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Show r The Unconquered Seminoles By Frederic J. Haskin. 1 WASHINGTON, Juno 8. After Killing, j robbing nnd betraying the Florida i Seminoles consistently for about a century, cen-tury, the American people, as represented represent-ed by congress and the bureau of Indian affairs, now pro-pose to educate, civilize and convert them. To ibis proposition the Seminoles renly, in effect : "No, thank you. We don't want any of your brand of civilization. T.c-sides. all w'hite men are liars. Vou have always lied to us before. Why should we believe in your protestations this time?". The story of the Florida Seminole?- has come out in connect ion with the present efforts of the government to help them. It reveals the fact that this tribe of 6u0 Indians is an uneonntired race, living on Its own lands, worshiping it,s own tfod, making Its own laws, acknowledging no authority, and asking nothing of anyone except "tho glorioua privilege of beinb' independent." The very name. Seminole, means revolutionist revo-lutionist or renegade, and was given these Indians early in the eighteenth century when they declared themselves independent of the powerful Creek confederacy. confed-eracy. About a hundred years ago they clashed with white settlers in Florida, iin.l General Andrew Jackson went after them. There followed a littlo later the Seminole war, which was the bloodiest, most expensive and longest Indian war ever fought hv the United Statea government. gov-ernment. It was a war of extermination. The Indians were hunted like wild beasts. This war also brought out one of the greatest of Indian leaders In the person of Osceola, chief of the Seminoles. Osceola is the George Washington of the Seminoles. Semi-noles. Ilis memory is still revered and his words repeated by them. His sulding principle in life was never to trust a white man, because all white men are liars, and this is the maxim of the Florida Seminoles in their attitude toward the government today. The Seminole war ended In a treaty, which was signed by a few Ind:ans, claiming to represent the whole tribe. The Indians sav that these chiefs did not reoresent the tribe and had no authority author-ity to sign a treaty. The signing of the treat v was not witnessed, and it is claimed that the Indians who made it were first gotten drunk by the whites. The treatv provided that the Seminoles 1 should he taken out of Florida, and removed re-moved to the Tndian Territory in Okla-i Okla-i noma. All of them who could be caught i were removed, in a brutal way. which increased in-creased their hatred for the whites. A : remnant nf the tribe retired to the depths I of the Kverglades where no one could j find them. Thev never surrendered to the United States and never accepted the treatv. The descendants of these are the Florida Seminoles of today. Tn Pome wav. which no ono seems fullv to understand, these Indians acquired title to r'hnut 26,00 acres of lard, near th Everglades. A larce rnrt ef this wns swnmp. hut it contained "hammocks" of fertile land, where the Indians could rnlce small crops of vegetables. If they took up better lands, some white rrnn nlwnvs ca me a 'one as soon as the land was d. -n red and took it away from the Indians. In-dians. Thus thev were trrsduiillv foree.1 hfiek .to fhe one little trct of wilderness which was acknowledged to he theirs, larelv hec.Tis1 no one else wanfed it. Thev 1 i v f r h ! e d v bv h u n t i n tr a " d fi I s h -irtr. Patching a11; enters for their b'des h-H Ioht been their most remunerative r' mi nation. r"or a time t'-ev hunted the sno-.vv f-gret and other l'r1 f"r the-.r Tiinmes. but now th laws of Florida Prfl-h'hit Prfl-h'hit this. G.i -e N cett ine stfM'tv ft-t r.',--r. .Til the Semino'e's r.ro lem of 'ie ! ini-. i!o has. no nerment home, hut "'il-N his enmp on ore o' the liRmmor'.-s. IPs horse is a thatch'-d peof s'.'Pt cd on t o!-1'-, hnvin? no waMs. hut a woclen Moot- ttU rirf' Is scartv. hut hi,Thiv in-Mv;dm in-Mv;dm 'istie. Th Semino'es are the mn"t -iet'irr.uie of Tnd'ms. As n relic of pre- UohiMihin n A m erica, the tr'e is worth : vnMv more in it present primiih'e sf-te i r'n its mcniheis will ever be worth as! ci" ; ze-is. ! Se-r-a! ve"s Aco ph oe!tn.t'ort w"? ! sn r- ed in Florida to he'" out th.e -rmi-n!.. Tt r.-"nltd in the stre cf y, ,r ;da ""''.""C 1 u m o p-rcint of 1 'W1'1 of b.n'P T-e ptato rif-frv, a.l i.,..-.n i-K--n. L-re-if cred't for cn- et-,-,Q t v. Sf'i' rr f po""evtr. h a ve rt,i omi t'it r.f.-u- n'l of this land is nwi.-r- fii-nn- c'v f.-..--t nf wi ter. boot ;ic same ti-11" seni ronTPsmii t 1 d o w n a ti (1 loo1-- ed v t t h n P I " o' - ? T'.'pv w ero sV.ocl.- 1 Info a toronri a n lT i ii ii -ill for t he ert"ca tlo" and cenc-al no-iff ' of the TdUns This anrro"-1.!