Soon after this, an army was to be raised to go to Pensacola, and I
determined to go again with them, for I wanted a small taste of British
fighting, and I supposed they would be there.
Here again the entreaties of my wife were thrown in the way of my going,
but all in vain; for I always had a way of just going ahead, at whatever
I had a mind to. One of my neighbours, hearing I had determined to go,
came to me, and offered me a hundred dollars to go in his place as a
substitute, as he had been drafted. I told him I was better raised than
to hire myself out to be shot at; but that I would go, and he should go
too, and in that way the government would have the services of us both.
But we didn't call General Jackson "the government" in those days,
though we used to go and fight under him in the war.
I fixed up, and joined old Major Russel again; but we couldn't start
with the main army, but followed on, in a little time, after them. In a
day or two, we had a hundred and thirty men in our company; and we went
over and crossed the Muscle Shoals at the same place where I had crossed
when first out, and when we burned the Black Warriors' town. We passed
through the Choctaw and Chickesaw nations, on to Fort Stephens, and from
thence to what is called the Cut-off, at the junction of the Tom-Bigby
with the Alabama river. This place is near the old Fort Mimms, where the
Indians committed the great butchery at the commencement of the war.
We were here about two days behind the main army, who had left their
horses at the Cut-off, and taken it on foot; and they did this because
there was no chance for forage between there and Pensacola. We did the
same, leaving men enough to take care of our horses, and cut out on foot
for that place. It was about eighty miles off; but in good heart we
shouldered our guns, blankets, and provisions, and trudged merrily on.
About twelve o'clock the second day, we reached the encampment of the
main army, which was situated on a hill, overlooking the city of
Pensacola. My commander, Major Russel, was a great favourite with Gen'l.
Jackson, and our arrival was hailed with great applause, though we were
a little after the feast; for they had taken the town and fort before we
got there. That evening we went down into the town, and could see the
British fleet lying in sight of the place. We got some liquor, and took
a "horn" or so, and went back to the camp. We remained there that night,
and in the morning we marched back towards the Cut-off. We pursued this
direction till we reached old Fort Mimms, where we remained two or three
days. It was here that Major Russel was promoted from his command, which
was only that of a captain of spies, to the command of a major in the
line. He had been known long before at home as old Major Russel, and so
we all continued to call him in the army. A Major Childs, from East
Tennessee, also commanded a battalion, and his and the one Russel was
now appointed to command, composed a regiment, which, by agreement with
General Jackson, was to quit his army and go to the south, to kill up
the Indians on the Scamby river.
General Jackson and the main army set out the next morning for New
Orleans, and a Colonel Blue took command of the regiment which I have
before described. We remained, however, a few days after the general's
departure, and then started also on our route.
As it gave rise to so much war and bloodshed, it may not be improper
here to give a little description of Fort Mimms, and the manner in which
the Indian war commenced. The fort was built right in the middle of a
large old field, and in it the people had been forted so long and so
quietly, that they didn't apprehend any danger at all, and had,
therefore, become quite careless. A small negro boy, whose business it
was to bring up the calves at milking time, had been out for that
purpose, and on coming back, he said he saw a great many Indians. At
this the inhabitants took the alarm, and closed their gates and placed
out their guards, which they continued for a few days. But finding that
no attack was made, they concluded the little negro had lied; and again
threw their gates open, and set all their hands out to work their
fields. The same boy was out again on the same errand, when, returning
in great haste and alarm, he informed them that he had seen the Indians
as thick as trees in the woods. He was not believed, but was tucked up
to receive a flogging for the supposed lie; and was actually getting
badly licked at the very moment when the Indians came in a troop, loaded
with rails, with which they stop'd all the port-holes of the fort on one
side except the bastion; and then they fell in to cutting down the
picketing. Those inside the fort had only the bastion to shoot from, as
all the other holes were spiked up; and they shot several of the
Indians, while engaged in cutting. But as fast as one would fall,
another would seize up the axe and chop away, until they succeeded in
cutting down enough of the picketing to admit them to enter. They then
began to rush through, and continued until they were all in. They
immediately commenced scalping, without regard to age or sex; having
forced the inhabitants up to one side of the fort, where they carried on
the work of death as a butcher would in a slaughter pen.
