n "Ending" Our 100-"LJear
Indian" War"?
Osceola, Chief of the Seminoles
iw&aa
The Dade V--.
MonumentV
at West Point\
fiOSlBM
??
Secretoru lcKes and the Seminolaa
I* Chief
Tony "Ibmmy
A Group of Seminoles
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
other day a press dispatch
^ from West Palm Beach, Fla.,
? told the following story: ,
w/hl Squatting on their
jMQ* I haunches In a circle on the -
W\ t'l\ shores of Lake Worth, Sec
' ? W retary of the Interior Har
SSkfe- *ckes an(* seven Semi
nole Indians today revived
4LJ11negotiations to end the 100
affl Irte^li\K J'ear "war" between the i
/b tribesmen and the United
Through an Interpreter,
the representatives of a majority of the 500
Seminoles surviving In Florida asked a do
main of 200,000 acres In the Everglades and
$15 a month each from the government as
Indemnity for seizure of the rest of the state
by "our white friends."
In return they offered to recognize the
United States and obey Its laws, except the'
game laws.
"The Seminoles," replied Secretary Ickes,
"are a proud and Independent people. I do
not know whether It will be posaiole to give
them all they ask, but In co-operation with
the state of Florida, the administration in
Washington will do all In Its power to give
them the land and the game they require
to live the lives of their forefathers."
It was a colorful scene with ranks of Na
tional Guardsmen and huddles of Seminole
squaws and children In bright festive garb
forming a background along the sparkling
lake waters. Loud speakers carried the nego
tiations to several thousand spectators,
mostly winter visitors from the North, In
boxes and bleachers.
"There Is no game left for me. I ask for
provision for my people," said Sam Tommle,
the chosen spokesman.
"Formerly I had many grounds to hunt on.
Now I ask the white people to deed me
land." said Charlie Cypress.
After the council the tribes In their many
pieced and many-colored dress danced the
green corn dance while the fashionable audi
ence applauded.
Not only did many newspapers print the story,
or one similar to it, but some of them editorial
ized at length on it. Others, however, Ignored
*L? - - - -
Imc story or tne opportunity for editorial com
ment. Perhaps they considered It just another
"press agent yarn." Or they may have remem
bered that eight years ago this same "war" was
going to be "officially ended." At least, that was
what press dispatches from Miami said at the
time. Those dispatches told how Chief Tony
Tommy, "ordained leader of all the Semlnoles In
Florida," was going to Washington "to make for
mal peace with the United States government
and ask for citizenship for his people."
All of which made good copy for the newspa
pers and good publicity for Miami and that part
of Florida. But a short time later this press dis
patch from Fort Myers, Fla., appeared in the
Papers:
Nuck-Suc-Ha-Chee, chief of the Florida
Semlnoles, vigorously denies that the glade
tribesmen seek American citizenship or rec- '
onciliatlon with the government of the
United States.
The position of "our little nation" is made
plain in a letter from Stanley Hanson, secre
tary of the Seminole Indian association of
Florida, to Judge George W. Storter of Col
lier county, a life long friend of the Indians,
ia which the Indian chief repudiates state
ment!! ma<ta K?. nn n ? ? ""'?I'
i - "UUC uj XUUJ X UliJlliy Ol JXUttUJl, SSCil.
?tyled leader" for the Semlnoles.
"All news dispatches carried out of Miami
recently," the letter continues, "have been
unauthorized by Seminole leaders and there
fore without foundation. When the Seminoles
take action it will be through a duly consti
tuted council which governs the little na
tion."
So that was that, and nothing more was heard
the proposal to "end officially" a non-existent
?ar' until recently when Secretary Ickes, on
jacation in Florida, was reported to be making
'peace medicine" with the Semlnoles. The fact
jj-at he and "seven Seminole Indians," among
' "Sam Tommle, the chosen spokesman."
?a'l 'revived negotiations" may have reminded
rpspaper editors of the negotiations started by
4?ef Tony Tommy eight years ago.
erhaps they remembered also that as far back
?s arrangements were completed for acquir
^ land for those Semlnoles who had been wan
*nnS around In the Everglades as a kind of
8t tribe"; that in 1924 they came under the
'fovisions of a congressional act which made
citizens of the United States and that in
* * reservation, divided between Lee and
Broward counties, was established for them with
an outpost agency half-way between Miami and
Fort Myers and that, under the direction of Maj.
i.uclen A. Spencer, special commissioner, these
Seminoles really began to travel the white man's
road. So the picture of a group of savages
smoking the peace pipe to end a 100-year-old
war, as painted by the recent press dispatches,
didn't seem so authentic.
But whether this was a press agent stunt by
some enterprising white men or a bid for notorl
ety by some publicity-minded red men, it has
served to bring back into the news the name of
a famous Indian leader and to recall to Amer
icans the tragic story of his people, although
they cannot be very proud of some parts of that
story. Even if the war with the Seminoles
wasn't really a "100-year war," It was the longest
aim cusiiicai e*ci wagcu uj litis uauuu ou a
tribe of red men.
In reality there were two Seminole wars. The
first one was a comparatively short affair. It
took place in 1817-18 and lasted less than a year.
An aftermath of the Creek Indian war, it was a
minor incident in the larger field of diplomacy
and international relations.
