know that life in its weaker yet divine force that flows through the inferior creation. He will find the other book of God of which he is the appointed interpreter is in closest sympathy with this earlier but lesser revelation. That begins with a description of nature as it emerged from nothing by the voice of God, and as it assumed form and comeliness in the heavens and on the earth under his creative guidance. It closes with a description of the same nature as it shall re-emerge from a new chaos of fire under the decree of the same Son of God, and shall be fashioned into new heavens and new earth. It is full of descriptions of her loveliest aspects-the primeval perfect garden, the garden of Canaan, and "the statelier Eden come again." The highest notes of the Psalmist's harp ring with praises of nature; the grandest visions of the prophets are painted with its scenery; the sweetest sayings of the Saviour are full of its fragrance. Thus discerning the unity of the kingdoms of nature and grace, and "the fullness of Him that filleth all in all" pervading both systems with his ineffable infinitude, he will be able to say with far more profound and spiritual significance than he felt who first uttered it: "Be mute who will, who can, Yet I will praise Thee with impassioned voice; In such a temple as surrounds my soul, Reared for thy presence; therefore, am I bound To worship here and everywhere, as one, From unreflecting ignorance preserved, ART. II.-THE FLORIDA MAROONS. The Exiles of Florida; or, The Crimes committed by our Government against the Maroons, who fled from South Carolina and other Slave States, seeking Protection under Spanish Laws. By JOSHUA R. GIDDINGS. Columbus, Ohio: Follett, Foster, & Co. 1858. MR. GIDDINGS's book has had a large sale, and its well-authenticated narrative has made a strong impression on the public mind. Its simple story makes it abundantly evident that slavery is not only a stupendous wrong in itself, but that it clouds the sense of justice in the state, corrupts the judiciary, paralyzes the arm of the executive officer, and retards the development of the nation. It may be true that the story is marred by the idiosyncrasies of its venerable author: but, on the other hand, his habits of research, his long familiarity, as a member of Congress, with the documentary history of the nation, and his liberal quotations from official letters, reports, and state papers, have enabled him so to fortify his statements as to put them beyond reasonable question. It will be remembered that Florida, down to 1819, was under the dominion of Spain. The settlements were small, and on the coast or the larger rivers; while the interior was a vast wilderness, known only to the Indians. Slavery was then the universal usage of the emigrants, and many attempts were made to enslave the Indians as well as the negroes. But, accustomed as they were to a wild, roving life, these efforts were attended with indifferent success, as they could easily fly from their masters to the forest, where they were always at home and where they found a secure refuge. In the Carolinas the attempts to enslave the Indians were not only a failure, but rendered more insecure the bondage of the negroes. The ease with which they escaped to the shelter of the Georgia forests encouraged the negroes to undertake similar enterprises; and as the Indian country, as Georgia was then called, presented only a partial protection against the slave hunter, they pursued their way south into Florida, where they were cordially welcomed, permitted to occupy lands on the same condition as other citizens, and soon became a free and flourishing community. As early as 1738 these refugees had become so numerous that the authorities of South Carolina sent a messenger to the Governor of St. Augustine, with a demand that they should be surrendered to their former owners. The refusal of this demand was the cause of much complaint; and Florida thenceforward became an asylum for the more enterprising sons of bondage in the border states. In 1750 a quarrel occurred among the Creek Indians, inhabiting the Indian country in Georgia, and a large body, under a distinguished chief, left the tribe and went south into Florida, where they were well received, and had lands assigned them in the vicinity of the negroes. Here they had an organization entirely distinct from the Creeks, elected their own chiefs, and bore the name of Seminoles, which is the Indian word for runaways. The Indians and negroes fraternized, and lived together in peace on the rich bottoms of the Appalachicola and Sewanee rivers, where they grew in numbers and wealth, and had large flocks and herds. The negroes increased, not only by natural production, but by accessions from the border states, and nothing occurred to disturb them in the "even tenor" of their security till subsequent to the revolutionary war. Georgia had now become a state, and her people were large slave holders. The white population encroached steadily on the Creek reservations, producing frequent disputes and collisions, which were generally compromised to the disadvantage of the Indians. In that early period of our history one uniform source of trouble between the Indians and the whites was as to runaway slaves. All along the Indian border, and far up in the interior states, there were frequent escapes of slaves from their masters, who were supposed to find homes and shelter among the Indians; and in all the treaties made between the whites and the Indians, there was sure to be inserted some stipulation in reference to the payment for escaped slaves, the harboring of slaves, the return of slaves, etc., etc. The Maroon settlements in Florida were objects of particular dislike, for the reason that they were originally made up of escaped slaves, and were still supposed to be a shelter for such as succeeded in getting safely through the Indian country. But, being under Spanish rule, no practical method of breaking them up seemed to present itself, short of an acquisition of the territory, which, for this reason, became a favorite idea in all the border states, and in 1811 was agitated in Congress, and a law actually passed in secret session for taking forcible possession of the country. This gave rise to several military expeditions from Georgia into Florida, one of which penetrated as far as the Maroon settlements, burned the Indian villages, destroyed the cornfields of the negroes, and drove off large herds of cattle. This unjustifiable