Spring of 1792. Fitzpatrick was the shadow of Watson; and Dunlap
divulged to his new friends his history and mission while they lingered
around the spring.
DUNLAP'S HISTORY.
To be brief: Twelve years previous, during an Indian raid in Bibb
County, a little friend--a ward of his father--was stolen and carried
away. Then and there, ere the triumphant yells of the foe were
silenced, he had registered an oath in Heaven, which was baptized by
the falling rain, never again to seek peace until he found it in the
rescue of "Bright Eyes"--his lost Nora. Since that hour his home had
been between the Towaliga and Ocmulgee, and his whole exertion was to
find the lost one and restore her to her friends.
A BATTLE AND RETREAT.
In the morning the party left the Spring, traveling down stream, but
in a few moments the shoals were reached. Here was another mystery,
which to Watson appeared more wonderful than did the gunpowder
spring. They had traveled down stream; of this they were certain; yet
they encountered an opposite current, and were amazed. Fitzpatrick,
however, soon explored the vicinity and discovered the meeting of the
waters near the Spring. Here two creeks, running in almost opposite
directions, met fraternally and formed the Big Sandy, which then flowed
in an easterly direction until it united with the Ocmulgee.
Crossing at the foot of the shoals, the party started down the stream,
hunting and traveling leisurely. Noon found them at a little spring
near the present site of Tanner's bridge, where they halted, kindled a
fire, and prepared to cook the choice bits of game they had secured.
Here they were again doomed to be disappointed; for suddenly their foe
burst upon them in overwhelming numbers. The odds were fearful, but
rather than surrender--which would have been death--the contest was
entered upon.
Many heroes whose names emblazon the pages of history never exhibited
the coolness and calculating courage of Ben Fitzpatrick in his first
battle. He stood fearlessly by the side of his companions, fighting
bravely until Cochran fell senseless, having been struck by the war
club of an Indian. As the Indian stooped to scalp his victim, Ben
plunged his hunting knife to his heart, and, when the brave uttered his
death yell, the boy attempted to remove his wounded comrade. At this
moment young Watson handed Ben his gun, gathered up Cochran, and crying
out "Now is our time, Ben," ran through the creek into the dark swamp
beyond.
They were now safe, for deep darkness had fallen, and their enemies
feared to pursue them. Cochran recovered during the night, but diligent
search failed to ascertain anything as to the fate of Dunlap; and,
warned by the signal smokes of the enemy, the trio started early next
morning for the nearest block-house east of the Ocmulgee.
DUNLAP AND NORA.
But Dunlap was not lost. He was shot through the left shoulder when
the attack was first made, fainted and fell, and was scalped and left
for dead. He lay hours, until nightfall--half waking, half sleeping
and dreaming. Suddenly he felt a soft hand bathing his fevered head.
He knew this kindness came not from savage hands, nor from the rough
goodness of a fellow huntsman, for the sweetness of an angel's breath
fanned his face. Pain was forgotten, yet he was afraid to move lest
the charm should be broken and the vision vanish. Half unconscious, he
whispered, as if by inspiration, "Nora." And the guardian angel hovered
about him proved to be the Nora for whom he had been searching. She
suppressed an involuntary scream as she recognized the object of her
compassion, and, laying her hand on the face of her old friend, in a
trembling voice said:
"Oh! my more than brother, have we met at last, after so many long and
weary years of separation, each of which has seemed an eternity?"
The recognition was mutual, but the meeting was too happy, too full of
sacred joy, to be intruded upon. The wounds of Dunlap were carefully
bound up by Nora, after the fashion of her companions from girlhood,
and they at once removed as far as possible from the vicinity of the
fight. They were not discovered the next morning and then commenced a
long and weary journey homeward, which extended through many days. At
last they saw the curling smoke arising from their native cabin. Here
the long lost were greeted with joy, and at an early day there was a
wedding--Dunlap and Nora were united, and at once settled down to the
realities of life.
In 1796, fearing other molestations from the savages, who were then
hostile to the whites, the Dunlap family sold their lands in Bibb and
removed to Liberty County, Georgia, where, at the present time, many of
their children's children may be found occupying high social positions.
FATE OF OUR HEROES.
The boy, Ben Fitzpatrick, grew up to manhood in company with his
friend, Watson. Subsequently he removed to Montgomery, Ala., where he
died a short time since. His career in his adopted State was an honored
one, he having served in both branches of the National Congress and
as Governor of the State. Governor Fitzpatrick was a cousin of Mrs.
Cynthia Varner, of Indian Spring. After the Indians were removed from
this section, Douglas Watson settled in Monroe County, where he resided
until his decease, which occurred a few years ago. Of the career of
Cochran we have been unable to obtain any data.
