To-day the commissioner showed a bolder front. A bold part had he
resolved to play, but he felt sure of success; and consequently there
was an air of triumph in his looks. He regarded the chiefs with the
imperious glance of one determined to command them; confident they would
yield obedience to his wishes.
At intervals his eye rested upon Osceola with a look of peculiar
significance, at once sinister and triumphant. I was in the secret of
that glance: I guessed its import; I knew that it boded no good to the
young Seminole chief. Could I have approached him at that moment, I
should have held duty but lightly, and whimpered in his ear a word of
warning.
I was angry with myself that I had not thought of this before. Haj-Ewa
could have borne a message on the previous night; why did I not send it?
My mind had been too full. Occupied with my own thoughts, I had not
thought of the danger that threatened my friend--for in this light I
still regarded Powell.
I had no exact knowledge of what was meant; though, from the
conversation I had overheard, I more than half divined the
commissioner's purpose. Upon some plea, _Osceola was to be arrested_.
A plea was needed; the outrage could not be perpetrated without one.
Even the reckless agent might not venture upon such a stretch of power
without plausible pretext; and how was this pretext to be obtained?
The withdrawal of Onopa and the "hostiles," while Omatla with the
"friendlies" remained, had given the agent the opportunity. _Osceola
himself was to furnish the plea_.
Would that I could have whispered in his ear one word of caution!
It was too late: the toils had been laid--the trap set; and the noble
game was about to enter it. It was too late for me to warn him. I must
stand idly by--spectator to an act of injustice--a gross violation of
right.
A table was placed in front of the ground occupied by the general and
staff; the commissioner stood immediately behind it. Upon this table
was an inkstand with pens; while a broad parchment, exhibiting the
creases of many folds, was spread out till it occupied nearly the whole
surface. This parchment was the treaty of the Oclawaha.
"Yesterday," began the commissioner, without further preamble, "we did
nothing but talk--to-day we are met to act. This," said he, pointing to
the parchment, "is the treaty of Payne's Landing. I hope you have all
considered what I said yesterday, and are ready to sign it?"
"We have considered," replied Omatla for himself and those of his party.
"We are ready to sign."
"Onopa is head chief," suggested the commissioner; "let him sign first.
Where is Miconopa?" he added, looking around the circle with feigned
surprise.
"The mico-mico is not here."
"And why not here? He should have been here. Why is he absent?"
"He is sick--he is not able to attend the council."
"That is a _lie_, Jumper. Miconopa is shamming--you know he is."
The dark brow of Hoitle-mattee grew darker at the insult, while his body
quivered with rage. A grunt of disdain was all the reply he made, and
folding his arms, he drew back into his former attitude.
"Abram! you are Miconopa's private counsellor--you know his intentions.
Why has he absented himself?"
"O Massr Ginral!" replied the black in broken English, and speaking
without much show of respect for his interrogator, "how shed ole Abe
know the 'tention of King Nopy? The mico no tell me ebberting--he go he
please--he come he please--he great chief; he no tell nobody his
'tention."
"Does he intend to sign? Say yes or no."
"No, den!" responded the interpreter, in a firm voice, as if forced to
the answer. "That much ob his mind Abe _do_ know. He no 'tend to sign
that ar dockament. He say no, no."
"Enough!" cried the commissioner in a loud voice--"enough! Now hear me,
chiefs and warriors of the Seminole nation! I appear before you armed
with a power from your Great Father the President--he who is chief of us
all. That power enables me to punish for disloyalty and disobedience;
and I now exercise that right upon Miconopa. _He is no longer king of
the Seminoles_!"
This unexpected announcement produced an effect upon the audience
similar to that of an electric shock. It started the chiefs and
warriors into new attitudes, and all stood looking eagerly at the
speaker. But the expression upon their faces was not of like import--it
varied much. Some showed signs of anger as well as surprise. A few
appeared pleased, while the majority evidently received the announcement
with incredulity.
Surely the commissioner was jesting? How could _he_ make or unmake a
king of the Seminoles? How could the Great Father himself do this? The
Seminoles were a free nation; they were not even tributary to the
whites--under no political connection whatever. They themselves could
alone elect their king--they only could depose him. Surely the
commissioner was jesting?
Not at all. In another moment, they perceived he was in earnest.
Foolish as was the project of deposing King Onopa, he entertained it
seriously. He had resolved to carry it into execution; and as far as
decrees went, he did so without further delay.
"Omatla! you have been faithful to your word and your honour; you are
worthy to head a brave nation. From this time forth, _you_ are King of
the Seminoles. Our Great Father, and the people of the United States,
hail you as such; they will acknowledge no other. Now--let the signing
proceed."
