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A number of Scottish traders lived among the Creeks and intermarried. Many of their offspring took advantage of their dual citizenship, with a European father and Indian mother, for the Europeans traced ancestry through the father and the Indians through the mother. Some of these offspring included John (Hell Fire Jack) Rogers, John (Nolichucky Jack) Rogers, and Jack Kinnard (bad-tempered Kinnaird; Scottish-Creek mix) .
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"The proprietors also received word that the surviving Westo had wanted peace with Carolina and wished the Savannah to mediate, 'but their messengers were taken away and sent to be sold.' The same fate befell the messengers of the Waniah. Sarcastically, the proprietors rued 'but if there be peace with the Westohs and Waniahs where shall the Sevanahs get Indians to sell the Dealers in Indians'? The proprietors were sure that the cause of both the Westo and Waniah wars, and the reason for their continuance, lay in the colonists' desire to sell Indians into slavery. The governor and council [of the Colony of the Carolinas] responded to these accusations with a public letter, . . . Disingenuously, the enslavers pleaded that the Savannah had been too powerful to refuse: 'having united all the tribes . . . it is dangerous to disoblige them.' First the leading men had raised an army to protect the 'weak' Savannah from the Westo, but then they had had to buy their captives because the Savannah were too powerful to resist." (Quoted in Gallay, 2002, The Indian Slave Trade [New Haven]: 61; original sources: Commissions and Instructions from the Lords Proprietors of Carolina to Public Officials of South Carolina, 1685-1715; and Journal of the Grand Council of South Carolina, April 11, 1692-September 26, 1692.)
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"From 1763 to 1773 the settlers of Georgia moved inland to claim the territory the Creeks had ceded at Augusta in 1763. Internal strife in the colonies before the American Revolution meant slower westward movement by the settlers. Yet by 1773 Georgians were once again demanding lands in payment for debts run up by the Creek. This time the Cherokee and Creek shared claim to the land the Georgians wanted, so both had to be satisfied. Georgia "purchased" the land, although all they actually did was to forgive debt that the tribes had accrued." (Larry Worthy, Our Georgia History.com.)
Trade, to the Creek, meant power (mostly in the form of weapons and ammunition).
(Alan Gallay [2002] The Indian Slave Trade descibes the practice of some traders with Indians of getting the Indians drunk during trade negotiations and buying goods quite cheaply plus encouraging the Indians to run up debts. This was a way for the traders to make quicker money.
Many trade agreements included some debt forgiveness, although land generally had to be paid for--at least a war chief had to profit. What's unusual about this 1773 treaty is that not a single thing was paid for the land. Although the Indians needed debt forgiveness to continue trading, they also needed land to procure the goods they traded!
"In November, 1783, two minor chiefs (Tallassee and Cusseta) ceded Creek land between the Tugaloo and Apalachee Rivers. After the cession, relations between the state of Georgia and the Creek Nation worsened and on April 2, 1786 the Creek Nation declared war. Attacks against settlers on Creek land were carried out. In spite of two attempts at treaty (Shoulderbone, 1786; New York, 1790) there was no sustained peace on the Georgia frontier until after the War of 1812. Although most of the incidents were relatively minor, settlers on the boundary between the Creek Nation and the state of Georgia were always fearful of a raid." (North Georgia History.com)
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(The Creek right after U.S. Independence; Chiefs MacGillivray & McIntosh.)
MacIntosh, raised by his Creek mother, operated a backwoods plantation, tavern, and ferry on the Chattahoochee River with his wife Peggy.
Educated in Latin and Greek according to Carol Middleton (author of Among the Creeks), MacGillivray lived in Alabama.
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From the Letters from Mr Alexander MacGillivray, one of the Creek Chiefs, part Creek, part Scots; This letter is supplied by:
Carol Middleton's Among the Creeks, at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cmamcrk4/mgvltrs1.html#anchor1669478
(There, you may browse through this Creek Chief's letters himself--who fretted over the loss of his personal plantation lands in Alabama where he kept maybe 50 or sixty black slaves, a small Indian village, etc., on very beautiful land outfitted with every necessity according to Westerners; he signed some of the Creek land cessions [not of his own lands obviously], but opposed others!)
