HE first treaty of Payne's Landing, which was signed in May, 1832, required the Seminoles to give up all their lands in Florida and to go west of the Mississippi. Only seven chiefs signed the treaty for their people, nearly all of whom were bitterly opposed to it. In their rage they killed two signers, and replaced them with a bitter enemy of the project. One of the indignant chiefs, when asked to give his views of the Treaty of Payne's Landing, strode to the table where the paper lay, hunting knife in hand, and exclaimed:
"That is my opinion!"
As he spoke, he brought down the knife with such force that the point passed through the paper and the top of the table on which it lay. The chief who did this startling thing was Osceola, the most famous leader of the Seminoles.
Did you ever hear of a war that was caused by the dispute over the meaning of a single pronoun? Such was the Seminole War, one of the most long drawn out and trying in the history of our country.
In the treaty referred to the removal of the tribe west of the Mississippi was made conditional. It said, "Should they be satisfied with the character of the country." Who was meant by "they?" President Jackson insisted that it was the seven signers of the treaty (of whom two were killed), while the Seminoles were as firm in arguing that it referred to the whole tribe, whose opinion was to be formed after their agents had examined the region and made their report. Candor forces us to say that the red men had the better of the argument. Nor need it be denied that wrong pressure was brought to bear on the consenting chiefs. They were paid to misrepresent the wishes of their people, and, like their civilized brethren, were open to such base inducements.
As the time drew near for removal, it became clear that the Seminoles had no intention of going. General Wiley Thompson, the agent, called the real Indian chiefs together in October, 1834, and talked pointedly, impressing upon them the firm resolve of the government to make them obey the terms of the treaty. The dusky leaders were not scared, and told him the whole business was a fraud, and they would never accept it. The most outspoken of the chiefs was Osceola.
The conference having adjourned without result, was again called some time later, to hear the message of President Jackson, which was as direct as that sturdy man knew how to make his words. It was useless; the chiefs knew they had been cheated and remained defiant. What specially angered Osceola was that some of them, upon whom he had counted for support, were won over by the agent. This was done no doubt through the corrupt means that had convinced those who reported favorably on the country selected for their new homes beyond the Mississippi. He accused General Thompson of unfairness. The quarrel became so heated that the agent had Osceola put in irons. He was kept over night and a part of two days, finally gaining his release by promising General Thompson to sign the treaty, and use his influence to persuade the other chiefs to do the same.
