Red Eagle and the Wars With the Creek Indians of Alabama.Eggleston, George Cary
History
Red Eagle and the Wars With the Creek Indians of Alabama.
Eggleston, George Cary
Creek War, 1813-1814; Weatherford, William, approximately 1780-1824
Justice being satisfied, the Creeks might now have remained at peace
with the whites if they had joined the older chiefs in wishing to do
so; but unfortunately that which placated the whites only served to
incense the war party among the Creeks against both the whites and the
peaceful men of their own nation. Murders and other outrages occurred
frequently. The men of the war party became truculent in their bearing,
and matters were in a ferment throughout the nation. The prophets
prophesied, and the orators made speeches denouncing the "peacefuls," as
they called the Creeks who opposed war, as bitterly as they did the
whites. The Alabamas were especially violent, probably in consequence of
their close neighborhood with Red Eagle, whose influence over them was
almost without limit. They committed outrages especially designed to
force the beginning of war, among other things killing a mail-carrier,
seizing the United States mail and carrying it to Pensacola, where they
robbed the bags of their contents.
Big Warrior, who had stood so firmly against Tecumseh's threats, still
held out, but he was now thoroughly aroused. He invited the chiefs of
the war party to a council, but they scorned to listen to his pleas for
a hearing. Failing to bring them to him, he sent a messenger to them
with his "talk," which was in these words: "You are but a few Alabama
people. You say that the Great Spirit visits you frequently; that he
comes in the sun, and speaks to you; that the sun comes down just above
your heads. Now we want to see and hear what you have seen and heard.
Let us have the same proof, then we will believe. You have nothing to
fear; the people who did the killing on the Ohio are put to death, and
the law is satisfied."
This was a perfectly sensible, logical, reasonable talk, and for that
reason it angered the men to whom it was sent. Men in a passion always
resent reason when it condemns them or stands in the way of their
purposes. The Alabamas answered Big Warrior's sensible proposition by
putting his messenger to death. Thus the civil war among the Creeks, for
it had become that now, went on. The peaceful Indians remained true to
their allegiance, and fought their hostile brethren when occasion
required, although they did what they could to avoid collisions with
them.
In such a time as that even civilized men become disorderly, and the
hostile Creeks grew daily more and more turbulent. They collected in
parties and went upon marauding expeditions, sometimes sacking a
plantation, sometimes murdering a party of emigrants, sometimes making a
descent upon the dwellings of peaceful Creeks, and doing all manner of
mischief.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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