RED EAGLE AFTER THE WAR.
Having made peace with Red Eagle, Jackson afforded him that protection
which was necessary while he was in a camp filled with the friendly
Indians, whose hatred of the warrior was undying. Big Warrior even tried
to take his life in spite of Jackson's orders, and was restrained only
by the general's personal interference.
Red Eagle busied himself at once in the pacification of the country, as
he had assured Jackson that he would do, and to his great influence, in
a large measure, the prompt acquiescence of the Creeks in the terms of
peace was due.
As soon as the country was pacified Red Eagle sought to return to the
ways of peace, and for that purpose went to his plantation near Fort
Mims, and tried to gather together his property which had become
scattered, and resume his business as a planter.
He was not long in learning, however, that his foes among the
half-breeds and Indians who had sided with the whites were implacable,
and that their thirst for his blood made his peaceful stay there
impossible. He therefore went to Fort Claiborne and put himself under
the protection of the commanding officer there, who assigned him a tent
near his own and a body-guard for his protection. Here Weatherford
remained for ten or fifteen days, but there were so many persons in the
camp who had lost friends at Fort Mims, and who were determined to take
the Creek chieftain's life, that his protector feared to keep him at the
fort longer, even under the constant protection of a strong guard
detail. But it was dangerous to remove him, except secretly, so
determined was the enmity of the men who sought to kill him; and
therefore the commander of the post ordered an aide-de-camp at midnight
to take the great chieftain beyond the camp lines and there to arrange
for his escape, through Captain Laval, who was instructed to escort him
to a tree outside of the line of outposts. There a powerful horse had
been provided, and Red Eagle, mounting the animal, galloped away in the
darkness.
Upon his arrival at Jackson's camp he was received by the Tennessee
general with the respect due to so gallant a soldier, and there he
remained under Jackson's watchful care until after the signing of the
treaty of August 9th, 1814, by which the Creeks gave up all the southern
part of their territory. This was exacted nominally as an indemnity to
the government for the expenses of the war, but the real purpose was to
plant a strong and continuous line of white settlements between the
Creeks and their bad advisers, the Spanish, at Pensacola. By these means
Jackson, who managed the affair, made impossible any future renewal of
the war to which he had put an end by arms.
When the treaty was concluded, Jackson's mission was done, and he
returned to his Tennessee home--the Hermitage--taking Red Eagle with
him as his guest, and in order that the chieftain might be safe from the
assassination with which he was still threatened, Jackson carefully
concealed the fact of his presence. For nearly a year the two commanders
who had fought each other so fiercely lived together as friends under
one roof, the conquered the guest of the conqueror.
Then Weatherford returned to Alabama and established himself as a
planter. His relatives had saved much of his property, which they
returned to him, and by wise management he recovered his fortunes and
became again a man of considerable wealth.
His influence was always on the side of law and order, and how valuable
the influence of such a man, so exerted, is in a new country, where two
races are constantly brought into contact, we may easily conceive.
Red Eagle had been overcome in war, and was disposed to maintain the
peace, in accordance with his promise; but his spirit was not broken,
and none of his courage had gone out of him.
On one occasion a very brutal assassination was committed at a public
sale by two ruffians of the most desperate border type. A magistrate
summoned the people as a _posse comitatus_ to arrest the offenders, but
they so violently swore that they would kill any one who should approach
them, that no man dared attempt the duty. Red Eagle, who was present,
expressed his indignation at the murder, and his contempt for the fears
of the bystanders, and volunteered to make the arrest if ordered by the
magistrate to do so.
The magistrate gave the order, and drawing a long, silver-handled knife,
which was his only weapon, Weatherford advanced upon the murderers, who
warned him off, swearing that they would kill him if he should advance.
Without a sign of hesitation, and with a calm look of resolution in his
countenance which appalled even his desperate antagonists, he stepped
quickly up to one of them and seized him by the throat, calling to the
bystanders to "tie the rascal." Then going up to the other he arrested
him, the desperado saying as he approached: "I will not resist you,
Billy Weatherford."
Weatherford's plantation was among the white settlements, and the
country round about him rapidly filled up with white people, among whom
the warrior lived in peace and friendship. Mr. Meek writes of him at
this time in these words:
"The character of the man seemed to have been changed by the war. He was
no longer cruel, vindictive, idle, intemperate, or fond of display: but
surrounded by his family he preserved a dignified and retiring demeanor;
was industrious, sober, and economical; and was a kind and indulgent
master to his servants, of whom he had many. A gentleman who had
favorable opportunities of judging says of him that 'in his intercourse
with the whites his bearing was marked by nobleness of purpose, and his
conduct was always honorable. No man was more fastidious in complying
with his engagements. His word was by him held to be more sacred than
the most binding legal obligation. Art and dissimulation formed no part
of his character. Ever frank and guileless, no one had the more entire
confidence of those among whom he lived.' Another gentleman who knew
Weatherford intimately for a number of years informs me that 'he
possessed remarkable intellectual powers; that his perceptions were
quick almost to intuition, his memory tenacious, his imagination vivid,
his judgment strong and accurate, and his language copious, fluent, and
expressive. In short,' he says, 'Weatherford possessed naturally one of
the finest minds our country has produced.' These traits of character
exhibited for a number of years won for their possessor the esteem and
respect of those who knew him, notwithstanding the circumstances of his
earlier life. Indeed those circumstances threw around the man a romance
of character which made him the more attractive. After the bitterness
which the war engendered had subsided his narratives were listened to
with interest and curiosity. Though unwilling generally to speak of his
adventures, he would, when his confidence was obtained, describe them
with a graphic particularity and coloring which gave an insight into
conditions of life and phases of character of which we can now only see
the outside. He always extenuated his conduct at Fort Mims and during
the war under the plea that the first transgressions were committed by
the white people, and that he was fighting for the liberties of his
nation. He also asserted that he was reluctantly forced into the war."
Red Eagle died on the 9th of March, 1824, from over-fatigue incurred in
a bear hunt. He left a large family of children, who intermarried with
the whites, well-nigh extinguishing all traces of Indian blood in his
descendants.