conduct naturally engendered a bitter feeling toward the United States, then at war with Great Britain; and the English, to avail themselves of some advantage from it, sent Lieutenant Colonel Nichols up the Appalachicola River to defend the settlements, and probably with the expectation of enlisting the negroes and Indians in the service of the king. He built a fort on the river, mounted on it eight pieces of artillery, furnished it with small arms and ammunition, and drew around him a large force, which he was preparing for active service, when peace was proclaimed and he was recalled. Colonel Nichols, on evacuating the fort in the spring of 1815, left it, with its cannon, arms, and stores, to the allies, whose lands lay along the river, above and below the fort, making it an important acquisition to them, and greatly increasing their means of security against further incursions from the states. But what appeared to be so much for their security proved to be a cruel instrument of destruction. The fort was regarded as a depot for runaway slaves, and became at once an object of suspicion. General Gaines, who was in command on the border, wrote to the War Department in May that "certain negroes and outlaws have taken possession of a fort on the Appalachicola River," and that their movements should be carefully watched. From that time his correspondence makes frequent mention of the Maroons as "runaways," "outlaws," "pirates," "murderers," etc.; but no specific charges of wrong were made against them, and especially no acts of hostility against the United States. The weight of evidence seems to be that they were pursuing their occupations in a peaceful spirit, with no thought beyond the incoming crops. The Secretary of War, having his attention so frequently called to the "Negro Fort," wrote to General Jackson, then in command of the Southern Division, on the subject; and General Jackson (in May, 1816) wrote to General Gaines, saying: "I have little doubt that this fort has been established by some villains for the purpose of rapine and plunder, and that it ought to be blown up, regardless of the ground on which it stands; and if your mind shall have formed the same conclusion, destroy it and return the stolen negroes to their rightful owners." The mind of General Gaines was of the same opinion, and he only needed this order to impel him to immediate action. He at once secured the aid of five hundred friendly Creeks, under their chief, M'Intosh, detailed Colonel Clinch and his regiment, with two pieces of artillery, and two gun-boats under the orders of Sailing-master Loomis, who in due time reached the spot marked for vengeance. The Maroons, and a few of their Indian allies, had taken refuge in the fort, and were prepared to defend it to the last. But General Clinch, finding that he made no impression upon it with his batteries, prepared hot shot, and threw them in upon the magazine, which exploded with a most awful devastation. The fort was small and the people gathered in it numerous, and death, in its most horrid form, awaited the innocent victims. Some were buried in the ruins, some torn from limb to limb, some thrown high into the air, and some crushed by falling timbers. Of three hundred and thirty-four souls who had sought the protection of its walls, two hundred and seventy were instantly killed; and of the remaining sixty-four only three were without injury. Two of these were given over to the Creeks for slaughter, and were massacred on the spot as chiefs. The wounded were put on the gun-boats, and such as recovered were given over to pretended claimants as slaves. The dead were forever free.* Twenty-two years subsequent to the capture of this property and the mas sacre of those who were in possession of it, a bill was reported in the House of Representatives, and passed, granting five thousand dollars to the officers, ma This act of wanton aggression and wholesale murder may be set down as the beginning of that long and bloody struggle, of which the world has heard so much, under the name of the Florida War. The Seminoles, who had freely intermarried with the Maroons, lost about thirty of their number by the explosion, and General Gaines was not mistaken in supposing that they would soon be on the alert for vengeance. Early in 1817 the Maroons and Seminoles were reported to be gathering in bodies, as if for war; and in November a boat's company, ascending the Appalachicola, with women and children, under the escort of Lieutenant Scott and forty men, were attacked by a band of Indians and Maroons, and the whole party massacred, with the exception of six soldiers, who made good their escape. This severe retaliation for the wanton destruction at "Blount's Fort" struck the nation with horror, and the President alluded to it in his message to Congress, declaring that the hostilities of the Indians were unprovoked, and that Spain was bound by treaty to restrain them from committing depredations against the United States." Orders were issued to carry the war into Florida, and to call on the neighboring states for troops; and General Jackson, with his accustomed energy, put himself at the head of a large force, and crossed the boundaries of the United States, penetrated far into the Indian country, burned the settlements of the Maroons, beat the allies in several hotly contested battles, laid waste their fields, took some Indian women and children prisoners, and returned, declaring the war at an end and the Indians conquered. The general had thinned the ranks of the Maroons, but he had left them free. He carried away a few Indians, but no negroes; and as soon as the troops were withdrawn the unsubdued allies crept from their hiding places, rebuilt their ruined dwellings, collected their scattered families, and resumed their peaceful occupations. In 1819 Florida was purchased of Spain and became the property of the United States. This was a sorrowful day for the Maroons, who were thus brought within the grasp of the slave power, and became more than ever the object of its hatred and persecution. The Georgians immediately set about breaking up the Maroon settlements; and to this end claimed that the Seminoles were still a part of the Creek nation, and that the Creeks, being bound by their treaty stipulations to surrender all escaped negroes, were under obligations to surrender the Maroons. rines, and sailors who constituted the crews of those gun-boats, as compensation for their gallant services. (Page 43.) |