The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-17

Sometime later, Wildcat was again taken and sent to Arkansas. NEGROES AND INDIANS. The negroes-principally fugitiyes slaves, kept in slavery by the Indians, were not used as fighters. but they were even more brutal than the In-4 dians themselves. They followed them In bands and generally completed the destruction if there was anything left to destroy. They robbed or stripped and mutilated the dead. A negro nan, sd John Caesar, veritable tiger In
 that region. commanded a company of negroes and was fully as much. if not more dreaded than the Indians. Capt. John M. Hanson. commanding company of volunteers, pursued and round Caesar and his band in the midst or cane plantation. sitting around fire, eating cane, laughing uproarously and having g. good time. It was an ex- ceedingly nice task for the troops to get near enough 10 shoot Creeping on all fours, they slowly approached. Several times they saw Caesar com-s mand silence, but such profound sic lence followed that the negro believ-l ed his ears had deceived him. and turn ed again to the fire Hanson fired, penetrated his brain, killing him. This shot was the signal for a general fn- siiade. Very many negros were killed, and Caesars band wah broken up have said that Osceola had no chiefs blood in him. King Paine
 lkiiled in isi2). old Micanopy and the
 Bowlegs" family were the rightful
 head chiefs.
 The war had been so expensive ana
 disastrous that the Government was | anxious to terminate 1t, even if it wera necessary to recede from it's determin- ation to send all the savages west "A large majority had been captured and sent away. but there was still Sa band in south Florida which seemed .impos- sible to catch. So it was agreed to allow them to remain. provided they would not Do troublesome. The In- dians promised, yet therc was no peace. Friction was felt between the two races from timo to time.
 Between 1854 and 1857, the Indians under Billy Bowiegs" drove in the surveyors and killed several settlers. Billy was descended from King Paine and was hereditary chief and a person of much influence with his people. He was very fond of whiskey. and would get drunk on the slightest -provocatton. He could neither read, write nor cf- pher, but knew how to write his name. He carried piece of chalk in his pocket and left his autograph all over the pine woofis.
 The Indians excuse for thetr laWless behavior was the same old story. Set-. tiers and surveyors had killed their hogs and otherwise molested their property. volunteer army was turn cd loose upon them and large numbers were captured and sent to the reserva- ton.
 There are now between one hundred and fifty and two hundred Indians in the Everglades A warrior named ''Tigertaif' is at the head of the rem nant who are conducting themselves well. t
 T do not know the date of Billy Bowlegs' death. but with that event the last of the Seminole chiefs of Flor ida passed away, the sanguinary drama of the Seminole War was closed and the curtain rung down.
 The accompanying picture was pre- scented to me by Captain and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel John H. Winder. IT. s. A. afterward Major General c. s. A. and Provost Marshal of Richmond The picture was taken in Coloners Winder's tent about 1870. Billy has on the Colonels sword and had to be made drunk for the occasion.