Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1837-05-05

Communicated for the Phoenix.
Extract of Letter from an officer in the U.
States Army, 10 Florida, to his correspondent
in this village,
Fort Armstrong, East Florida
April 4ih, 1887
From what can learn of the Seminoles,
the females seem to possess the same in1u-
ence in marriages and matters of descent, that
men do among other nations The king
dom, on the demise of the king, does not de-
scend to his son, but to the first son of his
eldest daughter; so that, besides the impos-
sibility of The thrones ever being inherited
by others than those of the true blood the
man instead Of the woman may be ennobled
by marriage. Thus Cooper received much
importance from having welded one Of king
Peque's daughters. His dominion was prin-
cipally confined to the warrior negroes, and
it was he who led them on to complete the
work OF destruction at Dades battle, by scalp
ing and mutilating the dead and wounded
Several stakes with scalps Zone of
a curly haired girl), attached tot them, planted
in the circumference Of circle, Showed
where he had held his war dance, and exult-
ed in his barbarous deeds.
But retributive justice seemed to pursue
him. In Nov. 1886, wlTen Gen. Jesup was
returning from Volusia, a party of his flank
ers compelled him to flee, and burned his
village to the ground. He sought a new
residence; and chose, not far from the old one,
small peninsula extending into lake, with
such narrow isthmus as to have, from
most points, the appearance of an island
This was among hills from which could be
seen a large extent Of wilderness, interspers-
ed with cleaning lakes and vast, solitary
hammocks Here he lived in fancied secur-
ity, and subssted by sending out his negroes
to hunt in the surrounding country.
In January, when the army went south,
the light troops fell in with one of these
hunters, who informed of the abode of his
master, and the manner in which il might be
reached. The Creeks arrived first, and ia
king him completely by surprise, in spite OF
the efforts Of Lieut.. Chambers, they shot him
down, with three of his men, among whom
was one of his sons, tall, handsome fell
low, and doctor. Being only wounded, a
large athletic Creek leveled his piece at him
and was just about to pull, when he was un-
nerved by receiving a ball from the fallen
chief, which passed through his body near
the heart In retaliation, the chiefs head
was smashed to pieces. His younger boy, a
noble youth of fifteen. exclaimed -" Shoot
me too, | am a man" His wife, children
and otherdependants to the amount Of fifteen
were taken prisoners, and his personal prop.
erty seized.
The manner in which an Indians brought
up, fits him for most of the exigencies and
occurrences OF life. Cooper's children shew-
ed no signs of grief at the loss of their father
and brother; they appeared to understand
that such was the fate and chances of war,
and as they could not have been avoided
they were not to be lamented. Mrs Cooper
sat and eyed the Creeks who collected around
her, with that darkness ofexpresson which
might be supposed to result from mixture
of passions, in the same manner as white light
from the blending of several differently col
ored rays
husendedthe career of Cooper, the fourth
brother that had fallen in battle, "a man tho
had acted a conspicuous part in several en-
gagements and who, at the time Of his death,
had scarcely recovered from the wounds
which he had received in the battle of Wa
hoo. In his choice of residence, in the prop
erty he had accumulated, and in the relies
which he had preserved, he displayed taste
consistent with the character Of barbarous
prince, and one that evinced relish for the
beauties of nature and art. His motto was
that his exit from existence should be pre-.
luded by the death of at least one of his enc.
mics; and he fell upon his door steps, fight
ing like tiger at bay
The army continuing its march, the light
troops again fell in with party of Indians
and Negroes, and pursuing them with some
slight skirmishing into a neghboring ham
mock, took twenty or thirty of them prison
ers. For several days the army had been
following a trail, upon some point of which
it is probable that the Indians were making
preparations TO receive it; but finding the
traces TO grow rather indistinct, it counter
marched, struck a new path, which fortu-
nately led into the very culinary department
where the slaves were preparing subsistence
for the warriors. The Creeks loaded them
selves with spoils, such as potts. kettles and
dutch ovens. Among them were found
Abraham's papers, from which it appears
that he was purchased by Mcanope of a
gentleman of Alabama, for the consideration
of four or FIVE hundred dollars, and that he
received from his master not many years
since, voluntary manumission
The end of all this is you have undoubt-
eddy heard, that some of the most important
Chiefs sought Jesup and agreed TO meet him
in council at Fort Dade on the 18th Of Feb
ruary Some time after this, however, had
elapsed before Mcanope had even sent in
his talk When it came, it evinced the
great attachment that he had for his country
-" You have driven me from all the best
parts of the country, into very bad place
in the swamp don't want TO fight any
more,--I wish for peace, and want you
would let me remain on the little spot where
l now am" This swamp was in the most
dreary region that have ever seen When
at last, he arrived and took his seat in coun-