The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-04-09
oscEoLA.
"Reminiscences of the Famous Semi
mole Warrior-The Treaty
Assassination,

"Reminiscences of the Famou Semi
mole W~nrrior-The Treaty
Assassination.
A Jacksonville, Fla, correspondent
of The Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette
writes: William Kendrick, of this city
is 62 years of age, and was born
and raised in Florida. His birthplace
was on the Suwanee river, within a
mile of where the great Indian chief
Osceola was born and lived. He con-
tends that the great chief whipped for
years the United States government in
every battle he fought during The Flor
ida Indian war. He regards Osceola as
the equal, if not the superior, of Napo-
leon. or any other of the great generals
of his day, in strategy and proves.
He was a half-breed. His father was
a man from Georgia by the name OF
Powell. The great chief was known by
the name of Powell until the day of the
meeting at Fort King for the purpose of
signing the treaty with Thompson, the
United States commissioner, to transfer
their lands and move to Indian Terri
tory. When the great chief, or king, of
the tribe had signed the treaty, follow
ed by all the s~ubchiefs, Powell was asked
to aifix his name, as he was regarded as
a subchief. or an Indian of distinction,
for his rowes in the hunt, as well as
his bravery and influence with the tribe,
and his fine personal appearance, When
called by the commissioner Powell step
ed forward, took the pen, threw it to
the ground, drew his hunting-knife. and
plunged it into the heart of the great
chief of the nation, and then, turning
in the twinkling of an eye, buried it in
the heart of the United States commits
sioner.
The subchiefs were as greatly surpris-
ed at Osceola's act as were the United
States authorities present. Powell had
taken the precaution to have in striking
distance several hundred of the bravest
warriors of the tribe. who, upon signal.
made their appearance, and as he walk
ed out of the tent in which the treaty
was being signed he mutilated it with
the same knife that he had taken the
lives of the two principal actors in pro-
jecting the treaty. His braves met him
and subsequently declared him Osceola,
the great chief of the Seminoles.
Kcndrick told me that at this time
Osceola was only % years of age. He
contends that the Indian has always
been misrepresented; that, instead of
being the savage beast he has always
bcen represented to be, he was always
kind to his prisoners, and prevented to
the extent he could the scalping and
mutilation of the dead and the making
of wal on women and children. As an
evidence of his friendly disposition to
the whites, Mr.. Kendrick says that after
he had assassinated the two principal
actors in the signing of the treaty he
would not permit his warriors to modest
the garrison of the United States
troops. who were wholly in his power,
but said to them on his departure:
Leave me and my people TO the wilds
of my country, and 0 will never
have to complain of Osceola and his
!, people: but, il you attempt to hunt II,
down and capture us by force, we vii,
fight you to the bitter end
t Another evidence of the capture O
. Osceola was shown in the massacre o
| Mai. Dade and his command. Dade
l was sent with q detachment from For
King against the Indians. and to oper
COMMUNICATION DctN Ccii Ioib hiug tuI
Tampa, on the Gulf coast. He was
| man greatly loved by Csceola, as they
, had often been on the hunt together
Osceola attempted to evade the contest
2 even to the extent of arousing the sus
I picion of his loyalty to the tribe
When he ordered the attack on the de
. tachment commanded by Maj. Dade, il
the commencement of the battle, hi
raised his gun and said to n of hi
chiefs:
{ Il am now going to kill one of m,
! best friends, and a man l love"
' At the crack of his rifle Mai. Dadt
fell dead and Osceola threw down hi
G gun and never fired another shot dur
ing the remainder of the engagement
Another evidence Of his disposition t.
@ conduct a civilized warfare was the fac
that when the last United States sol
II der was shot down, as none propose,
} to surrender, the carnage ceased, ant
G not a soldier was scalped, and it is ais,
k a fact undisputed that several day
after the engagement, when Il detach
ment from Fort King went to the bat
h field to bury the dead. not a body ha'
IS been mutilatcd, and, further. tina
i $4,000 in gold and silver was remove
. from the pockets OF the DEAD. "hef
will one find a like occurrence on an
l. battlefield in our recent civil warp 1t
l. said that Osceola became alarmed at tn
close of the battle and reiterated rapit
ly, but it is on record that he did nc
If leave the battlefield until he disposed {
G all the implements of war and transpol
ID %tation, sinking the wagons and canno
n carriages in a quicksand lake neal til
,r battlefield. so that if they had time fc
i this work they certainly had time t
it rifle the pockets of the dead IN the ba
d tlefleld.
l. Mr.. Hendrick afiims that the captu1
of Osceola under the white flag and h
il. incarceration in prison at Sullivan
island will ever remain a dark spot {
IS the escutcheon of the United State
III After his capture Osceola said to h
is captors that he had during the wal
it Florida tried to conduct it Upon tt
* principles of civilized warfare. He sai
that he had never made war upc
is women and children, but said: mo
you have made me Il prisoner, / advi
le you to look out for the safety of yo'
le women and children"
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