The foregoing history of the discovery of Indian Spring by the whites
is not all fiction. It is an "o'er true tale." "Duggie" Watson, the
hero of the foregoing pages--he who feared the smell of gunpowder
when he first looked upon the halfhidden spring, and fled--has often
repeated the history as we have given it in our hearing.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The Indians entertained a superstition that it would be unwise for
any of their tribe to make a permanent residence near this "Healing
water" because the noise and gambols of the squaws and papooses would
drive the spell from the water. Thus, as late as 1800, the visits of
the race to the Spring, though frequently made, were only temporary,
and for a special purpose in each instance. The tents of the red man
were always found on the adjacent hills, filled with invalids who
were brought to be cured, and again returned to the war path or their
hunting grounds. About the date named, Gen. Wm. McIntosh, a half
breed, and a cousin of Gov. Troup, erected a cabin for his own use,
and afterwards spent the summers here with his family. This broke the
spell; and subsequently a Mr. Ollison erected a double-cabin, which was
dignified with the title of hotel and for years was the only house of
accomodation afforded visitors. The same gentleman afterwards erected
a small corn mill, which stood near or on the site of the new mill now
being completed by Col. H. J. Lamar. These were the only improvements
made until after the treaty of 1821, and are remembered by a number of
our old citizens. The McIntosh cabin and the mill, were destroyed by
fire; what became of the hotel which stood upon the site of the north
end of the Varner House, we cannot state.
The "spell" was broken, and both races pitched their tents around the
Spring annually for a number of years, mingling without open hostility.
Watson and Fitzpatrick continued to act as scouts for the Government,
making the McIntosh cabin headquarters. Among the visitors were Messrs.
Dred and Jonathan Phillips, of Jasper county, who brought a friend that
had been afflicted with rheumatism, and unable to walk for years. A
short stay served to restore the afflicted to his original health, when
the party returned to their homes. While here the Phillips brothers
observed the excellent condition of the Indian stock, which was
attributed to the superabundance of cane then covering the extensive
bottoms, and, as a speculation, brought over a large drove of cattle
to pasture, which was left in the canebrake, but occasionally visited
to be salted and inspected. Subsequently this movement was interfered
with, as we shall show.
FIRST OUTBREAK.
The rival factions of the Creeks were severally headed by McIntosh and
Napothlehatchie--the latter termed Big Warrior. Another leader with the
Big Warrior clan was Hopoethleyoholo, who was said to have been the
most brilliant orator of the tribe. Through his influence the largest
number of the tribe joined Big Warrior, and he subsequently took an
active part in opposing the treaties of 1821 and 1825, concluded at
Indian Spring. Notwithstanding the factions were bitterly opposed to
each other, we have no record of any outbreak occurring until 1807.
The Phillips brothers were also left undisturbed in their pursuit. The
first disturbance occurred in June, 1807, when Big Warrior, with a
party of his braves, entered the stables of McIntosh at night and stole
all his horses. The same party also carried off the Phillips cattle.
When advised of their loss, the Phillips brothers gathered their
neighbors, and, on being joined by Watson and Fitzpatrick, pursued and
overtook the plunderers about seventy miles lower down the Ocmulgee.
After a desperate conflict the stock was recovered and Hopoethleyoholo
made prisoner. This brave refused to smoke the pipe of peace with his
captors, and actually spat in the face of the leader of the whites, who
tendered the symbol of peace. This act aroused the ire of the whites,
who were with difficulty persuaded by Watson to spare his life. The
discussion among the whites was suddenly disturbed by Big Warrior, who
rushed in with his followers, who had been reinforced, and recaptured
the favorite orator. During this second brief struggle Dred Phillips
was shot through the fleshy part of the left arm. The cattle were then
driven back to the canebrakes of the Big Sandy, and again apparent
quiet was the rule.
But the fires of hatred were only smothered in the breast of
Big Warrior. Watson and his companions were conversant with the
machinations of the unfriendly chief, and anticipated an outbreak
against both the whites and McIntosh party, but no opportunity
occurred, and all remained quiet until the war of 1812 was inaugurated.
In this war the McIntosh party--which had been gradually gaining
strength--joined with the forces of the State and Government, and
Big Warrior united with the public enemy. The struggle in Georgia
during the war was bitter, and involved the loss of many whites as
well as friendly Indians, and a heavy expense to the State. Upon the
declaration of peace between Great Britain and the United States, peace
again reigned in Georgia.
