On the 11th, Tomo Chichi came to wait upon the General. He had been very ill; but the good old man was so rejoiced at the return of his respected friend, that he said it made him moult like the eagle.[1] He informed him that several Indian chiefs were at Yamacraw to pay their respects to him, and to assure him of their fidelity.
[Footnote 1: Appendix, No. XXI.]
This embassy consisted of the Micos or chiefs of the Ocmulgees, the Chehaws, the Ouchasees, and the Parachacholas, with thirty of their warriors, and fifty-two attendants. As they walked up the hill, they were saluted by a battery of cannon, and then conducted to the town-hall by a corps of militia, where the General received them. They told him that the Spaniards had decoyed them to St. Augustine, on pretence that he was there; but they found that they were imposed upon, and therefore turned back with displeasure, though they were offered great presents to induce them to fall out with the English. These single-hearted foresters had now come to remove from the mind of their pledged friend all apprehension of their alienation, and to assure him that their warriors shall attend his call. They closed their conference with a pressing invitation to him to come up to their towns in the course of the summer; and, with his promise to do so, they took a respectful leave.
On the 17th the General called the inhabitants to assemble at the town-hall, and "there made a pathetic speech to them;"[1] which he began by thanking them for the measures which they had pursued for mutual help and the common good. He apprized them of the great exertions made by the Trustees to support, protect, and defend the Colony; but that their being obliged to maintain the garrisons, and lay in various stores till the arrival of the troops, and the dear price of provisions the last year, occasioned such an increased demand upon them, that they would not be able to continue further allowance, nor assume further responsibilities, unless a supply should be granted by parliament. This state of embarrassment he greatly regretted, inasmuch as those whom he addressed were suffering by the failure of their crops. He told them that, with surprise and great grief, he found that there was more due from the public store than there were goods and articles in it to pay; but that he had given orders that all persons should be paid as far as these effects would go. He said that he was fully aware of the privations already felt, and of the greater to which they were exposed; and, therefore, informed those who, on this account, or for any reason, supposed that they could better their condition by going out of the Province, that they had his full consent to do so. At the same time he requested such to come to his quarters, and acquaint him with their grievances, their wishes, and their purposes, and he would give them his best advice, and all the aid in his power. How many, or how far any, availed themselves of this overture, is not known; but the writer who has given an account of this address, adds, "It is remarkable that not one man chose to leave the Province, though they very well knew that they must endure great hardships before the next crop should come in, for there was very little money stirring, and very few had provisions sufficient to keep them till next year. However, they all seemed resolved rather to stay, than to leave the country now in its distress[2]."
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS'S Journal, I. p. 305.]
[Footnote 2: Letter from Savannah, October 22, 1738.]
To lessen the demands upon the Trustees, Oglethorpe made retrenchments in the public expenditures. He disbanded the troop of Rangers, who guarded the country on the land side, though they offered to serve without pay; but he deemed it improper that they should be on service without remuneration. The garrisons were relieved by the regiments; so that that expense ceased. He aimed to reconcile the disaffected, by his good offices; and to gain their affections by unexpected and unmerited liberalities. With very timely largesses he assisted the orphans, the widows, and the sick; and contributed towards the relief of the most destitute; but, adds the writer of the letter above quoted, "we are apprehensive such contributions cannot last long, unless assisted from England, for the expenses are too great for any single man to bear."
The General pursued, with anxious scrutiny, his investigation into the management of business, and found the charges and accounts to be very perplexed, and the result evincing mismanagement and unfaithfulness. "He settled the officers, civil and military, among whom changes had taken place; filled vacancies; and took the most judicious measures that the whole municipal establishment should be properly organized. Then, calling them all to his lodgings, he gave it in charge that they should do their duties with care and vigilance. He exhorted them to use their best endeavors to preserve peace; especially at this time, when ill-disposed persons, taking advantage of people's uneasiness at those inevitable pressures under which they labored, and must necessarily for some time be subjected to, might craftily incite them to insurrection. Withal, he recommended earnestly to them to preserve unanimity among themselves, which would strengthen and support a due authority, and restrain the licentious into due obedience."[1]
[Footnote 1: STEPHENS'S Journal, I. 309.]
On Wednesday morning, October 25th, Oglethorpe set out for the south, leaving, as Col. Stephens remarks, "a gloomy prospect of what might ensue; and many sorrowful countenances were visible under the apprehensions of future want; which deplorable state the Colony has fallen into, through such means as few or none of the settlers had any imagination of, till the Trustees, in their late letters, awakened them out of their dream; and the General, when he came, laid the whole open, and apprized them that they were but little removed from a downright bankruptcy. Now was a time when it would be fully apparent, who were the most valuable among them, by showing a hearty endeavor to contribute, what in them lay, to appease the rising discontents, and wait with patience to see better things, which were not yet to be despaired of."[1]