Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1836-10-20

President, and reinstate his red allies,
and inspire them with a spirit of-se-
venge against their white n~eighbors
recently screened from their barbarism.
Under those impressions, | have Deem
cd it proper to request Governor Can
0 10 authorize the brigade ofTennes.
see Volunteers, enrolled under his proc
lamation Of the 2sth Of April last, to
calculate on the probability of another
call at this place, and that should | have
occasion for volunteers, as ! appre-
bend | shall, those enrolled shall have
a preference to all others" In an.
swer to which | received, on the 81
inst, u letter from the Secretary OF
War, dated the 18th ofJuly, (of which
! annex a copy, No. 81 in which you
will perceive no expression disappro.
wing my purpose to call for a brigade
of Tennessee Volunteers. The Secre.
tary, however, expressly authorizes
me to call on the Executives of Mis-.
souri, and Arkansas for one thousand
men each. But this authority did not
reach me until the Sd Of this month,
when | had reason to believe the regl-
ment ofMounted Gunner, requested OF
you, had been raised and would be
here before | could have suspended
their movement, if indeed | had deem.
ed il proper so to do. This, however,
did no appear to me proper; on the
contrary, | deemed it necessary to re.
quest of the Governors Of Missouri and
Arkansas the two thousand men autho.
rized as additional force, for reasons
set forth in my letter to Gen. Arbuc-
kle, tofwhich a copy, No. 3.)
Of these measures the War Depart
ment has been regularly advised.
Some of our fashionable party lead.
ers, editors, and others, seem very
much shocked al my preparatory mea.
sures to cross a little muddy branch Of
the Sabine Bay, (Which branch some
are pleased to call the Sabine, whilst
others of more literary ~pretensions call
1t the Rubicon,) to hold the savages in
check, merely because some few white
men have been killed by them, and
some women and children, the wives of
the slain, have been taken prisoners
and carried off to the bosom Of the vii.
derness
In reply to such silly illusions ofthe
slaves OF party, | need only remark
that in deciding upon the course of
measures proper for me to pursue, in
reference to the outrages committed
by the Indians near me, | think il my
DUTY to consider the poorest frontier
family menaced with the Indian scalp
ing knife, as entitled TO the same atten.
ton, and the same vigilant measures of
protection, as the most fashionable OF
our interior citizens. If | were capa.
bic of making an invidious distinction
in such a case, between the rich and
the poor, the lordly politician and the
humble pioneer, and Of taking more or
less care of the one than of the other,
should thereby prove myself to be
wholly unworthy Of the trust reposed
in me.
But am exultingly remined by some
that the people killed, and those mena
ced by the Indians, are not citizens of
the United STATES. | reply that most
of them are citizens of the U. States :
and that whenever the national bound.
airy line is established in the n
provided for by treaty, many, if not all
OF those who find themselves left upon
the Mexican side of the line will re.
turn to our own beloved country. But
until then we must protect them from sa.
cage massacre.
Since | sat down to write this letter
an express has arrived, with a positive
declaration that he had seen and con.
versed with a Mexican officer at an In.
dian village, forty miles to the north.
west of Nacogdoches, who was under.
stood by the Indians to be engaged in
setting on foot an expedition against
Nacogdoches. This l believe TO be
true, because it is in accordance witt
the previous statements of several DER
sons who are entitled to credit.
have the honor to be,
With great respect,
Your obedient servant,
EDMUND P. GAINES.
MAJ. Gen. Commandinp