At the close of the war the whites again began to resort to the Spring,
and the sick were gathered from all quarters. The fame of the waters
spread, and the wonderful cures effected appeared more like the result
of magic than the effects of one of nature's great restorers. In 1816,
Mrs. C. H. Varner, who yet lives in our midst, spent some time here;
and the scenes of primitive beauty and interest she then looked upon,
and also the incidents that occurred, are distinctly remembered by the
venerable lady, as if it were but yesterday. Gen. John W. Gordon first
visited the Spring in 1819, and continued to spend a large portion of
his time here every year until his death. During the sojourns of this
gentleman at Indian Spring, he contributed largely to the improvements
that were made; and especially was his generosity, through a long
series of years, exhibited for the benefit of the needy and afflicted.
At his decease he left numbers at Indian Springs who will ever bless
his memory for the fruits of the seeds of kindness he was constantly in
the habit of sowing.
Among the early visitors was the veritable "Simon Suggs," who
subsequently became distinguished as a wit and humorist. Douglass
Walton, in his capacity of Government scout, continued to make his
headquarters here. In 1819, Mr. Jesse Jolley, Mr. John Lemon, and Mrs.
Freeman, with her husband and family located in Butts. The three first
named are still living, and are among the most honored citizens of the
county.
PUBLIC TREATIES.
Prior to 1721, efforts were made by the Government to secure possession
of the lands in Georgia lying west of the Ocmulgee. The McIntosh party
favored such a treaty, while Big Warrior and his adherents opposed it.
After many consultations between the two parties, favorable conclusions
were arrived at, and the pipe of peace was passed. Big Warrior alone
broke the faith thus cemented around the council-fires of his tribe;
McIntosh was again faithful, and in 1821, he concluded a treaty with
the agents of the government, by which the hunting grounds between the
Ocmulgee and Flint Rivers were forever ceded away, excepting a portion
of the Ward plantation and six hundred and forty acres around the
Spring. These reservations were made by McIntosh for himself. The first
embraced a large body of fertile land and the second the Spring, the
medical properties of which McIntosh well understood. This treaty was
ratified in Washington, March 2d, 1821.
This action of McIntosh and his adherents aroused another feud between
the rival wings of the tribe, which ended in a fierce battle. A heavy
loss was sustained on both sides, the McIntosh party suffering most
severely. Big Warrior was slain, and thus his party were left without
a leader. A little later the orator chief and McIntosh met and smoked
the calumet. How faithless the first named could prove to this solemn
covenant will be shown. In 1823, General McIntosh and Joel Bailey
erected the main building of the Indian Spring Hotel, and opened it
for the reception of visitors. This building is still yearly occupied
for the purposes originally intended. About the same date other
improvements were made, and Indian Spring became a favorite resort at
that day. The visits of the whites increased rapidly, and they sought
to secure residences, or camped out; while the Indians, now peaceable,
also flocked to the "Healing Water."
By an agreement, all parties met at Indian Spring to consider a second
treaty, early in February, 1825. The Government agents were protected
by United States troops, and large forces of the opposing Indian
factions were present. The negotiations were conducted in the hotel,
and concluded February 7th, 1825. Under this treaty all the Indian
possessions in Georgia were ceded to the whites, and an early removal
of the tribe arranged for.
The agency of General McIntosh in bringing about this treaty resulted
in his death within a few months. When it was announced that the treaty
was concluded, Hopoethleyoholo seized the occasion to give vent to his
long pent-up wrath. The Indians of both the old factions were present
in large numbers. All were excited. At last the orator chief mounted
the large rock yet seen at the south end of the Varner House, and gave
vent to his feelings and purposes in the following characteristic talk:
"Brothers, the Great Spirit has met here with his painted children
of the woods and their paleface brethren. I see his golden locks in
the sunbeams; he fans the warrior's brow with his wings and whispers
sweet music in the winds; the beetle joins his hymn and the mocking
bird his song. You are charmed! Brothers, you have been deceived! A
snake has been coiled in the shade and you are running into his open
mouth, deceived by the double-tongue of the paleface chief (McIntosh),
and drunk with the fire-water of the paleface. Brothers, the hunting
grounds of our fathers have been stolen by our chief and sold to
the paleface. Whose gold is in his pouch? Brothers, our grounds are
gone, and the plow of the paleface will soon turn up the bones of our
fathers. Brothers, are you tame? Will you submit? Hopoethleyoholo says
no!" Then turning to McIntosh, who was standing with the commissioners
at a window a few feet distant, he continued: "As for you,
double-tongued snake, whom I see through the window of the paleface,
before many moons have waned your own blood shall wash out the memory
of this hated treaty. Brothers, I have spoken."
By this treaty the Spring became the property of the State and the
ceded land was laid out in lots in 1826, the Commonwealth reserving
ten acres around the Spring for the benefit of her citizens then and
thereafter. The act establishing Butts County was passed in 1826. The
village of Indian Spring was incorporated by legislative enactment
in 1837, and in 1866, a second act changed the name to McIntosh and
extended the limits of the incorporation.