After the defeat of the Creek Indians In 1817,
many of those tribesmen sought refuge among
the Semlnoles In Florida, then held by the Span
ish. To the Semlnoles also had fled many run
away negro slaves. So there was constant fric
tion between the Indians and slave-catchers, of
ficers of the law and settlers on the southern
border of what was then the United States.
After a number of Indians and whites had
been killed in the spasmodic warfare which fol
lowed, General Gaines was sent with a force of
regulars to demand the surrender of some of the
Semlnoles accused of killing white settlers. The
Indians refused, claiming that the whites were
responsible for the first aggressions, which was
probably the truth.
So Gaines attacked a party of Semlnoles at
Fowltown Just north of the Florida border, ana
stirred up a veritable hornet's nest, which re
sulted in an attack by the Indians on his gar
rison at Fort Scott The War department then
ordered Gaines to continue his offensive against
the Indians, pursuing them into Spanish terri
tory if necessary but not to molest any Span
ish garrison. The department neat ordered Gen.
Andrew Jackson, the hero of New Orleans and
the Creek war, Into the field and gave him ex
? InotriiotJAna as tr\ tho r?rilirst? hfi
iremcij UKUC . ?
was to pursue.
With his usual high-handed methods "Old
Hickory" invaded Florida, captured the Spanish
post of St. Marks, summarily executed two Kng
lishmen named Arbuthnot and Armbrlster, whom
he accused of stirring up the Semlnoles against
the Americans. He fought a few minor skir
mishes with the Semlnoles, who promptly scat
tered like quail, making pursuit impossible, and
then pushed on to capture the Spanish town of
I'ensacola. Of course, Spain protested at this
unwarranted invasion of her territory and the
United States placated her by censoring Jackson
in a manner that was something of a polite slap
on the wrist.
The upshot of the whole affair was that Spain,
seeing the handwriting on the wall, agreed to .
sell Florida to the United States. And that,
more than any great desire to punish the Seml
noles for their depredations, was what the Amer
ican government wanted. But in thus making
the Seminoles pawns In a game of diplomacy the
United States was storing up trouble for itself.
It broke out soon after Florida became our
territory'- Friction between the settlers and the
Seminoles continued, mainly because the settlers
wanted the lands held by the Indians. By the
treaty of Fort Moultrie in 1823 the Seminoles
ceded most of their lands except one small res
ervation. But the land-hungry whites began
crowding in upon them there and demanding that
they be removed across the Mississippi as had
other southeastern tribes.
So another treaty was made at Payne's Land
ing in 1832 by which the Seminoles, at least a
part of them, agreed to migrate within three
years. The majority of the Indians, however, re
pudiated the treaty. Matters came to a crisis in
November, 1835, when Amathla, a chief who had
signed the treaty and received his share of the
money for doing so, was shot by a party under
the leadership of Micanopy, the head-chief, and
Osceola, a half-breed war-leader.
Gen. A. R. Thompson, agent for the Seminoles,
exerted all pressure possible to get the Semi
noles to agree to the removal and during a coun
cil became so angry with Osceola that he ordered
the Seminole leader arrested and held in Irons.
Enraged at this treatment Osceola, while agree
ing to sign the treaty, plotted revenge on the
agent.
Removing his people to places of safety, Osce
ola and his warriors began attacks on the white
settlements. Troops were concentrated in Flor
Ida to protect the settlers and force the removal
of the Semlnoles. On December 24, 1835, an ex
pedition of 108 officers and men, commanded by
MaJ. Francis L. Dade, set out from Fort Brooks
to meet a force from Fort King for a punitive
expedition against the Semlnoles.
Four days later Dade's force reached the
banks of the Wlthlacoochee river. What took
place there?and tragic though It was, It Is one
of tales of high heroism In the annals of the
American army?Is recorded on the aide of a
monument which stands on the grounds of the
United States Military academy at West Point,
N. Y. It reads: "To commemorate the battle of
the 28th of December, 1835, between a detach
ment of 108 United States troops and the Seml
noles of Florida In which all of the detachment
save three fell without an attempt to retreat."
On the same day Osceola made a daring raid
against Fort King, killed and scalped General
Thompson and four others who were dining at
a house outside the fort and made his escape.
As the result of this and the Dade tragedy a
great outcry went up all over the country for
the extermination of the Semlnoles. But officer
after officer sent against the Indians failed to
crush them and at last General Jessup, spurred
on bv this crv. forever sullied his name as n
soldier by seizing Osceola while" holding a con
ference with him under a flag of truce and send
ing him away to prison.
Osceola died in Fort Moultrie, Fla., on Janu
ary 30, 1838. But even the loss of their leader
did not break the spirit of the Semlnoles. The
war dragged on for four years more before the
Indians finally acknowledged defeat In August,
1842. It had lasted for nearly eight years at a
cost of the lives of 1,500 soldiers and nearly as
many civilians, not to mention a money cost of
120,000,000!
The Seminoles who were removed to Okla
homa became known as the Seminole Nation,
one of the "Five Civilized Tribes." Even with
the removal of nearly 4.000 Seminoles in 17 dlf- I
ferent parties between 1836 and 1842, some 300
remained In the fastnesses of the Everglades at
the close of the war. There was still ...me trou
ble with them later and In 1858 Chief Billy Bow
legs and 100 of his followers were sent west.
But there still remained approximately 100 Sem
inoles who refused to leave their ancestral home
and from these are descended the 400-odd Semi
noles who live in Florida today.
C by Wcitira N*wap?p?r Unloa.
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