I'm not 100% sure whether this letter is addressed TO THE ENGLISH KING OR TO THAT OF SPAIN--likely the King of Spain:
The Nation is now pretty well drained of Negroes. What few there is, dont answer the description, you wish.
As for Raw & drest deer Skins, I can purchase any Quanity whatever, if they woud turn to good account. If I knew the prices that Skins would fetch, I coud then be a better Judge, how to lay out money in them.
I wrote to your Excellency very fully by my Sister, what I wrote concerning the Indian Trade, was on account that Messr. Panton Forbes & Co. Merchants in Augustine is by the treaty of Peace to remain & carry on the trade there & as I formerly mentiond they have petitioned the Spanish Ambassador in England for leave to establish a house either at Pensacola or Mobile for the purpose of Supplying the Trade in case it took place, those Gentlemen offerd me a part in it. They have hopes of Succeeding, &I am certain it will be good Policy to permit of such a measure by the Court of Spain, for reasons that I mentioned in the letter by my Sister.
Little Tallassie, January 3, 1784
With respectful regard Your Excellencys most obedient Servant Alex. McGillivray Governor ONeil
P. S. the bearer has executed his trust faithfully & he begs of me to recommend him to Your Excellencys bounty for 4 kegs Strong taffia, a good Carrot tobacco some ammunition & something to his wife and child.
A. McG.
Was the nation drained of Negroes? A number of Negroes either ran away or were freed, and in either case, lived as free men, often in the wilderness to the west which was not much settled by Europeans. According to Gallay in The Indian Slave Trade, Carolina's " . . . militia enrolled 'a considerable Number of active, able, Negroe Slaves.' In time of invasion, these slaves received freedom if they killed an enemy, the public compensated the owner . . . "--p. 167; However, according to Gallay again (2002; The Indian Slave Trade), sometimes trading left areas drained of the Negroes living as 'free men.' Gallay notes how Indian slaves were sometimes exchanged in their village for runaway African slaves living among the Indians [p. 290], and that thus, runaway Negroes were rounded up and re-enslaved, along with those who had legally been freed. The trade in slaves also left areas such as Florida drained of Indians for, according to Gallay, anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 Southern Indians may have been enslaved by 1715--possibly more Slaves were exported than imported by the Carolina's during this time--this was in part a way to rid Florida of the Indians allied with the Spanish. Nevertheless, there may have been Negroes living in the area at that time that MacGillivray simply did not want to send, for Alabama and Florida, drained of their natives, needed the new settlers of African descent to become strong enough to resist encroachment--MacGillivray had reasons for seeking a strong Florida!
Another 1784 MacGillivray letter may shed some light on this:
As the Floridas are Confirmd to the Crown of Spain by the Peace, I Solicit in behalf of the Creek Nations his Majestys most Gracious Protection for themselves and Country, as is by them claimd and now held in actual possession.
If in the event of War Brittain has been Compell'd to withdraw its protection from us, She has no right to transfer us with their former possessions to any power whatever contrary to our Inclination and Interest.
We certainly as a free Nation have a right to chuse our protector and on our Search what power is so fitting as the Master of the Floridas.
I shall offer Some reasons to Shew that it woud be good Policy in the crown of Spain to Grant us our desires.
. . . [MacGillivray continues this same letter] . . .
I can assure Your Excellency for a certainty that the South American States [i.e., Georgia and the Carolinas] are exceding Jealous of the Countenance that is Shewn to the Indians at Pensacola & those States at this time are taking every measure in their power by Supplies of Goods and presents to fix this Nation in their Interests which if they are allowed to effect they Will Make the worst use of their Influence & will Cause the Indians from being freindly to Spain to become Very dangerous Neighbours, & will make use of them in all the designs they may form against Pensacola & Mobile or elsewhere.
In 1783, MacGillivray did trade in Negroes, for he wrote for the release of one of the Indian traders in Negroes:
I am Informed that one of our traders, named Ambrose Grizzard is now in Confinement in Pensacola, for what offense I have not learnd. If tis on Suspicion of his being a Spy, tis Without foundation, he being encourgaged by the report of other traders that have been at Pensacola Selling Negroes.