DEATH OF MCINTOSH.
General McIntosh and family removed to his plantation on the
Chattahoochee, and evidently rested secure. But the avenger was on the
war path, and the distinguished chieftain, who had rendered the whites
such signal service, was doomed.
In compliance with the advice of Hopoethleyoholo, a secret council was
held, at which one hundred braves were selected to secure the vengeance
desired, and these, headed by the wily orator, set out westward. When
near his residence, McIntosh and his son-in-law, Hawkins, were seen by
their hidden foe riding together. "They could then have been easily
killed," says White's Statistics, "but their lives were spared for
the moment to preserve a consistency so common in all plans of the
Indians. They had determined to kill McIntosh in his own yard, in the
presence of his family, and to let his blood run upon the soil of that
reservation which had been secured to him by the treaty." From the same
authority we learn McIntosh rode home unconscious of danger, while the
savages prepared for their work. Lightwood was procured to fire the
buildings. About three o'clock the premises were surrounded, and it
was not until the torch had been applied to the outbuildings that the
sleepers were aroused. Chilly McIntosh, the chief's son--who is yet
living--escaped through a window of one of the outhouses, and, running
the gauntlet, swam the river. General McIntosh, upon discovering his
assailants, barricaded the door and stood near it when it was forced.
He fired on them, and at that moment one of his steadfast friends,
Toma Tustinugse, fell upon the threshold riddled with balls. The chief
then retreated to the second story, with four guns in his hand, which
he continued to discharge from a window. He fought with great courage,
and, aware that his end was near, determined to sell his life as dearly
as possible. He was at this time the only occupant of the burning
house; for his two wives, Peggy and Susannah, who had been dragged into
the yard, were heard imploring the savages not to burn him up, but to
get him out of the house, and shoot him, as he was a brave man and an
Indian like themselves. McIntosh came down to the first floor, where he
fell pierced with many balls. He was then seized and dragged into the
yard. While lying there, the blood gushing from his wounds, he raised
himself on one arm and surveyed his murderers with looks of defiance,
and it was while so doing he was stabbed to the heart by an Ocfuskee
Indian. The chief was scalped and the buildings plundered and burned.
The party then sought for Hawkins, whom they also killed. His body was
thrown into the river.
AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT.
The family of General McIntosh spent the summer of 1826, at Indian
Spring, where his two youngest daughters, who had been highly educated,
spent their time in associating alternately with the dusky maidens of
their tribe and their palefaced sisters. During the visit one of the
sisters created a decided sensation by eloping with an Indian lover. A
gentleman now residing in the vicinity who at that time was a little
boy, whose parents were camped at the Spring, was at the McIntosh
cabin--then situated on the lot north of the Varner Hotel--when the
occurrence took place. There were hundreds of Indians camped on the
adjacent hills--the friendly party on the south side of the creek and
the adherents of Hypoethleyoholo on the north bank. The lover was a
leading chief of the latter party, and the match was bitterly opposed
by the McIntosh family and their adherents who keenly remembered the
sad events of the previous year; but the young lovers, who had long
since determined upon their course, cared not for opposition and well
arranged their plans.
On a bright Sunday morning our little white friend--now an aged and
respected citizen--was swinging in the cabin with the two girls when
an unusual commotion in the yard attracted the attention of all, and
they rushed to the door. The young girl's favorite pony was hitched
outside. Coming up the hill from the creek was seen the determined
lover, mounted, and accompanied by a score of his braves. On seeing him
approach, his intended rushed into the cabin, and, amidst the tears
and vehement protestations of her mother and sister, who were weeping
bitterly, she rapidly cast off the habiliments of civilization and
arrayed herself in a complete Indian costume. This accomplished, she
turned to her weeping friends, and after much talk in the language
of her tribe, she embraced them without shedding a tear, and rushed
out, kissing her little friend, who was gazing upon the scene with
wonder. The lover and his escort were drawn up near the gate; not a
word was said, and the girl sprang upon her pony and took her place in
the line behind her intended. Silently the party then moved down the
hill, crossed the creek, and were soon out of sight. They were legally
married at Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia, and the union was a
happy and prosperous one.--_Jackson, (Ga.,) Argus_.
[Illustration: To the Fifteenth Annual Conference of the Georgia
Daughters of the American Revolution in Augusta Assembled
Mrs. S.W. Foster State Regent
This Partial Map of the McIntosh Trail is sent by the Sarah Dickinson
Chapter D.A.R. Newnan, Ga.
Mrs. R. H. Hardaway--Regent
Mrs. E. G. Cole--Vice Regent
Mrs. J. E. Robinson--Secretary
Miss Lutie N. Powell--Treasurer
]
TRACING THE McINTOSH TRAIL.