The industry of the uncorrupt part of the Indians, in general, and of the Chikkasah, in particular, extends no farther than to support a plain simple life, and secure themselves from the power of the enemy, and from hunger and cold. Indeed most of them are of late grown fond of the ornaments of life, of raising live stock, and using a greater industry than formerly, to increase wealth. This is to be ascribed to their long intercourse with us, and the familiar easy way in which our traders live with them, begetting imperceptibly an emulous spirit of imitation, according to the usual progress of human life. Such a disposition, is a great advance towards their being civilized; which, certainly must be effected, before we can reasonably expect to be able to bring them to the true principles of christianity. Instead of reforming the Indians, the monks and friars corrupted their morals: for, in the place of inculcating love, peace, and good-will to their red pupils, as became messengers of the divine author of peace, they only impressed their flexible minds with an implacable hatred against every British subject, without any distinction. Our people will soon discover the bad policy of the late Quebec act, and it is to be hoped that Great-Britain will in due time, send those black croaking clerical frogs of Canada home to their infallible mufti of Rome.
I must here beg leave to be indulged, in a few observations on our own American missionaries. Many evils are produced by sending out ignorant and wicked persons as clergymen. Of the few I know,—two among them dare not venture on repeating but a few collects in the common prayer. A heathen could say, “if thou wouldst have me weep, thou must first weep thyself:” and how is it possible we should be able to make good impressions on others, unless they are first visible on ourselves? The very rudiments of learning, not to say of religion, are wanting in several of our missionary Evangelists; the best apology I have heard in their behalf, is, “an English nobleman asked a certain bishop, why he conferred holy orders on such a parcel of arrant blockheads? He replied, because it was better to have the ground plowed by asses, than leave it a waste full of thistles.” {363}
It seems very surprising, that those who are invested with a power of conferring ecclesiastical orders, should be so careless in propagating the holy gospel, and assiduous to prophane holy things, in appointing and ordaining illiterate and irreligious persons to the service. What is it? but saying, “go teach the American fools. My blessing is enough. Cherish confidence, and depend upon it, they will not have confidence to laugh at you: Leave the remote and poor settlements to the care of divine providence, which is diffusive of its rich gifts. The harvest is great elsewhere. Only endeavour to episcopize the northern colonies; it is enough: there they are numerous, and able to pay Peter’s pence, as well as our old jewish, and new parliamentary tithes; and in time your labours will be crowned with success.”
That court however, which sends abroad stupid embassadors to represent it, cannot be reasonably expected to have success, but rather shame and derision. What can we think at this distance, when we see the number of blind guides, our spiritual fathers at home have sent to us, to lead us clear of the mazes of error? but, that they think of us with indifference, and are studiously bent on their own temporal interest, instead of our spiritual welfare. There are thousands of the Americans, who I believe have not heard six sermons for the space of above thirty years—and in fact they have more knowledge than the teachers who are sent to them, and too much religion to communicate with them. And even the blinder sort of the laity not finding truth sufficiently supported by their purblind guides, grow proud of their own imaginary knowledge, and some thereby proudly commence teachers,—by which means they rend the church asunder; and, instead of peace and love, they plant envy, contempt, hatred, revilings, and produce the works of the flesh, instead of those of the spirit.
Not so act the uncivilized Indians. Their supposed holy orders are obtained from a close attention to, and approved knowledge of their sacred mysteries. No temptations can corrupt their virtue on that head: neither will they convey their divine secrets to the known impure. This conduct is worthy to be copied, by all who pretend to any religion at all, and especially by those who are honoured with the pontifical dignity, and assume the name of “Right reverend, and Most reverend Fathers in God.” I have been importunately requested at different times, by several eminent gentlemen, {364} who wish well to both church and state, to represent the evils resulting from such missionaries, in hope of redress; and on this occasion, I thought it criminal to refuse their virtuous request. The representation is true, and the writer is persuaded he cannot give the least offence by it, to any but the guilty.