MacGillivray was not the first to dip into depopulated Florida in search of a new base; the Yamasee after the wars ending around 1717 began moving into Florida, along with African Slaves liberated by the Yamasee or who had run away on their own (Gallay, The Indian Slave Trade, 2002).
According to Our Georgia History.com (http://ourgeorgiahistory.com/indians/Creek/creek03.html),
"Meanwhile, the American demands continued. Unsatisfied with the Creek land cession of 1783, commissioners for the United States (then organized as a confederacy), tried to negotiate another cession at Gauphinton in October, 1784. When the Creek failed to show up in sufficient numbers the commissioners left in disgust. However, Elijah Clarke was not as discriminating as the U. S. commissioners and he coerced the Creek into signing a treaty ceding the land from the Ocmulgee and Oconee River south to the St. Mary's. This treaty also validated the 1783 Treaty of Augusta." (Larry Worthy, Our Georgia History.com.)
"On April 2, 1786 the Creeks declared war on Georgia and attacked settlements on a wide front. Americans, who wanted peace but were unwilling to give back Creek lands gotten at Augusta and Gauphinton. MacGillivray's wide front included attacks as far north as the Cumberland River. The Creek chief refused to negotiate with the Georgians until they recognized the boundary of Creek and Georgia land to be that of the Augusta treaty of 1773, something the Georgians would not do. He then signed a treaty with the settlers in the Cumberland area while continuing to attack Georgia." (Worthy, Our Georgia History.com.)
MacGillivray ceded the land North of him, from the Altamaha to the Oconee River. MacGillivray was made a U.S. General as a result.
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"Chief McIntosh, Gov. Troup's first cousin, agreed to cede all Lower Creek land to Georgia in the Treaty of Indian Springs in 1825, perhaps reluctantly, although McIntosh profited from this sale. He had been manipulated by both the federal and state governments to sign the treaty. McIntosh also had no clear mandate from his people. After signing the treaty, and prior to the removal [of the Creeks], McIntosh and several other leaders were murdered by angry members of the tribe. The Treaty of Indian Springs was ratified in the U.S. Congress by a single vote." (North Georgia History.com.)
"Despite the fact the Upper Creeks (including McIntosh) had vowed to kill anyone who signed away any more Indian land, McIntosh, along with eight other chiefs, on February 12, 1825 signed the Treaty of Indian Springs; thus relinquishing all the Creeks' land in Georgia in exchange for $400,000, which was then worth vastly more than it is today. Whether he signed the treaty for personal gain or because he believed signing it was in the best interests of the Creek Nation is still argued." (From Wikipedia, "William McIntosh.")
(Note: it seems that McIntosh ceded land that he disputed with rival Chief MacGillivray.)
McIntosh's wife's story:
After his death, MacIntosh's wife Peggy complained in the Cherokee Advocate that,
"I do not blame the Creeks, the Creeks treat me well, the Cherokees treat me well--it was by Government my husband lost his life--Government say to my husband 'Go Arkansas, go to Arkansas, and you will be better off.' My husband wished to please the Government--my house is burned, myself and my children run--my children naked--no bread--one blanket, is all--like some stray dog, I suffer; with one blanket I cover my three children and myself--the Government say 'Go!' The Indians kill him; between two fires my husband dies; I wander--Government does not feed me--Creek does not feed me--no home, no bread, nothing! nothing! Till Gen. Ware gives me a home, I suffer like some stray Indian dog." (From Roots Web Free Pages (http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cescott/parks/chief.html)
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"Emboldened by his victory in the 1825 election, Troup reaffirmed his belief that the Treaty of Indian Springs was valid. President Adams quickly negotiated the Treaty of Washington in January, 1826. This treaty left a small piece of land on the Georgia-Alabama border in Creek hands. Not pleased with the new treaty, Troup ordered the land surveyed for a lottery, including the piece that was to remain in Creek hands. Since the federal government had no real love for Native Americans they allowed Troup to quickly renegotiate the treaty and take all Creek lands in the state. By 1827 the Creek were gone." (from North Georgia History.com (http://ngeorgia.com/history/indianla.html).)
MacIntosh's beautiful plantation is now part of Indian Springs State Park.
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