| Show j from the new orleans picayune billhi T bowleg and lna the florida warthe the air of romance romance which attaches to the native children of bur our forests it matters not to what tribe they may belong has induced us its to furnish our cur readers with a faithful portrait of billy bowlegs Bow legg t the last king of the everglades since 1835 the florida indians have oleu mccu 1 pied pled a large share stare of public attention and almost fabulous sums kave wave have been expended b by y the united state states government in a 9 useless endeavor to drive them from their thein island lyland homes among the morasses and lagoons in the interior of the country the first hostilities originated in the opposition of the most of the chiefs of the seminole lemmole nation to the execution of the treaty of paynes landing landig it wa was stipulated in this treaty that the semi I 1 should surrender their lands to the united unita states and emi emigrate t raiq west of the pi pil I 1 iri irl in co consideration of a certain bertain sum of money morey which I 1 was to be paid them or on their arrival at the banks of the river about the time that preparations for their removal were wera comple completed tedi i gohn john hentan influential chief who had fa fai j bored the movement died and ind osceola b became ame awe i the controlling spirit of the from that period the minds of the and of the Semi seminoles Seminole noles sw were ere inflamed against the i whites and active outrages became frequent the m ost disastrous bf these WAS them the massacre aska assa of major maior dades command consisting of two companies of artillery orr on the 0 of december 1835 from vora the date of this mas massacre the wa wan war r was continued under gen gan clinch brig gen call gen gaines col twi dwiggi I 1 s gen scott gen jessup and gen taylor till 1839 when n gen macomb coin coln commander mand erin er in chiet chief of the army invited the indian chiefs to a conference and such arrangements were entered into as induced him hira to believe that the war would I 1 g speedily be b terminated his lils hopes however p proved roved to be ill founded shortly after the fihe conference and in violation of its provisions trains travel travelers era ers and plantations were lvere attacked col harney hartley Charlotte at harbor was surprised while asleep andoe and of thirty ara dragoons who were with him only six escaped clarn harney saved his life by rushing out from tie the the rear of his bis tent without waltin waiting walting to dress diess himself then thel running for several miles irlies and swimming to a bishin fishing boat this surprise i was effected by two hundred and ind fifty se seminoles manoles Semi mi noles under the thi command of billy bowlegs and it was indeed the first time that the hero bero of our sketch appeared ii n any prominent position as a leader of his savage followers when in this city a few lays days spice somebody asked billy it he bo knew gen harney he Te replied plied piled with a drunken sw asger aeger 10 yes I 1 make him run like h 1 one time the reply is curiously illustrative of the fact that sa savages more readily acquire the yi vices ces than the virtues of c civilization shortly after the harney surprise ethe the legislature of florida made provision for the employment of blood hour houe ds to track the indians to their lurking places and thirty animals of dp proved approved breeda breed were re imp imported from cuba but among the waters ot of the ev everglades they pro proved ved red wholly useless and the government was saved the reproach of outdoing outgoing out doing the sava savages ryes fres themselves in savage strategy in 1840 1340 gen taylor obtained permission to retire from the command in flo fio florida r ida lda and gen armistead ead succeeded him during that year liri ami t the It following when col with worth had llad the i chief command sz skirmishes were and the forty seven thousand square miles of territory aitor y occupied in in part by the indians were kept inept in a constant state of alarm durine during 1842 a number of chiefs were invited to toa feast I 1 and were made irl prisoner prison 1 cr while partaking it of it 1 another chief 11 with t h eighteen warriors was ivas decayed decoyed on board a vessel and secured and arid great numbers of the indians being thus deprived of their lead leaders er a surrendered and consented t to emigrate at this period billy 1 other othen chiefs from the south aanon whom ads was the IT i venerable sam jones the iFer mav map came an in to negotiate a treaty of peace peace but billy proved to be b e more wary thanaa chy dby of iii ili llis ilis s peers I 1 S 1 C l i I 1 I 1 I 1 i mth ath th ilde ade ide louir lon ion ivr F ran tan I 1 by doubt doubt and cu at uner oner lie ite h was wag cant cautious ious lous about placing 0 himself in the power of tho iho tb whitte and ani for a time he kept the attention of the 0 Tf ficera engaged efa faa by his bis ru rude d e b but 41 akila dir p 25 macy macef r col worth dici deceive ived db ay y appearances arid ball hallow 0 1 promises proclaimed the alwa over in april 1842 but n no 0 sooner booner had bad he resign rei rel resigned ign il the command which aich was assumed by col CI 3 vose than guerrilla conflicts broke out afresh on thel part of the indians in la these mo move ments bowlers had the credit of being th the e chief agent and arid director and it is c certain e that be resisted large promises of reward in case he induced his people to emigrate conference after conference was bad and bih bib billy I 1 ii by his frequent intercourse with the whiles acquired quite a fluent use of ideen th e english and spanish languages indeed he pretended to aided to be quite a savant among the red skins of the everglades and nis uis sald said that be he obtained the he prettiest of hib his two wives by means of a fraud foun toun founded dedon on his vis education educational al assumptions I 1 i it appears that ahat one of the braves of his big tribe had i a young and pretty vi eife ife who attracted the attention of billy much in the same saine manner that the psalmist king of old was attracted by the beall beati beauteous teotis wife of his servant uriah nor does the parallel end nd it in mere 1 ass ional lonai itt attraction tract i on each compassed the death of a husban husband 1 for the accomplishment of an unhallowed purpose ant ami awl 1 l in bo no respect does the case of the savage appear worse than that of the psalmist As the story runs 13 billy illy 1115 pretended pretender to have hae received a lette letter r informing him ini lui hat that the tiie hus bus ha 9 band of a pretty squaw was vias about to betray the Semi