Historic Events of Colonial DaysHolland, Rupert Sargent
History
Historic Events of Colonial Days
Holland, Rupert Sargent
United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Oglethorpe succeeded in interesting some of the most prominent men of
England in his plan, and on June 9, 1732, King George II granted them a
charter for a province to be called Georgia, which was to consist of the
country between the Savannah and the Altamaha Rivers and to extend from
the headsprings of these rivers due west to the Pacific Ocean. The seal
of the patrons of the new province bore on one side a group of silkworms
at work, with the motto, "_Non sibi, sed aliis_,"--"Not for themselves,
but for others,"--showing the purpose of the patrons, who had agreed not
to accept any grant of lands or profit from them for themselves. On the
other side of the seal were two figures representing the boundary
rivers, and between them a figure of Georgia, a liberty cap on her head,
a spear in one hand, a horn of plenty in the other. Some of the patrons
were content with the lofty ideals expressed in the seal and the
charter, but James Oglethorpe meant to see the noble project carried
out.
With a commission to act as Colonial Governor of Georgia, Oglethorpe
sailed with about one hundred and twenty emigrants for America in
November, 1732. In fifty-seven days he reached the bar outside
Charleston. There the colonists of South Carolina welcomed the new
arrivals warmly, for they were glad to have a province to their south to
shield them from their Spanish enemies. The governor ordered his pilot
to conduct the ship to Port Royal, some eighty miles to the south, from
whence the emigrants were to go in small boats to the Savannah River.
Oglethorpe meanwhile went to the town of Beaufort and then sailed up the
Savannah to choose a promising site for his new town. The high cliff
known as Yamacraw Bluff caught his eye, and he chose for his site that
high land on which the city of Savannah stands.
Half a mile away dwelt the Indian tribe of the Yamacraws, and their
chief, Tomochichi, sought the white leader and made gifts to him. One
gift was a buffalo skin, painted on the inside with the head and
feathers of an eagle. "Here is a little present," said the chief,
offering the skin. "The feathers of the eagle are soft, and signify
love; the buffalo skin is warm, and is the emblem of protection.
Therefore love and protect our little families." We may be sure that
Oglethorpe promised to live in friendship with them.
On February 12th the colonists reached their new home, and camped on the
edge of the river, glad to escape from their long stay on shipboard.
Four tents were set up, and men cut trees to provide bowers for their
immediate needs. Four pines sheltered the tent of Oglethorpe, and here
he lived for a year, while men laid out streets and built houses and his
city of Savannah began to take shape.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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