Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1826-06-02
r. ,,tLPAETaIENr OF WAR, 10th May, 1926.
1 =, e"e Delegation of Florida Indians.

your request TO have your boundary line ex,cn1ed
S"H made 1t known TO your Great Father the Presi
ee"'' am directed to answer, that he gives his
"Sei' Tor you to occupy the Big Swamp, until he
"atG can Tor 1t, when he will expect you to
"o'c within tie limits of the survey. He san,
you 'h's message by Gov. Duval
our Great Father does not wish 70 o,,nros. ~.
eU en'uren' lie has heard OF your sufferinrs. and
Sent you some help. But he wisles me tn inform
you now that you have had time to plant and
s"aer your crops. that you must RELY for the future
." yourselves, and by your Industry. provide Tor
your own support.
brothers: Your Great Father has heard ,bo, vo,
nave runaway slaves in your country. and tb,,
many Oh your people hiGe them from their owners.
ne treaty provides that You should rive them nm
IS expected that you will do this; and that Won
"h' hereafter so soon az n slave runs INFO vour
souI.ry, take aim up, and deliver him 10 the agent
,or Ms riSh'iui owner. 1t is said that the whites
nave some oil your slaves. The agent is directed
10 see justice done you, and whenever he finds
Jour slaves IN possession Of the whites, TO demand
their surrender,
Brothers: Now that you are settled in vour new
homes, have 10 call ySur attention To few
,,,'"Ss' our young men not always good
they go INTO the settlements, and seal and kill
STOCK, and alarm the whites, AID the women and
children This must not be. You will, therefore,
give orders TO your young men to keep within your
units and II they will not obey you. you must
punish them. If you do not, your Great Father
will order his agent to let heavy hand fall upon
you III the whites uespass upon you, do not strike
OUT go 10 the agent-he is directed TO protect you.
lou must listen to these directions. Your Great
aner VIII be Kind 10 you, you obey his counsel
cut II you do not, you will be punished.
Brothers: Your Great Father expects you TO live
IN peace with one another, to be industrious and
soDer. Drunkenness is curse, and no Indian
ought ever to get drunk. 1t makes him beast,
and brings him into trouble. Let alone the mad
water, and be sober
Brothers: The treaty provides thousand dollars
ior The support OF school at the Agency This
IL intended to benefit your children. Ii is time il
was In operation. 1t is there your children vii,
learn to read and write, and keep accounts; and
now to make ploughs, aud wheels. and looms; and
now 10 use them, and all other other things useful
10 you. Your Great Father expects you 10 en-
courage these improvements in your children. The
agent IS directed to seek for teacher, and when
one goes out, he will 80 under the protection of
your Great Father
Brothers: explained to you that did not cx-
pect you could live so rel where YOU are as on
lands where the game plenty, and the water good
and abundant. Your Great Father owns great
country over the Mississippi, and is willing to give
you large portion OF it, whenever you may in
cline TO go. And if few of your Chiefs think
sort OF country it is, they go, and the agent
Will be dfecled TO send them, and pay their ex-
penses. 1t is expected that some of your friends
OF the Muscogee tribe will go and look at that
country Your Chiefs might 90 at the same time.
This advice is for your good, and is given to you
in friendship. hope you will follow it,
Brothers: once more tell you, your Great
Father viii protect you, through the Agent, from
the bad conduct OF the whites, and he Will severe
iy punish you if you do not proven, your bad men
from going into the settlements and doing harm to
the whites. This you must not forget. If you
Will take the property of the whites the value of il
Will be taken from your annuity. The Agent is
ordered 10 DO 80.
Brothers; shake hands with you. and wish you
prosperity and happiness JAMES BARBOUR.
Talk Of the Florida Delegation of Indians.
delivered 5y IWchasee .Mothia, the Head
Chief, ia reply TO one from The Hon. james
Harbour, Secretary Of Wdr.
BROTHER: We have heard the talk YOU sent us
by our Agent. You say our Great Father gives
us permission to occupy the land we ask for Che
Big swamp until he may want to send us from i,
This does not please The land we occupy we
expect will be considered ouT own property, tor
main such forever, unless we may think proper
TO part with Il. Ii this is refused Us, we cannot he
happy; for we do not like the thoughts of being pu,
to the trouble of moving again. The hardship we
suffered from our first removal gave IL pain
eDougb--we do not wish TO feel il again; and "
have such confidence in the Justice of our Great
Father, that we do not believe he will force it upon
us, but will comply with demands, and give us
more land. This was promised us by the treaty at
ST. Augustine. We only ask that this promise
should be complied with 1t is necessary 10 make
us comfortable. The tract Of land embraced with
in the present limits of territory, is small and
very poor. We cannot live on H. Many have
been obliged 10 settle in the Big Swamp. where
some good land has been found Give that 10 d.
also. We shall then be able to make bread for our
wives and children, and shall be satisfied. when
we left the good land about Tallahassee and Mic
kasuky, which is now covered by the white skins,
we stopped at ;he Big Swamp, because ,yo knew
we could not live further South, and because we
were told by Gov. Duval that we might do So. and
that we should have the land. We now claim
the tuflment OF his promise, and of that in the
treaty. We were Of en- deceived by the Span
ards. They male promises which hey never kept.
But we told the Americans A. sifaieh: pco-
pie. We believed tive hope we shall never
have cause to change our minds
4 You say our Great Father sent help 10 our peo-
| pie, who have been hungry because they could
make no corn lest year. We feel thankful for this.
and will never forget it.
You tell Us, al the same time, that orr Grea,
Father says must in future rely upon ourselves.
and by Our industry provide for our own support
| We do not complain Of this; but we ex ect he
will not deny such lands rs will enable us 10 do
50. You say, 100, our Great Father does not wish
TO oppress his rcd children. We believe il, and
that be will keep the treaty, and giveus more land.
I We ask that the North line Of our territory may
be removed so as to embrace = small Swamp, called
" efoOrg. This will enable us TO live, and make
US conten;ed.
Bother, you tell US that our Greet Father owns
great country over the Big River towards tie