Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1895-11-20

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from the fort, which at this spot woul,
be at the centre of their intercourse ant
nation, in the way to their huntinl
ground, and so near to the body of th
nation, as would enable the troops
all times to fall suddenly upon them
and to expel them from the country il
necessary. In thirty hours, from thi
place by water: any of the towns Nigh
be attacked, or in forty eight, by land
All necessary stores bould be exported
by water from any part of the district oil
Washington to this place. These rea
sons determined the General to make
selection of this place. The Governor
approved of them. The place was called
South West Point by Gen. Sewer.
Blockhouses and stockade fort was
built near the spring. The time of the
six weeks men being about to expire,
they were ordered to be detained till
the arrival of the new levies, which
were raised to supply their places, and
the General received special directions
to MAINTAIN in all events the position
he occupied. About this time the In
dians made an attack upon Byron 8
house. The flames of war began to
spring up in all.parts of the frontiers to
which the savages dared to venture.
And Capt. Childress' company of six
weeks men applied to the General for
their discharge.
Gov. Blount, in the course of his
correspondence with the Cherokee
chiefs and others, had got into the full
possession of one fact, that whenever
it was proposed to the Cherokees 10
join the United States against the
Shawnees, they manifested the utmost
indignation at it. They had some init.
nation in the spring of 1799, of the
proposal intended to be made at the
treaty, which was to be held at Nash
vile in the summer, and received it
with so much disgust, that the Bloody
Fellow, who had lately returned from
visiting the President at Philadelphia,
and was there made General Eskaqua,
was afraid for the future to disclose
his wishes on that head. For, said
Gov. Blount in his letter to the secre-
tary of war, he has consequence, as a
leader, no longer than whilst he fol-
lows the wishes of the young warriors,
and either INDUCES, abets or heads
them, in the execution of their wishes,
or proposes only what is acceptable to
them.
In the month of November, 1892,
Gov. Blount explained to the secretary
of war the causes of the unceasing hos
tilities of the Indians. He remarked
that the evils inflicted upon the settlers
before the Spanish conferences at Pen.
sacola and Natchez, which he referred
to, could not be charged on the Span
iards, as very few of them had hap
pened since Watts returned from PEN
sacola, but may be accounted for from
Indian education, that all national
honors are acquired amongst them by
the shedding of blood, consequently
all who wished for national homer will
shed the blood of the white people, as
Indians no longer kill Indians, the
ancient practice when the principle
was established. Another reason for
these depredations was, the white peo.
pie, the greatest of all rascals, and the
half breeds, who are numerous, living
amongst the Creeks and Cherokees, the
greater part of them were traders and
encouraged the Indians to steal horses
from the citizens of the United States,
to the end that.--they might purchase
them. If they took horses and were
pursued they killed in their own de-
fense. As soon as the Indians returned
into the nation with their horses, those
who encouraged the stealing of them
became the purchasers, and shortly
afterwards, knowing the quarter
whence they were taken, carried them
out of the nation in different direc-
ton, and sold them with great profit.
The want of government both in the |
Creeks and Cherokees, is such, that all
the chiefs in either nation can neither
restrain nor punish the most worthless
fellow in it, for violation of existing
treaties, let the enormity of it be ever
SO great or evident, nor if demanded
by the United States, dare they deliver
him up to be punished. The Indians
are divided into clans or families, and
it is law amongst them that each
clan shall protect and take satisfaction
for all injuries offered to the person of
each individual of it, whatever has
been his offense, except that of killing
an Indian of another clan, and then
if the injured clan, or any of its men,
bers, take satisfaction it is we'll and
the matter ends. The better to explain
how this clannish law operates. the
following facts may be resorted to;
the brother of the chief called the
Bloody Fellow, had killed white man;
Cameron, the British superintendent
demanded him, and upon his being de-
livered had him put to death. In
short time afterwards the Bloody Fell
low put to death the Indian who de-
livered or caused his brother to be de-
livered, to Cameron.
The massacres and depredations of
the Indians were not charageable. said
Gov. Blount, to encroachments on their