The pilot and transcript. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1840-1841, 1840-09-11
COMMUNICATIONS.

COMMUNICATIONS.
Ma. EprroR;-Day after day we hear OF muir
dcrs committed upon the inhabitants of Florida,
Inv the Seminole Indians; armies aud generals
have been sent against them in vain, sill war is
mot ended-siill men, women and children are
|hutrhercd lay these vile miscrcauls with n-
luuity Many a gallant soldier and many a
brave officer have been either slain in this ugo-
T}ous war, or have returned home, broken down
inronsiiution from wddin@ in the swamps.-
! Millions of money have been spent in carlyin.
ON, and pretending to carry on this disgraceiui
AFFAIR, bat few have been taken, and even these.
like Oseola, mostly by base trearhcry. What is
to hc done? We at our homes, abusing. the
government Tor NOT sending more men, ana bet
ter officers 90 command them; government, ii -
true Is at iault-it is notorious that It's agents
have been specializing and enrching themselves
and friends, when the poor inhabitants of EIori-
Ia were in want and were bleeding un.c- the
knife and tomahaWll of the savage Officers
have been negligent on herduty, and the army
has been too small; bloodhounl lis have been tried
and found To he good for nothing. But will our
abusing the government do any good, when the
system of tactics are in themselves wrong?-
This IS, at once, evident to any acquainted
with the everglades of Florida; they are com
posed of bushes, long grass, mud, mire, and wa
ter sprinilcd over with little islands, where the
Indians rendezvous, hide their families, and raise
their crops of maize, pumpkins, sc. And here
we see at once the futility OF sending re gulars
into such swamps TO be shot down like dogs by
a hidden foe, born and raised among its mazes
and accustomed TO traverse thcm-acquaintcd
with the passiblc places, men who can glide with
ease and rapidity through places utterly impassi-
bic to the white man; it is, therefore perfectly
FOOLISH and ridiculous to send such troops against
the Scmnoles, situated As they are in sa lety frcn
the locality they Turk in. Bonaparte, with
host of veterans in an ''Okolonoic swamp"
would be as useless against an Indian enemy rs
4 gang OF school boys with snow balls
They wodid not see any thing to fight, while
! the parthiau mode of Indian warfare would har-
rass the army, hover around, shoot down sem
tinels, murder outpost, ambuscadc convovs cut
off supplies, and thus be dangerous enemy in
themselves, while their ally, the swamp fever.
would slay by the thousand, and even if the
regulars would take to bush fighting not being
use to it like backwoodsman, he would be out
ilanlled and surrounded, and every time soldier
raised from behind his log to reload (Which an
Indian does upon his back in the grass,) he
would be shot down to certainty? Starye
them out, destroy their crops, take their Gami-
lies, says one. Well do ii and he still has s.fish
| flesh and fowl" in abundance, besides the nutri-
eiOus arrow root which abounds in the ever
| glades. Take their wonderland then the Semi
nolcs would have nothing to after but the
| top-lnots OF the pale faces Then what is to be
done? Hear another humbug, MIR. Benton. q
belicvc) who it seems knew more about per dlems
than bush lighting, proposed to establish stock
ade forts where, say dozen families might live
and cultivate the land in the neighberhood, and
! whenever one Of them was killed while work,
ing in the fields, the rest to pursuc SO if would
| be necessary for or two to be killed TO
| get up hunt,-one or two in the hunt to use IN
| the armintS. l wonder il MIR. Benton is TO
take his family into the ba7rcHS of Florida. or
Whi lie prefer the Evergladcs2 And Kentucky
S brought forward as a proof of the efficacy of
| Ia; Al u.
manner Did the gentleman carefully pcruse
the early history of Kentucky WHY, it is one
| page OF blood, murder, fire and tt.yastaton-ap1
are the Seniuoles to be DESTROYED by rcpeti-
ton OF these horrors' Is peace to be bought at
such an eXpense' Are we TO send men. ,Vome,
aud children into the wids of this country to
be mastered? But deny the correctness of
this proof Kentucky and Florida are NOT SINH
lar, the rich soil of one and the sterile pine bar
rens Of the other, are not similar The clear.
open forests OF Kentucky, the scene of Western
Indian fights, and the matted, tangled boogy.
impossible swamps of Florida, the scene Of
| Southern massacrees, ale not similar Then
what IS to be done? What should have been
done long ago, and which would have ended the
war in three moa,hs, saved hundreds of lives.
and millions Of money? 10 is to fight Indian
'riM IadiaaH
Raise |, 500 ''rcd Skins" and scour the Ever
glades, and the Seminoles will socn walk with
But some will say, won't the Indians Join The
Seminoies. Yes, the Greeks, Chcrokees. and
others, whom the rascality of Government has
rendered justly hostile, will; but others will moi.
Let no frontier indians, but some distant tribe
say the PaWnees, Osa@es, Cumlnches Black
feet; charter two dozen steamboats, and 90 TN
the Missouri; equip the Indians with guns
knives, tomahawks and blanllets give them pre-
scnts which cost no little, say beads, caIicoes !
Sc for their wives and little ones; leave few
hundred Dragons to protect their families, and |
some provision TO support them; take the braves
down the river by the gulf, and up the Chata- |
hoochee and other streams, aud put the Sired de- |
wills" al what they delight in without the stimu-
lus of any reward which will be given them.
say 10 or 20 dollars scalp, and SO much more
for live Seminole, and so much sure when they
return home. | never read of an Indian vet who
would not be perfectly delighted with the idea;
why the Seminolcs themselves would be for
scalping each other in no time. IL is practicable
comparatively cheap, not in the least d tngerous.
and the only way upon Gods earth that this war
ever will be ended! Mark it! The friendly In
dians would not JOIN the Seminoes, for the fol-
owing reasons: They don't know their lam
guage; they love their distant homes too dearly:
their families are across the Mississippi; they
would have to support themselves; they would
have no ammunition; the scalp reward would
cease; the last certain payment would also cease;
they are too friendly TO the United States, and
are afraid OF them, too: besides, an Indian likes
to be upon the strong side; and finally, the Semi
mole country is not worth having, they would
not stay there if you would put them there 10
live. Thus, some $4,000 dollars would end
war which, if carried on any other way, will
cost millions, as il has done, and with the same
result; 1.-THE Seminolcs would be conquered In
a few months-none of our men lost-the war
finished, and the Indians sent home again.
RHOYAPASKA [