“Head Quarters, Army of the South,}
No. 1.] Fort King, June 8, 1841. }
“I. Hereafter no expenditures of money will be made on account of barracks-quarters, or other buildings at temporary posts, except for such slight covering as may be indispensably necessary for the protection of the sick and security of the public stores, without previous reference to, and authority obtained from, head-quarters.
“II. All safe-guards or passports granted to Indians prior to this date, are hereby revoked. Any Indian presenting himself at any post, will be seized and held in strict confinement, except when commanding officers may, in the exercise of sound discretion, deem it advisable to send out an individual runner to communicate with others.
“III. When the garrisons are not too much reduced by sickness, detachments will be sent out as often as once in seven days, or more frequently if circumstances indicate a necessity, to scour and examine in all directions to the distance of eight or ten miles.
“IV. All restraints heretofore imposed upon district commanders, in respect to offensive field operations, are hereby revoked; on the contrary, the utmost activity and enterprise is enjoined. District commanders will give instructions to commanders of posts accordingly.
“V. Brief reports of the operations carried on under the foregoing orders, setting forth the strength of the detachments, and by whom commanded, with such observations as may be deemed useful or interesting to the service, will be made to district commanders on the 10th, 20th, and last of every month, by whom they will be transmitted to these head-quarters.
“By order of Colonel WORTH:
(Signed) G. WRIGHT,
Capt. 8th Infantry, and A. A. A. General.”
Halec Tustenuggee was regarded as the most active and vindictive of the hostile chiefs. Among his followers were some forty Indian warriors and ten or twelve Exiles capable of bearing arms. They and their families, numbering in all some two hundred souls, were supposed to be somewhere in the neighborhood of Lake “Fonee-Safakee,” among the extensive swamps and hommocks of that region. Some few of this band had surrendered and gone West. Among those who came in to Fort Jupiter for the purpose of emigrating, were several Exiles who had been born in that region, and had ever been connected with this small tribe. Some of those who had previously surrendered, were retained as guides and interpreters, with the expectation that they might be made useful in persuading their friends to emigrate also. It was thought very desirable to capture this band, if possible; and guides, and interpreters, and scouts were sent in every direction, where it was supposed they might be discovered, in order to open a communication with them. At length it was reported that a trail had been discovered leading to one of their favorite haunts, where it was believed they might be found.
We cannot better exhibit the dangers which constantly beset the Exiles who remained hostile, or the vigilance with which they and their friends watched for their own safety, than by giving a short account of Colonel Worth’s expedition for the capture of this small party, which we copy from Sprague’s History of the Florida War. Says that author:
“The negro guides, recently of the band, represented it as his favorite resort from its seclusion, where he held his green corn dances and councils. Measures were at once adopted to follow it up. Colonel Worth, with one hundred men of the 2d Infantry, accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel Riley and Major Plympton, together with Captain B. L. Beall’s company 2d Dragoons, and forty men of the 8th Infantry, in command of First Lieutenant J. H. Harvil, moved from Fort King for Fort McClure or Warm Spring; thence, under the guidance of Indian negroes, to the neighborhood of the lake. At midnight, on the night of the tenth, the swamp was reached; the troops having marched forty-four miles. To surprise the Indian camp just at break of day, was the only chance of success. The guides represented it to be on the opposite side of the swamp, five or six miles through. The horses were picketed, and the baggage left with a small guard on the margin of the swamp. The soldier carried only a musket and his ammunition; the officers a rifle or sword. Quietly and resolutely the command moved, confident of success. The water became colder and deeper at every step; halts were frequently made to extricate the officers and soldiers from the mud. The night was dark, which added to the dismal gloomy shadows of a cypress swamp. The command could only follow by the splashing of water, and the calm but firm intonations of the word of command. The negroes in advance, followed closely by the most hardy and active, guided these two hundred men to what was believed to be the stronghold of the enemy. Every hour and step confirmed this conviction. The advance reached the opposite side just before the break of day. Anxiously they awaited and greeted every officer and soldier as he emerged from the swamp, covered with mud and water. Day broke; when silently the command was given—‘Fall in!’ Eleven officers and thirty-five privates were present. Occasionally a straggler would arrive, and report those in the rear as coming. The Indian huts, by the gray dawn of morning (twenty-four in number), could be discerned through the scrub, which separated the white and red man, three hundred yards distant. At this hour the Indian around his camp fire feels secure. From the number of huts, and their location, they outnumbered the assailants. To await the arrival of the entire force, the day would be far advanced; and discovery was a total defeat. It was determined with the number present to make a vigorous assault, and, if outnumbered, to rely upon those in the rear. Each man reprimed his musket, and cautiously, on his hands and knees, worked his way through the dense undergrowth to within a few yards of the cluster of huts and temporary sheds. Not a word was uttered. Eagerly each man grasped his musket, anxious for the first whoop, when he would be rewarded for his toil. A musket was discharged to arouse the inmates, and meet them on their retreat. It sent back its dull heavy reverberation, causing disappointment and chagrin. Not a human being occupied the huts, or was upon the ground.”