, and to say a bold and manly word in behalf of the South inthe ear of the North. He began this work, and carried it on as a privatecitizen; and the result was, that, though he died before he had reachedthe prime of his life, he had won a name and a popularity in all partsof the country, both North and South, that no other private citizen hadever before succeeded in winning. 

It was Henry Grady that gave the apt name of "The New South" to thespirit that his tireless energy and enthusiasm had called from the darkdepths of reconstruction. Of this spirit, and the movement that sprangfrom it, he was the prophet, the pioneer, the promoter. He saw the Southpoor in the midst of the most abundant resources that Providence everblessed a people with, and he turned aside from politics to point themout. He saw the people going about in deep despair, and he gave them thecue of hope, and touched them with his own enthusiasm. He saw the mightyindustrial forces lying dormant, and his touch awoke them to life. He saw great enterprises languishing, and he called the attention ofcapital to them. Looking farther afield, he saw the people of two greatsections forgetting patriotism and duty, and reviving the prejudices andissues that had led to the war, and that had continued throughoutthe war; and he went about among them, speaking words of peace andunion, --appealing to the spirit of patriotism which held the Northernand Southern people together when they were building the Republic, whenthey stood side by side amid the sufferings of Valley Forge, and whenthey saw the army of a mighty monarch surrender to the valor of Americansoldiers at Yorktown. With the enthusiasm of a missionary and theimpetuous zeal of an evangelist, he went about rebuking the politicians, and preaching in behalf of peace, union, and genuine patriotism. 

Such was the mission of Henry W. Grady, and the work that he did willlive after him. "The New South" will cease to be hew, but the peoplewill never cease to owe him a debt of gratitude for the work that he didin urging forward the industrial progress of this region, and in makingpeace between the sections. He was the builder, the peacemaker.