Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1904-06-04

negro. Garcia, was their leader. The
Chattshoochee and Flint form the
Apalachicola at the Florida and Geor- |
gia boundary, and the fort commanded
the Apalachicola and Flint and was
a refuge for runaway slaves and
menace to the border settlers. 1t was
on a high BLUM projecting into the
river, deep swamp in the rear, and a
creek above and below A parapet If
teen feet high and eighteen feet thick
and nine pieces of artillery supple
mented the natural advantages. There
was plenty of ammunition in the two
magazines and the British had left
5000 stands of arms. But the result
showed how feeble are such defenses
in the hands of men who do not know
how to use them.
Who were the aggressors may never
be positively known. We have only
our own side of the story. Colonel
Clinch, United States army, at Camp
Crawford, above, on the ChattahOo-
chez, was expecting provisions, stores
and artillery from Apalachicola Bay,
and had instructions to reduce the fort
in case 1t opposed their passage He
started down stream in boats with 116
men, in two companies, under Major
Muhlenburg and Captain Taylor, en-
countering on the way a slave-hunting
party of Greek Indians under Major
Mcintosh, on their way to capture the
| negroes for their owners. These were
| joined by another party, and the In
dams agreed to cooperate with Clinch.
Information was received that Garcia
and a Choctaw chief had been down
the bay and claimed to have killed
some Americans and captured a boat
| Clinch's force landed near the fort, the
| Indians were placed to prevent com
munication and an irregular fire kept
up, to which the besieged replied inef-
fectively with artillery. 1t is said that
some days before some Indian chiefs
had demanded the forts surrender
and that the commander said he ha6
been put in command by the British
and intended to sink any American
vessels trying to pass, and would blow
up the fort when unable to hold 1t
after which he had hoisted the rec
flag with the British jack above Thi
story may have been invented or en-
larged, for Americans under the cir
cumstances would be disappointed a
lacking an excuse for attack, and Nc
Intosh was on slave hunt
| Inc vessels DelOW came up W1IHl
four miles, a place was chosen for
battery opposite the fort, the force
of Muhlenburg and Taylor weres ais
placed on the west bank, Mcintosh an
the Indians with some Americans IL
vested the rear and on the morning G
the oath two gunboats took position /
front of the battery and fire wa
opened on them from a thirty-tw
FOUNDER in the fort, the reply to whic
was so successful that speedily ht
shot exploded one of the forts mag'
zines, after which the defense was IN
practicable. The garrison of about IL
, | electives included about twenty-hy
!, | Choctaws. OF the women and chi
, dren, over 200 in number, not mol
than fifty escaped the explosion II
besiegers suffered no loss The affa
: reads like a fight In the Philippines
, A council of Indians condemned Ga
= cia and the Choctaw chief to death f.
G the previous murder of the American
The Spanish negro fugitives were d
q livered to the Spanish agent, the Anne
2 lean to Colonel Clinch for their ow
ers A Seminole party coming dow
c the river to help the fort heard of
r fall and went home.