My situation does not allow me, to fix the bounds our legislators claim on the Missisippi: but I have good reason to believe that the fine court title which France, in her late dying will, has transferred to Great-Britain, mostly consists in ideal possessions she never enjoyed. The monopolies already made, are equally unjust and pernicious. They, who take up valuable lands, especially on such a barrier, ought to settle them in a reasonable time, or be prevented from keeping out industrious inhabitants, and causing the place to continue in a defenceless condition. Before we can settle the Missisippi, with any reasonable view of success, the government must build sufficient places of strength, both to make the colony appear respectable in the eyes of the Indians, and guard it from the evil eye of the Spaniards, who are watching at New Orleans, and over the river, to impede our interests, in that valuable but dangerous quarter. It might become an impenetrable barrier, if proper encouragement was given to the laborious and hardy inhabitants of our northern settlements, on the various branches of the Ohio, and in the back settlements of North Carolina, who are now almost useless to the community. As Great-Britain would be the chief gainer by their removal, she ought to encourage them to remove.[[214]] Great numbers of them were preparing to come down,[[215]] even in the years 1768 and 1769; but finding too many inconveniences and hazards in their way, they declined the attempt. As it is natural for every colony to endeavour to increase its number of industrious inhabitants, it cannot be expected, even if the mother country behaved more prudently than of late, that any of them would exert themselves much on such an occasion, as to raise dangerous rivals in their own staple commodity.—However rice, indigo, silk, hemp, wine, and many other valuable productions are suitable to so fine a soil and climate; besides great quantities of beef, pork, and every kind of useful timber for Jamaica, which is contiguous to the mouth of the Missisippi. So great an acquisition of raw materials would soon prove very beneficial to Great-Britain, as well as a great safe-guard to the best part of our other colonies, and a very needful check to Spanish insolence. {365} Such a material undertaking, as the colonizing of so important a barrier, deserves public encouragement to put it in a fair way of doing well; and the continuance of a supply, and protection through its infant state, to secure it from any artful attempts the Spaniards and their French subjects might plot to disturb its tranquility, and thereby check its growth.
There might be introduced even among the Indian nations I have described, a spirit of industry, in cultivating such productions as would agree with their land and climates; especially, if the super-intendency of our Indian affairs, westward, was conferred on the sensible, public-spirited, and judicious Mr. George Galphin, merchant, or Lachlan M’Gilwray, Esq; of equal merit. Every Indian trader knows from long experience, that both these gentlemen have a greater influence over the dangerous Muskohge, than any others besides. And the security of Georgia requires one or other of them speedily to superintend our Indian affairs. It was, chiefly, the skilful management of these worthy patriots, which prevented the Muskohge from joining the Cheerake, according to treaty, against us in the year 1760 and 1761,—to their great expence and hazard of life, as they allowed those savages to eat, drink, and sleep at Silver-Bluff, below New Windsor garrison, and at Augusta fifteen miles apart, and about 150 miles from Savanah. I write from my own knowledge, for I was then on the spot, with a captain’s commission from South Carolina. A Muskohge war against us, could easily be prevented by either of those gentlemen, if chosen, and the destructive plan of general licences was repealed. It is to be hoped, that they who are invested with the power, will retract their former error, and have the pleasure of knowing the good effect it would produce, by giving an opportunity of civilizing and reforming the savages; which can never be effected by the former usual means. Admit into Indian countries, a sufficient number of discreet orderly traders.—This needful regulation will likewise benefit trade, which is almost ruined; and our valuable weak frontier colonies would thereby increase in numbers, proportionable to their security.
Formerly, each trader[[216]] had a licence for two towns, or villages; but according to the present unwise plan, two, and even three Arab-like pedlars sculk about in one of those villages. Several of them also frequently emigrate into the woods with spirituous liquors, and cheating trifles, {366} after the Indian hunting camps, in the winter season, to the great injury of a regular trader, who supplies them with all the conveniences of hunting: for, as they will sell even their wearing shirt for inebriating liquors, they must be supplied anew in the fall of the year, by the trader. At my first setting out among them, a number of traders who lived contiguous to each other, joined through our various nations in different companies, and were generally men of worth: of course, they would have a living price for their goods, which they carried on horseback to the remote Indian countries, at very great expences. These set an honest copy for the imitation of the natives, for as they had much at stake, their own interest and that of the government co-incided. As the trade was in this wise manner kept up to its just standard, the savages were industrious and frugal. But, lowering it, through a mistaken notion of regaining their affections, we made ourselves too cheap to them, and they despised us for it. The trade ought to be raised to a reasonable fixed price, the first convenient opportunity—thus we shall keep them employed, and ourselves secure. Should we lower the trade, even fifty per cent below the prime cost, they would become only the more discontented, by thinking we had cheated them all the years past. A mean submissive temper can never manage our Indian affairs. The qualities of a kind friend, sensible speaker, and active brisk warrior, must constitute the character of a superintendant. Great care ought to be taken, not to give the Indians offence, or a mean opinion of the people or government our Indian superintendants represent.