seminoles noles to the whites and he be at once e preferred against him the charge of bei be beings inga ng a traitor craitor the brave indignantly denied the charge but billy showed the litter letter which cille clile he had hid received and antl read from it in en english lish aish the tha most convincing proof against the culprit thereupon the surprised brave questioned billys abil ability to read but billy replied that he was waa willing to have his bia skill in reading and writing english engli b put to the severest test and if a lett iett letter ietter w aich lie would write in the presence of the chiefs of the them nation were riot not dimmed immediately anderst understood bod by the tike officers of the thi neighboring fort he would himself stand impeached and allow the prosecution to fall and his bis wicked foresight knew what he was about when at the fort a few days previously he asked the offic officer er in charge charre to w wi ite lie what 11 hat lid he would V suld suid dictate and the off itier officer consenting he had bad written 41 billy bowlegs knoot klige of the senn Senu notes noles can read and write the tile english glish lan ian language guSe 1 l billy buly then told the officer cl r that lie iva ira wanted to play playa a joke ake off on some of 0 f his bis people and atif any of them came to the I 1 fort or t with a pl letter bearing his autograph to read or translate it in the tha the words which had ju just t beeh been wr whitten written iten so rhen when a ahe fhe messenger asen er was sent with billys letter the officer ato at o once ace understood and erswood and read road it as per previous athe agreement gre ement svan conviction and execution of the pretty aqua squawks W a husband then billy comforted the pretty squaw and iund she became his wife after col worth was b reverted ted brigadier general gel Gei eral eval ind and returned to the command inn ihn innumerable u petty treaties and hollow agreed to by billy until finally during mr Fill mores occupancy of the presidential chair he lie was induced by gen blake to pay a visit to the great white chief at washington Wast lington so billy with a few of his capps n braves made madie his first tour through the W white tit P mans mails i territory and manifested the usual indifference nce of the indian stoic whenever evidences of df the white mans man skill were presented for his ad the steamboat goodbub good but he preferred the canoes of til he e everglades 1 an d went pretty fast but he had a little black pony that would beatie beat it when taker takes ulo uto the presidential presence he observed to mr air fillmore you big chief and im king of the seminoles Semi noles let there be h a friendship between us tafter after he had bad become tired of washington gen blake biake took him to new york which ke acknowledged was considerable of a village one day he be was las shown the principal pai pal harbor de fences and he observed odthe of the guns that they might do very well weli there but they would not be bp byorth worth orth a nash rash among the everglades on bis his return to florida tie die h expressed liis ilis willingness willin griess to emigrate and ana anda anaa a friend of ours who spent an evening with him in the quarters of gen childs at tampa bay informs us that hp lif conducted hims himself elf eif in n the pr presence of the ladies with marked propriety but billys promises to emigrate vere were not fulfilled though repeated time and again to capt casey the indian agent at Tamp tampa aBay bay every year his war warriors giors were beco becoming mim min jess less in number and his predatory power and prestige were consequently diminished i the last of billys outrages outrages which attracted i much attention bocc occurred irrea about tout two years ago it etwas was the attack and massacre of a party pirty with two wagons arder bruer command of leit harti I 1 between fort beynard and fort simon drum druin the party was surprised a palmetto hummock und arid ind all were v re ledwith kil kii the them exception of the fhe laute bant who single handed kept the indians for some tine time at bay he finin firing t from the shelter of ofa a wagon walon while two of bl his i s wounded X kept kert hs his li eamons loaded loa ioa dedi at length le ath however he be was wounded in the rj nirm and arid breast blea t and conc cone concluding u ing to igi give ve up til ill euneau 1 contest con he be ran for tor a neighbor jag thicket tl here where there wasa pond of water surrounded sili suii by a tall growth of rushes into ts 0 nd he crawled prid lav lay dawn in shewa berand d though pairs pursued ned ith ath by th e indians ns and clo cali cail upon by billy to comi come out and surrender lie he managed to escape the notice of his savage fobs foes ubo ho left eft liim him to his fate about the aim tim im that a llew liew new danger bean began be an to threaten him in the shape of a hungry alli alligator gator two day days p afterwards hew he wab was fouch nil nii bv liy a narty party from fort port simon drum in an aliecia dylo the recent 1 ar 11 e M I 1 tt 1 t ath billy was never bi y i who decla decia redtha a waon adon r 79 on 1 loz lod loa 0 of f wo rey ney would not induce bini birri to bleave leave lon jon on I 1 L apra ing odthe ath mst mat coi colare Col pre JRe in chike chige char ge of billy ani ahi and the test ov tue lue the volA voluntary e tary emigrants emigrants and captives I 1 lumbering in am one hundred buzed and baxt five i 4 Alc tc cordin to a erb ere left in the ahe country tur oliree ee parties panties of irad an s 1 one known as the boatmen consisting lof twelve warriors and their families and the third the Tallahass sees ees about eight warriors warrior warrion with their families the boatmen billy left with great reluctance for he be asserts atiat they would have emigrated willingly if they could coula only have been found billy and his follower arr arrived ived ayed at the bar the city of new ply elt 1 orleans orleana op on tha the th june on tb ohp p steamer t grav gray ra y cloudland Clou dand aid for a the last kingoff the everglades Ever gades was ax lionized r Crescent the city but be defeated most moat of the arrange merits made on hib his behalf heh beh ehl alf by his him bi continual di un kenness and arid his tent tend tendency eilcy pricy robts toh tob was rather incline d to moderate the admiration of his visitors i i I 1 I 1 er ere this billy has armed arrived at bislew home bome in fhe he indian tp west of arkansas and the contest with the florida indris Ind fahs lasted for far twenty three years and cost bost ib e united stats states government recty a millions ot 0 dollars maybow be consider ed as is at anena antena |
