Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-02-13

whose name survives in our most fashion
able street, Oglethorpe came up the Sa
vannah river to select a site for the set
Element. The incidents of the visit
and its results were romantic
The previous June-that is the
very month of the issue of the charter-an
Indian princess, COnsaponakeeso, then
called Mary MusgrOye, from her husbands
name, and afterwards Mary BOSomWorth,
from her second husband, had settled, at
the wish of the Creeks and by consent OF
| Governor johnson, of South Carolina, on
this very bluff at Yamacraw, and had eS-
tablished here trading house. She had
now lived here seven months. The time
! and circumstances of her settling here
seem prOvidential. OglethOrpe was al
ready ON his way hither, unaware of the
| condolences that were to welcome him.
The Yamacraw tribe, whose home it was,
was an offshoot of the Lower Creeks, and
/ their Chief was TOmOchichi, a
/ singUlarly sensible, frank and faithful
old man, who had, it appears,
been years before banished from the ma
tive home, on the head waters of the Oc-
| mulgee, and had settled. with his partisanS,
on this nearest highland to the sea. This
outpost of the Greek nation and this native
wife of the English trader, both favOrably
disposed to the whites, had met here, I'M
| conscious of the coming of colony so
soon among them. Fortunately, their
consent, so necessary, was easily obtained,
and Oglethorpe had the satisfaction to
make, without delay, acceptable terms for
| his colony.
The party returned to Beaufort on the
| oath of January, and on the next Sunday
| the Rev. Lewis Jones preached to the
| emigrants in their camp, at Beaufort,
their own chaplain, DIR. Herbert, eXchang-
ing services with him in the parish church.
| ''There was great resort of gentlemen
and their families from the neighbOrhOod
| to welcome the newcomers. and unite
with them in the gladness of the occasion
After a few days further rest, the colo
nists embarked in a sloOp and some PLAN
tation boats for the Savannah river, which
| they entered on the night of January 31st,
! and on the next afternoon, Thursday, Feb
ruary LIST February 18th, s. J, landed on
| the bluff of 4amacraw, and were received
with kindness and welcome by TOmOchi-
| chi and his tribe. The formal ratification
of the terms agreed upon was made in
| speeches by OglethOrpe and TOmOchichi;
and it may well be thought that the inter-
/ change of pledges of faith and trust be-
| tween two such fraternal spirits required
| but little time and no hesitation. Four
| huge tents were pitched under four pine
trees, and these temporary habitations
were the humble beginning of Savannah.
| The contemporary records furnish in
| teresting details of what followed in the
| next three months, but they are too long
| to quote. In June OglethOrpe went to
| Charleston, to meet the South Carolina
| House of Assembly, and he then thanked
| the authorities and citizens as well for the
many and important services they had
| done his cOlOnistS, at the same time con-
| graduating that province on the safety to
| its southern border by the interpOSitiOn of
| his colony between it and the SpaniardS.
| On his return to Savannah the MicOs
| and leading Chiefs, nearly fifty in num-
Der, representing eight tribes Ofthe Lower
| Creeks, awaited him there, and talk
/ was held in one of the newly erected
| houses. Ouechachumpa and TOmOchichi
| were the chief speakers. The latter'S
| speech was full of simplicity and poetic
| feeling, and as cOnfiding as it was elO-
| quent. "When these white men came |
| feared that they would drive us away, for
we were weak; but they promised not to
modest us. We wanted corn and other
things, and they have given us supplies,
| and now of our small means we
| make them presents in return. Here is a
| buffalo skin, adorned with the head and
feathers of an eagle. The eagle signifies
| speed, and the buffalo strength. The Eng
| lish are swift as the eagle and strong as
| the buffalo. Like the eagle they flew
| hither over great waters, and like the
| buffalo nothing can withstand them. But
| the feathers of the eagle are soft, and sig
| Nifty kindness, and the skin of the buffalo
is covering, and signifies protection. Let
| these. then, remind them to be kind and
| protect u.s.
This conference resulted in a treaty,
| which was sent to England and ratified
| by the trustees on October 18th. The In
dams yielded to the whites the lands on
| Savannah river as far as the Ogeechee,
l. 1AffN
| the Savannah and the Altamaha, extend
| ing up to the head of tide-water, including
| the islands, except Ossabau, SapelO and
St. GATHERINGS, which they reserved for
hunting and fishing, and also the bluffs
| next north of Yamacraw, which they kept
as a camping place on their visits to the
| whites.
Immediately after the treaty was made
| OglethOrpe established the first outpost of
the colony, as a defence from Spanish in
| vasion, on the Ogeechee river, at Fort
| Argyle, forty miles from Savannah, and
| garrisOned it by Captain Mcpherson and
| his rangers, while ten families were sent
up from Savannah to settle there and cul-
tivate the lands adjacent.
On the 9TH of July the settlers, previous
to locating their lots, held a devotional
service at daybreak, in which they thanked
God for their ''goOdly heritage" The
wards and tythings were named, each OF
| the four wards consisting of four tythings,
! and each tything of ten houses
and a lot was given to each
| freehOlder. One square was laid
out. and named johnson Square. The
necessary civil and legal arrangements
were then made for body polite, and so
| the life of the colony began.
On January %, 1874, Oglethorpe started
from ThunderbOlt in a covered boat with
a dozen or more attendants, on his first
visit down the coast by the inward pass
ace. On landing on st. SimOn's Island, he
named Jekyll Island after his friend Sir
Joseph Jekyll, and then, ascending the
Ogeechee to Fort Argyle, the party 'lay
in a house and on beds for the first time
since they left ThunderbOlt.' This start
ling name was early given to spot three
or four miles from Savannah, on account
of an awful electric explosion, the effects
of which were perceived in a spring OF
sulphurOus taste and smell. ''Adhuc tenet
nOnlen iRdelibiie."
On the It'll of March, this year, there
arrived at Charleston, en- route to GeOr-
ola. new body of settlers, the Salzburg-
ers. as they were called, being banished
PrQtestants from SqJzbUrg, in Bavaria,
who had been offered by Oglethorpe d
home in Georgia. They were under the
care of the Baron Philip George Frederick
Won Reck, together with their pastors
John Martin BOlZinS and Israel Chris
tian Gronan, and they reached Savannah
on the 18th of March. Oglethorpe ha6
met them as he was about to leave Eng
land, ''but out of good will to the Salz
burgers, he put off his voyage for some
davs. and was resolved to see them set
tied before he went" He; therefore, re
turned to Savannah with them, and on
the 18th conducted them to a suitable
spot up the river, which they themselves
chose, and where they established a set
Element and called it EbeneZer.
Oglethorpe then, taking with him a ret
inue of Indians, proceeded to Charleston
on his way to England, rightly supposinl
that the taking of these natives with hin
would be mutual pleasure and benefit t.
the Indians and the English. The In
dams where TOmochichi and his wifi
Scenawki and his nephew TOona
howl; Hillisplli, ApakOwtski, Slim
alchi, Sintouchi and Hingruthi, Chief
of the Creeks, and Umphichi, with thei
interpreter. They embarked on the Aid
: borough man-of-war Tuesday, May
1874. On their arrival i'll England, jun
IS, 0g!ethorpe informed the trustees, VIII
gave a grand entertainment to him AMI
his companions and heard his interesting
story. They voted their unanimous thanks
to him for the ability, zeal, activity ant
perseverance with which he had conduct
ed the affairs of the settlement, and as
sured him that they should ever hold hi