Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1838-01-18
rag FLORIDA WAR.

Usstsd S:si,s. nssruber "a. 1891.
rag FLORIDA WAR
I insiie your attention. SIR. Chair.
man. 10 The pext place. 10 the War De-
parunent; aud What. Task, do we behold
i here J The larger portion of he army
proper concentrated Ia Florida; and
nuhnouE German recruits and Wild
sRvages ealisied 10 The Northwest, gone
OF gong 10 cooperate with our regular
iroaPs4S The suppression of Seminole
hossliiiirsi HoS did those hostihi-s
uIiglnstoi What cAuss4 tbc.B1 40
tails day we have not. to my FecDllec-
iion, had any Executive report detail
log tue causes which bad involved ul
IN war with these people. aud 70
which we nizht refer our eonk,ilaen:s
TOR the facts OF the case. The hrst
Teeo.leci TO have heard, except from
newspapers and rumor, was the report
vt bill from the Committee Of Ways
and Means. early Ia the first season I
was honosed with seat here, appro.
priuting Si'e0. ON fcr..r repre- sing nos.
Titles COMMENCED ny the Seminole
Indians" as declared oy the tile OF
the bill. The SUN was small, and I
voted The money with alscTiiy, a. The
avowed object was - stop fhe further
eHdsion OF blood. The President ap
proved the act VIC passed on the l4ih
Of January, 1885. From this little be.
ginning We have gone on. making OPP.
preparation after appropriation. for the
same avowed object. uaGl the rivulei
has arisen 70 mighty torrent, ihrea.en-
ing to bear the whole coaten.s OF your
Treasury into this gulf, this money-
sinking oceaar-ihe Florida war. Fl.
teen days after the hrsi appropriation,
NE granted S50O.O00 more. Ga the
lst Of April. 1896. $500. 900 more
were appropriated. This A.t was the
only one approved on Fooi,Ssy OF thai
year. On the 18th OF the same month.
as # faiisued by the repeated calls for
hundreds Of thousands, we passed a
bill voting q million. Not satisfied
with all hiss. We were called On Just
before the adjournment Tor So, iOD.-
O0O, ADD We gave il on tho Cd July.
1888 So much for the action of Con-
sress during the frs, session after the
commencement OF these hostililies.--
During the next session. we voted
$1,000. 0O0, and dnring the late extra
session (allbough we were not assem-
bled for that purpose) We granted the
additional sum Of $1,000, QUO. Thus,
10 less than two years, we have appTo-
priated lilo 100000 10 carry on the
war against The Seminole Indians, and
bow much more this Administration
will require 10 bring il to a close no man
can tell. Mr.. Chairman, should like
to know who we have been fighting.
and for what we have been fightins,
at so great cost Of money, and at the
sacrifice Of more lives by the climate.
! believe, SIR. than by the rille or toma-
hawk Of The enemy.
hcd IN the American Almanac for
lSJS. "a publication which gives the
flets from official documents with much
accuracy, that according 10 the report
OF MIR. Harris, the head of our Indian
Bureau. the entire population OF the
Seminole nation was estimated at 9, 600
souls. If we deduct half for females.
We shsil have but 300 msleE and IL
we divide these aud allow moaeIy for
old men and boys, who may be elsysed
as non-eombatants, Il viii leave for the
entire efficient military force of the
Seminole nation $50 men. Hence we
have already appropriated more than
SD, 900 to capture each warrior Of the
nltion. and they are yet rnnning at
large IN their forests. Whv, sir. the
British Government only offers l,O01L
for The scalp Of PApineau. and we have
already givea about four times az much
for that ofthe mesnest su5altern savage
that skuiks in a Florida hammock ~
Verify. itwonld have been good thina
81 The Government had acceded to tia,
said to have been proposed by former
COLLEAGUES Of mine. snd put az the Plo-
rlda war bsiween The Tcnnesseeans and
keniuckians 10 the lowest bidder.
But what have we been hghtiug he
Seminoles foc' For no other parpase
than 70 remove them from lie land
where they were born, and where the
bones Of their ancestors are buried. aud
20 place them where they " ilI be siran-
gersin astrange land; where they must
give az old habits and learn new ones:
where The evergreen foliage Of their
perpetual summers vail disappear, and
the fFosts and SHOWS 81 piaehinz win.
teTs must be endured; where their arts
ns fishermen vii be useless. and where
they must confhe themselves to the
pursuits q the chase and the iillsre Of
The earth for subsistence. Did SIC want
their lands for cultivation; No. sir. our
population was not pressing upon their
borders in dense masses. We were
poi oyeFfowing 10 TIA, direction. We
did not even knqw whether their eoun-
Try vas desirable Tor agricultural and
planting purposes Yourciiixsns. vour
typographical corps had never explored
Il
Mr. Chairma1, The whole coadncf Of
ihis Florida var has. 10 my opinion
violated the plaioesl dictates Of good
sense. - taught b. the history Of the
past You have embodied Large srmies.
% wat expense. and sent them iato 4
wilderness % hont Indians. before
knosing where they wers located. ~