At a general congress in Mobille, Anno 1765, where were present his Excellency the learned, cheerful, patriotic Governor of West-Florida, George Johnstone Esquire, the present superintendant of Indian affairs, and the head-men and warriors of the Choktah, and warlike Chikkasah nations, a tariff of trade was settled on every material article, in the most public and solemn manner,[[217]] mostly according to the Muskohge standard, and to the great satisfaction of the Indians. The price for which the corrupt and shamefully-indulged vagrant pedlars forced the traders at the risque of their lives, to traffic with them, being then about 70 per cent, below the French tariff in Indian trade up the Missisippi. Each of these traders took out Indian trading licences, to which the fixed prices of various goods were annext, thereby impowering them to traffic during the space of a twelvemonth; and they gave penal bonds of security to the {367} secretary, for the just observance of their instructions. This proved however, through a bare-faced partiality, only a shameful farce on œconomy and good order. His Excellency, and the honourable Col. W——n,[[218]] were so strongly convinced of my former integrity, that in order to testify publicly their approbation of my good conduct, they did me the honour to pass security in the secretary’s office, for my dealing with the Indians in strict conformity to the laws of trade. As I lost in the space of a year, to the amount of two and twenty hundred dollars-worth of goods at prime cost, by the disorderly conduct of other licensed traders, and had just reason to hope for redress on exhibiting a well-supported complaint; I drew up on my own account, and at the importunate request of the Chikkasah head-men, a memorial, setting forth their having notoriously violated every essential part of their instructions, enticing the Indians also to get drunk, and then taught them to blaspheme their maker. This I proved, and that some of the lawless traders had furnished the Indians, in the space of a few months, with so great a quantity of prohibited liquors, as either did, or might enable some of them to decoy the savages to squander away thousands of drest deer-skins,—but they escaped with impunity.
A few months before this period, some family disputes rose very high between the Chikkasah, on the following account. The Indians being ambitious, free, and jealous of their liberties, as well as independent of each other, where mutual consent is not obtained; one half of the nation were exceedingly displeased with the other, because, by the reiterated persuasions of a certain deputy, the latter had disposed of a tract of land, twelve miles toward the south, on the upper trading Choktah, or Mobille path, to one of those disorderly traders. By the application of the deputy, the head-men of both parties met him according to appointment, and partook of a plentiful barbicued feast, with plenty of spirituous liquors. As such conduct was against his majesty’s proclamation, and appeared to me to be calculated, either for a clandestine trade, or family-job, I rejected the invitation, lest otherwise I might be charged as a party. When they became intoxicated with liquor, a war-leader of the dissenting party, struck his tomohawk at the head of a noted chieftain, upbraiding him for bringing a strange fire into their land; but happily the blow missed its aim. Their disputes consequently rose higher every day; and the {368} dissidents[dissidents] informed the Muskohge of their then situation, and future intentions. Yah-Yah-Tustanage, “the Great Mortar,” a bitter enemy of the English, soon sent up a company of his war-relations, to persuade them to guard in time, against our dangerous encroachments, by killing all the English, that planted their lands without the general consent of the owners, and to take their black people as a good prize; because they were building and planting for the reception of an English garrison, which was to come from the Missisippi, and be the first means of enslaving them. While their transport of madness lasted, it was fruitless to reason with them; but at every convenient opportunity, I used such plain, friendly, and persuasive arguments to sooth them, as I imagined might regain their lost affections, and procrastinate the dangerous impending blow. They consented at last to forbear every kind of resentment against our late suspicious conduct, on condition of my writing to those who could redress them, and our people speedily withdrawing from their land the intruding planters. This I did; and at Mobile I delivered my remonstrance to the superintendant. Upon my urging the absolute necessity of pacifying our old steady friends, by removing the ungenerous cause of their jealousy, he assured me, that he would gladly comply with so just a request, especially, as it exactly coincided with his majesty’s proclamation, then fixed on the fort-gate.