At a gesture from the commissioner, Omatla stepped forward to the table,
and taking the pen in his hand, wrote his name upon the parchment.
The act was done in perfect silence. But one voice broke the deep
stillness--one word only was heard uttered with angry aspirate; it was
the word "traitor."
I looked round to discover who had pronounced it; the hiss was still
quivering upon the lips of Osceola; while his eye was fixed on Omatla
with a glance of ineffable scorn.
"Black Crazy Clay" next took the pen, and affixed his signature, which
was done by simply making his "mark."
After him follower Ohala, Itolasse Omatla, and about a dozen--all of
whom were known as the chiefs that favoured the scheme of removal.
The hostile chiefs--whether by accident or design I know not--stood
together, forming the left wing of the semi-circle. It was now their
turn to declare themselves.
Hoitle-mattee was the first about whose signing the commissioner
entertained any doubt. There was a pause, significant of apprehension.
"It is your turn, Jumper," said the latter at length, addressing the
chief by his English name.
"You may _jump_ me, then," replied the eloquent and witty chief, making
a jest of what he meant for earnest as well.
"How? you refuse to sign?"
"Hoitle-mattee does not write."
"It is not necessary; your name is already written; you have only to
place your finger upon it."
"I might put my finger on the wrong place."
"You can sign by making a cross," continued the agent, still in hopes
that the chief would consent.
"We Seminoles have but little liking for the cross; we had enough of it
in the days of the Spaniards. _Hulwak_!"
"Then you positively refuse to sign?"
"Ho! Mister Commissioner does it surprise you?"
"Be it so, then. Now hear what I have to say to you."
"Hoitle-mattee's ears are as open as the commissioner's mouth," was the
sneering rejoinder.
"I depose Hoitle-mattee from the chieftainship of his clan. The Great
Father will no longer recognise him as chief of the Seminoles."
"Ha, ha, ha!" came the scornful laugh in reply. "Indeed--indeed! And
tell me," he asked, still continuing to laugh, and treating with
derision the solemn enunciation of the commissioner, "of whom am I to be
chief, General Thompson."
"I have pronounced," said the agent, evidently confused and nettled by
the ironical manner of the Indian; "you are no more a chief--we will not
acknowledge you as one."
"But my people?--what of them?" asked the other in a fine tone of irony;
"have they nothing to say in this matter?"
"Your people will act with reason. They will listen to their Great
Father's advice. They will no longer obey a leader who has acted
without faith."
"You say truly, agent," replied the chief, now speaking seriously. "My
people will act with reason, but they will also act with patriotism and
fidelity. Do not flatter yourself on the potency of our Great Father's
advice. If it be given as a father's counsel, they will listen to it;
if not, they will shut their ears against it. As to your disposal of
myself, I only laugh at the absurdity of the act. I treat both act and
agent with scorn. I have no dread of your power. I have no fear of the
loyalty of my people. Sow dissension among them as you please; you have
been successful elsewhere in making traitors,"--here the speaker glared
towards Omatla and his warriors--"but I disregard your machinations.
There is not a man in my tribe that will turn his back upon
Hoitle-mattee--not one."
The orator ceased speaking, and, folding his arms, fell back into an
attitude of silent defiance. He saw that the commissioner had done with
him, for the latter was now appealing to Abram for his signature.
The black's first answer was a decided negative--simply "No." When
urged to repeat his refusal, he added:
"No--by Jovah! I nebber sign the damned paper--nebber. Dat's enuf--
aint it, Bossy Thompson?"
Of course, this put an end to the appeal, and Abram was "scratched" from
the list of chiefs.
Arpiucki followed next, and "Cloud" and the "Alligator," and then the
dwarf Poshalla. All these refused their signatures, and were in turn
formally deposed from their dignities. So, likewise, were Holata Mico
and others who were absent.
Most of the chiefs only laughed as they listened to the wholesale
cashiering. It was ludicrous enough to hear this puny office holder of
an hour pronounce edicts with all the easy freedom of an emperor! [Note
1.]
Poshala, the last who had been disgraced, laughed like the others; but
the dwarf had a bitter tongue, and could not refrain from a rejoinder.
"Tell the fat agent," cried he to the interpreter--"tell him that I
shall be chief of the Seminoles when the rank weeds are growing over his
great carcass--ha, ha!"
The rough speech was not carried to the ears of the commissioner. He
did not even hear the scornful cachinnation that followed it, for his
attention was now entirely occupied with one individual--the youngest of
the chiefs--the last in the line--Osceola.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 1. The United States government afterwards disapproved of this
absurd dethronement of the chiefs; but there is no doubt that Thompson
acted under secret instructions from the President.