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Show 186 LIFE OF GEN. JACKSON. CHAP. nessee, an assurance of safety was given, by the setVI. dements which would be afforded on tl1e lands stretch· ~ ing along the Tennessee river; whilst the extent of 1814" the cession west of the Coosa, would cut off all com· munication witl1 the Chickasaws and Choctaws, and prevent, in future, the 1mssage of tl~ose emissaries from the north-western tribes, who, durmg the present war, had so industriously fomented the discontents of the Creeks, and excited them to hostility. It is a happy consideration, tl1at whilst these adv~mtages wer~ ob· tained, no material injury was done those vanqmshed people. Their country, extensive ~s it was, presented no inducements to the hunters, which could, as here· tofore, be relied on with certainty; and, for all the pur· poses of agriculture, the part preserved to the~ w~s more than sufficient, for fifty times the populatiOn It contained. It may appear plausible in theory'. b.u.t p~c· tice will always disprove the idea, that the cJvihzation of Indians can be effected, whilst, scattered through :J!l immense wilderness, tl1ey are left to pursue their wan· dering habits of life. Iimred to their own manners, from th~ earliest period, it certainly would not answer to innovate at once upon tl1eir ancient customs; b~t, were their extensive wilds gradually reduced, so, II1 proportion, would the benefits resulting ~om hun:ing, and wandering through the forest, subside, until at last necessity would prompt them to industry and agriculture, as tl1e only certain and lasting means of suppmt. . . 1 Unwillin.,. to resort to any other mode of hvmg, thai tlmt to whi~h tl1ey had been always accustomed; and satisfied that their means of subsistence would be lost LIFE OF GEN. JACKSON. 187 in the surrender of their country, they remained obsti- CHAI'. nately opposed to any arrangement. Before being fi. ~ nally acted upon, the ~ty was fully debated in coun- 1814. cil, and the voice of tl1e nation decided against it. Jackson had already submitted the views of his government, and now met them in council, to learn their determination. He was answered by the Big vV arrior, a friendly chief, and one of their first orators, who de-clared the reluctance they felt, in yielding to the de-mand, from a conviction of the consequences involved, and the distresses it must inevitably bring upon them. The firm and dignified eloquence oftl1is untutored ora-tor, evinced a nerve and force of expression, that might ~ot have passed unnoticed, before a more highly po-hshed assembly: the conclusion of his speech is giv-en, for the satisfaction of such as can mark the bold display of savage genius, and admire it when discover-ed. Having unfolded the causes that produced the war, and admitted that they had been preserved alone by the army which had hastened to their assistance ; he urged, that although, in justice, it might be requir-ed of them, to defray the expenses incmTed, by the transfer of a part of their country, yet the demand was premature, because the war party was not conquered : they had only fled away, and might yet return. He portrayed the habits of the Indians, and how seriously they would be affected by the required surrender ; and thus concluded: "T.he president, ou: father, advises us to honesty Spcerh of and farrness, and prom1ses that justice shall be clone : \~~.,;';',~. hI hope and trust it will be .I I m·'l cle tlliS wm I · l in council L ·, WllCl as proved so fatal to my country, that J:he treaty en- |