Makers and Romance of Alabama HistoryRiley, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)
History
Makers and Romance of Alabama History
Riley, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)
Alabama -- Biography; Alabama -- History
Keeping his plans well to himself, McGillivray was quietly breeding
schemes with which to baffle the able men at the national capital. For
days together, the negotiations were kept up, and they were days of
serious concern and of lingering suspense to President Washington. The
parleying and dallying led to the apprehension that McGillivray would
propose terms so startling, as to end the whole affair with a fiasco, and
in view of the recent demonstration, reduce the situation to governmental
mortification. On the other hand. McGillivray was apprehensive that his
intended proposals would be rejected, hence his tactical delay and parley.
Knox was patient, McGillivray impatient. At last Knox was able to force
from the wily trickster and supple diplomat the condition on which he
would be willing to sign the treaty. It proved to be an occasion of as
much elation to the one as to the other. McGillivray chuckled over his
success, while the government congratulated itself on the settlement of
terms so easy.
When, at last, McGillivray stated his terms, they were that fifteen
hundred dollars in gold should be paid him outright by the government
annually, together with other easy emoluments, yet to be named, and a
certain quantity of merchandise, with certain limited sums of money to the
Indians each year, for which consideration the vast domains of the Oconees
were to be surrendered, while they were to remain under the peaceable
protection of the United States, and form no treaties with any others.
Yet, on account of that which occasioned this treaty so cheaply, much
suspense and terror had been created and much blood spilled, and not a few
whites were even then in bondage to the Indians. These slaves were to be
liberated, and the two powerful tribes, the Creeks and the Seminoles, were
to become subject to the general government. Paltry as the consideration
was, McGillivray got the utmost of his wishes, and crowed over the result.
The infamy of this malicious character grows in depth with the probing.
Back of his tampering with different embassies in the past, his Judas-like
dealing with different nations at the same time, his instigation of the
tribes to outbreak, his dragging these Indian chiefs across the country
all the way to New York, lay the sinister and sordid selfishness of this
perfidious man, already named, McGillivray provided for himself by being
made a brigadier general in the regular American army on full pay, which
was at that time twelve hundred dollars, while he was to derive additional
remuneration as the government agent to the Indian tribes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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