-1 1 v i ; r 1 1 en for ?,er. 1 'ea T,J. T1, ; s v.v,r f'a oo.i h ;d. Tn connection w'th t ' -1 s pro-nt-o.l a nnronrta t 'on of V'.i f1"4"1, -:';. ;l d'''-ite ovr tKe SnM-ole? broke jn rr.'i..-roj. Some of the ronerf ss-n.-n didn't want to a np-orhn te the mnnrv, on the cronnd that We a t had al -r.. id v been appropriated bad not been t. Th'- Ir-d the writer to "a'n Se,1!. com-s;.in.-'r of TT-1!'in -.nir, who hns .barce of the f onronria t ion . He admitted admit-ted that vorv little of 'he inoncv has been orient and tint very V ; le ha s been der.o f- tho S-onino'es. The re a son (s t Kat fp. .'minolei do not want anvth!n done i'nr tliem. Th.ov do not on re to he cav -l,:r.cd or to h-arn tho Christian rrllcion. Thev havf hut on a article of faith: All wiiif r i.e?i are l!-irs " Tr. Sells opener schools for them; they oebln' t r lie t ried lo tench t hem fumim: and to mak' a bcaPh survcv of the ti-P-e, Ah of his efforts have been M-it with ev-i.ion. Fe'ore h.e can do anv-thhux anv-thhux for t iiese Indians lie must o-or-r..-ne the effects of a oemurv In w -hi eh t lie whites have murdered and robbe 1 them. It w.t In co'inection with Die murder nf mi TmP.m th;it tue hnrean took its h-st steu a few vears a -to toward f linitr: 'lie confidence of the SenitnoVs. One of t bco Indians was on bis wav to town wit h Jil wort h of a Ui va tor hides, when he was murdered and robbed hv a white man named .Ssblev. As the local nu-thorltles nu-thorltles did not seem 7a-'lous in pursuing vhv, Commissioner Sells sent a federal i.fpeor after him. After a tlramatic hunt tlnour-h the F ver gkid "S. Ash'ev was e. npht and turned o er to th nuthori'.ies for t r;al. and t lie env eminent man w ent home. Furing Vis trial Ashley nivsteri-ous'.v nivsteri-ous'.v escaped. The government man was sent l.aek. and. after another loin; bunt. anain cauglit Ashler, who was finally con ict ed. Tills incident eonvi need t least some of the Indians that the United Slates government has a sense of justice. jus-tice. A couple, of ynars ngo "Mr. Sells sent t. Florida Shawnee Indian named V'rank F. Ihandon. to net as a sort of wandering supervisor to Ihe Indians. .1 real work Is to win their confidence. To fin Ihhi he has traveled jill o er the Seminole territory with an o team and a collide of Indian guides. lalMm..- to the people a ud 1 1' vim; to ex pla in what the e.overnnient .wants t o do for them. I'nlil their cnnlidenee Is w on and they a re w lb ing to co -opera to. it Is useless, Mr. S.lls c nla Ins, to expend t ho a ppi oil la -lions which hae been made for (hem. There Is no use In building schools wluni the Indians shun t hem mm w or Us of t he dev'll. The 1'ommlssloncr's plan Is to fence the tract of '.'(i.O'M acres, which Is the oplv coed laud the Indians possess, ;in,t (o stock it with cattle The Indians will be taucjil to be heid-nucn. and the cattle u'U ultlniatelv be divided among them. Their education will come after thev ha c been prov ided with the inca us of tua U in-; a living. The deVi I e In con eta Vis over hi Sem -JnoleM broic-bt out the curious fact that n number of the eonereNsnien had vlsite.l these Indians. Some w ent as nienibci s nf a commission for that purpose, but others went merclv out of eurhisltv while sn.mdlng winter holldavs In Florida. All of (hem wero deeph- .shocked nt t lie unci un-ci vlllv.ed lok.'i of the Indians and w ere tilled wilh n inlehtv 7eal to beh them "When wn colore t into am- treatv with them." ("aid ( "one res'.uia n I'niei on, "it v,ri Pice enlei'ln". Inlo a treil' wilh a lot nf alb-alors down there Thev ,n e the mo'd binoiaot cl;t-. i of people I ,.x -.aw. Thev wm-e nil bare-font bare-font ed The women wear f.-rlv m- ti i'l v rows of be. i ibi a round t be'r lie. Km 'he ino't pecubiH thine. I ,-vry sl w In mv life. Tho-ie rdriti.'a of beads look like a neat muftler Mich mm ii tanner no tu New Ihu-.land might wear In tho depth of winter. b'oitv or Hl'ly or re en t tl e row a of heada n 1 1 iuu ii, nod one row If Hinpo.',i to lo worn for o:u''.i year of tln-ir ai-.o " , , l l.o !-.-: 's wo i-o arrarciitly too much for Mr. KlIl.TMMl. . . , u.-r tookmc at them I l.vi,J. notl; visit !!.: in oamp." ..'iio1iii- liraitiii ll,-:i'',v. "1 thoiK'U ' v'oM so b;ic to Ml; tin. wlior.' 1 .i .st.niru.'; In his own opinion, t'nr Sominoir ts not n.-avlv so nnl."-tiMi:.;o as t-.o :i;:'.',ir.-,1 to Tour io--nia n liinrtson. llo lios a o lif.. ' Kti.-h as ho is a,',-ostomo,l lo. ii'' his onovo 'i to rat iui.1 all thai la' 0011-s;.i,M-s o,-, ,-ss:il - la tho of olotlu-s. I 'I'li'-so lr,h:u's nr. f-itrlv )i.-.!lJy. Vniotson t:iir.'.vs l; o o-ir, r,ol -s av. on' a' r-il- wilh lb.' ail'.auois as Ir.'.uy-lv.K.-r. hat tho Sraiinol.-s hao l.f.ml th, :t!h-.-.alo's far mow ivlia'.'lo taan lia' whlto man. |
