The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-05

regime dnlfndSSeu a large fortune Ill lands and built costly residence for himself in Mobile He died short time
 previous to the conquest by the Span iards, and when during the lombard ment many buildings were burned his
 was among the number.
 The British authorities immediately took possession of the milatary and
 trading posts in the interior which had
 been dismantled to some extent by the
 retiring French. Tombeckbee, which is now Jones Bluff. was delivered to Cap tain Thomas Fond on the 10th of Nov ember, and soon after a garrison was placed in Fort Toulouse, both of which commanded the civic and commercial
 intercourse with the Choctaw and the Creek Indians.
 During the spring of the following
 year there was gathered at Mobile one
 of the largest assemblages of Indian
 chiefs and warriors ever witnessed in our country. It comprised congress of
 the headmen of all the tribes south of the Ohio river, especially convened to meet Captain John Stewart the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the South The career of this official was full of thrilling romance, he being one of
 the few survivors of the fearful mas sacre of Fort Loudon. on the Tennessee river. his popularity among the savages
 being the cause of his escape. It was doubtless the most imposing pagent of
 Indian grandeur ever witnessed in the south, where more than 2000 chiefs ar
 rayed in their warlike costumes and bearing their fantastic equipments, marched to this great council For many days they were encamped within sight of the battlements of Fort Charlotte.
 A man of much eloquence and shrewd- ness, allied to great experience and knowledge of Indian character, his able speech exerted a profound influence upon his audience, and induced them to enter into a treaty with the British, which was formally signed by all the tribes, with the exception of the Six Lower Towns of the Choctaws, and some of their Creek neighbors. who opposed the plan, and chose to follow the banner of the French to the west of the Missis- sippi river Among these dissenting tribes were many of the scattered and nomadic villages of the Alabama and
 Mississippi Indians namely the Ten saws, Biloxis, Pascagoulas and Alabamas,
 who made a selection of a home in Louisiana, many of them finally drifting further westward Into Texas, and their descendants into Indian Territory, as a more congenial field for their wild na- lures.
 Liberal grants of land were made by the British authorities to induce colonsts to settle, but in sevaral instances the re-
 suits proved disastrous in an agricul- tural sense and very serious loss of life from epdemics those who survived nov ing elsewhere
 While all was comparative peace along the shores of the gulf and Governor Farmer passed his time in reading the classics and speculating In land, the storm of war was gathering in the dis | tant colonies, and the bugles and drums | of the American Revolution called to arms in defence of liberty; but on &C., ! count of the remoteness and peculiar en- vironment no response came to the ap | peal. The inhabitants of east Florida, l Pensacola and Mobile were united in in- l terests: they mostly sprang from the Latin races with no common ties to bind 1 them, and really had but little sympathy and less intercourse with those who sought their aid across the widely sepa- rated British colonies. Their commer- cial communication was by slow sailing vessels and their business dealings small in value besides this. they were numer- ically too weak, and from their part ex- perience felt sensbly the need of the guardian care and strong arms of the parent government Hence they did not desire independence sufficiently to as- sume the risk of bloody conflict to achieve it. Tn nationality, habits, temperament and trade they were as essentially differ ent as though they dwelt in a foreign country Accounts of the early strug gles of the Revolution reached them only to meet smile of derision at the "Bos- tonian Liberty Boys,'' as the patriots
 were then termed. Later on a few citi- zens presented a remonstrance against local grievances. and the overbearing acts of the new governor, Peter Chester, and sent it to the British ministry in London, where it was utterly ignored The mass of the people remained passive and could
 lAlx xx,tfl f1.A .tl, colonies, and even had they done so their efforts would have been futile, their military spirit crushed, and their free dom made subserviant to martial law.
 Attempts were made by Capt James Willing of Philadelphia and Oliver Pol lock, the agent of the Continental Con gress, to win them from their allegiance. They came by way of New Orleans to Mobile and cautiously distributed many copies of the Declaration of Indepen- dence, with no practical results what ever. After many narrow escapes Cap tain Willing was apprehended by the British officers and was kept closely con fined. a portion of the time in irons in the stone keep of Fort Charlotte, at one time barely escaping death on the gal lows in the plaza in front of the fortress. At the close of the year 1779 he was ex- changed for Colonel Hamilton of De- troit British officer upon whom our government had retal1ateu TOT the cruei treatment of Captain Willing.
 Though the Inhabitants of our ex- treme southern section failed to partici pate in the glorious struggle for inde pendence and fancied themselves secure in their cline of the myrtle and orange, their dreams of quietude was destined soon to be broken; nor were they to be exempt from the ravages of war attend ing that mighty upheaval of patriotism Spain took part with France in the hos tilities against England, and ordered her American subjects to join in the conflict Galvez a gallant and brilliant officer in later years the viceroy of Mexico, was governor of Louisiana. and he promptly seized the English establishments at Baton Rouge and at Fort Butte, on Bayou Manchae, following which event he in- vested Mobile with an army of 2000 men, finely equipped and provided with artil- lery, coming in vessels from New Or leans and landing at Choctaw Point, | whence they advanced to the assault upon | Fort Charlotte, which was garrisoned by | only 80 regular troops, reinforced by a l considerable number of the inhabitants l who had taken refuge within the massive | stone walls, determined not to yield with | out a struggle. The Red Cross at the | ton of the flag staff responded In stern | defiance to the summons to surrender. | Galvez enacted his batteries, six In num- | her. with heavy artillery, to the north | and west of the fort The houses inter | yening were burnt and heavy cannon | ade lasted for several days, and upon the | 14th of March, 17S0, breach in the walls | compelled the commander to capitulate. | As compliment to the gallantry of the