The sun., 1897-06-20

5ohi.iuicb MbIB suspicious OF inc blhVe-nOlu1nR
Greeks, and refused to enter into alliance with
to secure the fugitive slaves who had become
failures to coerco the Indians moved the Prosi.
dent dent, to order peEemptorily the Seminole, TO
children Of tho slavecatchers had como to re-
gard tho whole negro population OF the Semi.
iSSnGS fnSaHS STS snd hsS a' Ss
catching. intensified the diffiSuites sur surround %
this time, IL Is estimated, the whole Seminole
population amounted to about 5000 souls,
but no statistics whatever arc given Of the black
posed to have % been t at least sSoo. I It Is also also
worthy, of remark hcre that among tho Fed
ward tho scminoles was Cen Ciincb, Who blow
up Blount's Fort in 1916. His convictions had
y0nins eight years % OF Indian Warfare, i'm in which which
ho always bore conspicuous and valiant part
Tho second Seminole. war was provoked by
woman. osceola went 10 Fort King with his
trade, bis wife was seized as a fugitive slave.
Osceola became frantic with rnge, says the his.
torian, but was instantly seized and put In irons,
while his wife was hurried away to slavery.
Thompson released him. The red man vowed
Especially great was his anger at Gen. T6omp:
son. By his tireless efforts 0sceola succeeded
hi SS tho of so
Dade and his command while on route to Fort
Brooke and the assassination of Gen. Thomp
Himself Indeed, hs was ft TO p ppartcpste In both
events, but was detained in the Major Dade
6oSpsoa a'fEE fEEo OF HSos fs nsten
aroused By these two events, and soon tho long.
fierce, and bloody second Seminole war was In
fuu swing. Osceola was the life OF the war on
the Seminole side.
The story OF osceUla is well known to every
echoolboy. He was resourceful as well as
TerOC1OuS warrior. but IL should not be over
looked that he was half-breed, combining the
ana o the OF
he had been robbed of his wife by slave catch.
ers and imprisoned by the man he assassinated
outrage. A man who will not fight to the lay
ing down Of his life, TO protect his wife from
outrage and loss OF freedom Is worse than cur.
The Federal forces operating against osceola
IN In Florida were commanded commando 6y no fewer than
ssa as ncS
Taylor. but he proved match for all OF them.
and was captured only at the last BY treachery
agreement to capitulAte had been proposed, and
Oct. % 1887 the parties to 1t met at Fort I'ey-
osceola and bis party expected to meet meet n. an es.
cort under Gen. Hernandez at that point. After
an exchange OF courtesies, instead OF preparing
to march, Gen. Hernandez read from q paper
signed by Gen. Jessup the following question.
addressed 10 Osceola:
negroes taken from the citizensi Why have you
not surrendered them already, as promised by
ts nDSD f bs5 FG hE' Hye The shes of
Osceoa showed the prufoundest astonish-
ment when these questions We're propoundod to
him. and turning to Co-Hadjo. said to him in his
own language:
You must answer. 1 am choked."
AT this moment force Of troops surrounded
the Indians, made them prisoners, and marched
them to ST. Augustine, where they i'm
prisoned at Castle, San Augustine. 1t is said
that 0sceola 9 band was made up about equally
Of red and black men. A delegation OF Indians
under Micnnopy, who came in under flag OF
Osceoln and his band, were likewise treacher-
ously seized and thrown into prison. Osceola
ana @ MS d teoT s psonsrs were sent 70 70 GhaFes
OH Sullivan 8 Island, in the shadow of whose guns
he now sleeps
But the treacherous seizure OF Osceola and
Micanopy did not terminate the war; far from
Il. It was prosecuted with the greatest vigor
under Wildcat and other chiefs.
Tho Indians and negroes captured were sent
to the Indian Territory, under Il mutual agree
ment; but persistent efforts were made 10 sep
arate the blacks from the rest men for the pur
pose of enslaying them, and all the executive
and judicial forces o: the Government were
directed TO that end, but the Semnole5 stood
out against the wrong, and 1t failed Of consum-
nation as whole.
Gen. Cooper announced the cessation OF hos.
ulities on Aug. II. 1913 after period of eight
years. Joshua X. GlGdings, In his rare work,
'The Exiies Of Florida" thus sums up the re.
suits of the second Seminole war:
Most OF the troops were now withdrawn from
Florida. Gen. Worth retired from the com.
rnand, and the Florida war was SUPPOSED to
have ended. 1t had been commenced with
determination TO rc-enslave the cNies 'as the
black tugitives were styled. That object was.
August, 1888. Probably one-half OF them had
been born free: the others had themselves
capped from slavery. To effect this object Si0,
100000 were supposed TO have been expended.
pubic treasury for the Chs avencnt of each per-
son, and the Lives Of at least three white men
black man. The deterioration Of CUR national
morality was beyond estimate. and tho dis
grace OF our nation and Government are matters
incapable of computation.
OF course other historians OF the Seminole
war, such as Fairbanks and Campbell. do not
look at the matter from Mr. Giddings's point
OF view. But the documentary proof is over
whelning that the var was provoked by and
waged in the interest OF the ,laveholder:. and
tha; great injustice done tho Indians and
irreparable wrong inflicted upon tho blacks
who in various ways lad become part OF The
From time to time during the hostillties, from
1885 to lS43, parties Of Indians and black per-
the Cherokee lands. west OF the State Of Ar.
KANSAS Persistent efforts were made by claim
ants OF fugitive slaves to separate these slaves
from their friends, the Senlinolcs and in too
many instances these efforts were successful,
but in the end very considerable number OF
them found themselves safe in the Cherokee
country, and expected to take their chances with
the Scminoies in the provision supposed 10 have
out that no separate provision had been made
for the Seminoles and their black allies by the
Government. The Scm!noics were naturally
them in the Creek country and distrustful OF
the Creek shareholders, who began at to
show treaChcry toward the Seminole blacks.
The dissatisfaction over the condition OF az
fairs became so great that petitions to the Gov
ernment were inccssant 10 right the injustice
done and the breach OF several treaties by
which the Seminoles had been induced to leave
their homes in Florida. This discomfort led to
the signing OF treaty, March %, 1919, by the
terms OF which the Seminocs were to be en-
titled 10 settle in n body or separately. as they
elected, in any part of the Creok lands, and be
subject 10 their tribal laws. A studied
effort was made In this treaty to avoid any
reference whatever TO the black Seminoles. In
1916 the SeminOlCs and the Creeks, separated
for nearly u century, were agaln united.
The black Seminolos were dissatisfied nd
dstrustfu Of the condition Of affairs that, under
the leadership Of Negro Abraham. they deter.
mined 10 cinch their freedom by leaving tho
United States and going to Mexico. They be.
gan their march TO tho land OF the AZtccs on
Sept 10, 1850. being accompanied by Wildcat
and many other SenIinoles, who refused to be
separated from their old allies, and after many
yicisstudcs, at last found themselves beyond
the Jurisdiction OF the United States and tho
constant dread of the, aggressive slave power.
The final history of this heroic band Of black
men, who had contcnded for their freedom for a
century, and ut last found IL In the land OF the
MontcZumaS, IA wrapped in mystery, but that