Show Florida Tribesmen Kept dept by Fate date From Land and Holdings of Wealth TAr TAMPA A. A Fla Ma AP AP-A AP A few score Indians who persistently refused to migrate from Florida to the old Indi Indian n territory a century ago have descendants today living In poverty and while cousins grow wealthy from oil aU found o nd under their holdings In Oklahoma T This ls quirk of fate was recalled here when the sites of an old fort and a military highway built bunt during the Seminole wars of 45 1823 were marked with tablets recently The Tho markers were placed and unveiled unveiled unveiled un un- un- un veiled by the Daughters of the American American- Revolution ane where one e Pt Brooke was built huilt in 1823 and theother the theother theother other on the military trail trait running miles mUes northward to Ft King After formal territorial government government government govern govern- ment was established 0 by y Americans In Florida the legislative council first was convened at St. St Augustine Aug in 1823 About this time efforts were begun to induce the Seminole Indians to migrate to the lower Mississippi valley This Tobis movement was resisted by bythe bythe bythe the and war d clouds again began egan to gather over the much dis dis- dis territory held beld at different times by Iby the Spanish French English English Eng Eng- lish and Americans Soldiers were sent to garrison the frontier in central central central cen cen- Florida Skirmish and battle l whites and Indians followed In rapid succession until a treaty was signed In March 1837 at Camp Dade near what is now Dade City But the end was not yet When Osceola one of the Indian chiefs was captured captured captured cap cap- with seventeen of his followers follow follow- foll w- w I ers ers a a few months months- later r hostilities again Another treaty was was 1842 was Although war was ended officially and many of the braves moved mo westward westward west west- ward warn one tribe numbering or more kept up armed resistance under under under un un- un- un der Chief Billy Bowlegs It was not until 1857 that these savages were we're were pressed back into the Everglades Everglades Ever Ever- gl glades des beyond the southern settle settle- ments The Seminoles were not the orIginal original original nal Indian settlers in Florida As part of the Creek nation they had drifted d southward from the Mississippi MississippI sippI valley vaney about the time the thir- thir teen colonies revolted from Great I Britain Upon reaching Florida they adopted the name of at Seminoles and almost exterminated the Florida Indians In Indians Indians In- In who were an entirely differ different different differ differ- ent races resembling the Aztecs of Yucatan more than any other tribe Those of the Seminoles who submitted submitted sub sub- mUted to removal a w vc c re returned returned returned re- re turned to their old Creek tribes A Afew Afew Afew few years later oil was discovered in Oklahoma and the Indians became Immensely wealthy from royalties |