Norwich bulletin., 1913-05-02
AMERICAN INDIANS
oscEoLA.

An Indian Chief-light of skin. sle- | der, graceful, handSome-stood con- l fronting a hundred savages with his ! drawn bow. The threatened men were | chiefs and sub- chiefs of the Seminole nation Brave they were and fierce warriors. Yet they shrank before the | leveIed arrow of this one leader. For It was we'll known he never twanged
 bowstring nor pulled trigger without killing, While the Seminoles hesitat- 1 ed he spoke;
 No treaty shall be signed,' said he, which robs us of our land. The man who sets his name to such paper dies at my hand,''
 The speaker was As-se- ho-lar Cmeaning Black Drink.'') The name has been shortened in history to "Os-
 ceola-" His mother was daughter of
 a Creek Indian chief His father was
 William Powell, an Englishman. Os-
 ceola was born near Chattachoochee,
 Ga, in 1904, When he was a mere
 child his mother fled from her English
 husband. taking her son with her, and never pausing in her flight until she reached her fathers tribe in southern Georgia Whether because her hus-
 band had maltreated her or for some other cause. she had a mortal hatred for all white men, and she made her son hate them even more bitterly than did she Both she and Osceola spoke English as readily as their own lan- guage-
 A Boy Warrior.
 The Creek tribe which OsceoIa and his mother joined went to war in 1918 with the United States. Osceola was only fourteen years old, yet so valiant was he and already so brilliant a com manGer that he was chosen as one of the tribes sub-chiefs. He and his people fought in vain against the gov ernment troops and were forced to re- treat southward into the "Everglades'' of Florida. There they joined the Seminoles. Micanopy, the Seminole sachem was old and of peaceful nature So the boy, Osceola, quickly became a real war chief of the SeminoIes. For the next few years he went from tribe to tribe of the nation" preach ing against the white men and pre- pairing the savages for war. Then came the first great clash with Uncle Sam.
 The government decided to ship the whole Seminole nation west of the Mississippi and to pay them a norni- nal sum for their Florida land A few chiefs were induced on March g. 1882, TO sign treaty to this effect. OSceola in fury, denounced such an act and lashed his people to rebellion. Then It was that he called the council and threatened to shoot dead the first man who should agree to leave Florida. Micanopy was as wax in the hands of the local Indian agent. But he feared to disobey Osceola more than he dreaded the power of the white men. The agent saw that Osceola was the real power in Florida, so he spread be- fore the young savage a copy of the treaty, begging him to sign it. By way of answer. OsceoIa drove his knife through the paper. The agent threat ened him with the wrath of President Jackson. former conquercr of Florida. Osceola retorted:
 T fear Jackson no more than I fear you"
 The conference broke up in disor- der. Osceola's hatred of the whites was increased tenfold when they cap tured his young wife and sold her as a slave. He himself was captured but escaped from jail inside of two days. After that. it was war 10 the death. Osceola looked on the Indian agent as agents body was found, pierced by fourteen bullets. Major Dade, with no soldiers, was marching inland from Tampa when Osceola. and a band of braves flung themselbes on the troops and slaughtered all but three of them. Then with an inferior force he marched against General Clinch and 1000 soldiers. He mart1aled his little army like an expert tactician. The Indians held off the troops until all their ammunition was gone, then retreated to safety. Osceola himself is said to have slain 40 white men in that fight.
 An Act Of Treachery.
 Battle followed battle, with varying results. At times Osceola used all the willy tricks of his race, pretending to agree to the governments wishes; then, as soon as he was strong enough, breaking out in some new section. When hard pressed he and his men The Everglades is a huge, rnarshy Florida lake, 50 miles wide by 1SO miles in length. dotted with inpene- trable islands and altogether a hope less maze to one not used to it's many hiding places. Thence Osceola would dash forth on his murderous raids Yet, at his worst, he would never per init his followers to harm woman or a child.
 At last. in 1887, temporary peace was patched up with the government. | Under flag of truce and a promise | of safety Osceo1a went by invitation | to a conference in General Jesup's | camp. There he was treacherously seized, carried to St. Augustine and thrown into prison. Thence he was moved to Fort Mouitrie. at Charleston, l s. c.
 Heartbro11en, hopeless. the captive few months. Then he refused food and practically starved himself. He died January 30, 1888. He was but thirty three vars -~old at the time of his death, but had made his name known and dreaded from one end of America to the other.