The scene was particularly described to me by a young man who was in the
fort when it happened, and subsequently went on with us to Pensacola. He
said that he saw his father, and mother, his four sisters, and the same
number of brothers, all butchered in the most shocking manner, and that
he made his escape by running over the heads of the crowd, who were
against the fort wall, to the top of the fort, and then jumping off, and
taking to the woods. He was closely pursued by several Indians, until he
came to a small byo, across which there was a log. He knew the log was
hollow on the under side, so he slip'd under the log and hid himself.
He said he heard the Indians walk over him several times back and
forward. He remained, nevertheless, still till night, when he came out,
and finished his escape. The name of this young man has entirely escaped
my recollection, though his tale greatly excited my feelings. But to
return to my subject. The regiment marched from where Gen'l. Jackson had
left us to Fort Montgomery, which was distant from Fort Mimms about a
mile and a half, and there we remained for some days.
Here we supplied ourselves pretty well with beef, by killing wild cattle
which had formerly belonged to the people who perished in the fort, but
had gone wild after their massacre.
When we marched from Fort Montgomery, we went some distance back towards
Pensacola; then we turned to the left, and passed through a poor piny
country, till we reached the Scamby river, near which we encamped. We
had about one thousand men, and as a part of that number, one hundred
and eighty-six Chickesaw and Choctaw Indians with us. That evening a
boat landed from Pensacola, bringing many articles that were both good
and necessary; such as sugar and coffee, and liquors of all kinds. The
same evening, the Indians we had along proposed to cross the river, and
the officers thinking it might be well for them to do so, consented; and
Major Russell went with them, taking sixteen white men, of which number
I was one. We camped on the opposite bank that night, and early in the
morning we set out. We had not gone far before we came to a place where
the whole country was covered with water, and looked like a sea. We
didn't stop for this, tho', but just put in like so many spaniels, and
waded on, sometimes up to our armpits, until we reached the pine hills,
which made our distance through the water about a mile and a half. Here
we struck up a fire to warm ourselves, for it was cold, and we were
chilled through by being so long in the water. We again moved on,
keeping our spies out; two to our left near the bank of the river, two
straight before us, and two others on our right. We had gone in this way
about six miles up the river, when our spies on the left came to us
leaping the brush like so many old bucks, and informed us that they had
discovered a camp of Creek Indians, and that we must kill them. Here we
paused for a few minutes, and the prophets pow-wowed over their men
awhile, and then got out their paint, and painted them, all according to
their custom when going into battle. They then brought their paint to
old Major Russell, and said to him, that as he was an officer, he must
be painted too. He agreed, and they painted him just as they had done
themselves. We let the Indians understand that we white men would first
fire on the camp, and then fall back, so as to give the Indians a chance
to rush in and scalp them. The Chickasaws marched on our left hand, and
the Choctaws on our right, and we moved on till we got in hearing of the
camp, where the Indians were employed in beating up what they called
chainy briar root. On this they mostly subsisted. On a nearer approach
we found they were on an island, and that we could not get to them.
While we were chatting about this matter, we heard some guns fired, and
in a very short time after a keen whoop, which satisfied us, that
whereever it was, there was war on a small scale. With that we all
broke, like quarter horses, for the firing; and when we got there we
found it was our two front spies, who related to us the following
story:--As they were moving on, they had met with two Creeks who were
out hunting their horses; as they approached each other, there was a
large cluster of green bay bushes exactly between them, so that they
were within a few feet of meeting before either was discovered. Our
spies walked up to them, and speaking in the Shawnee tongue, informed
them that General Jackson was at Pensacola, and they were making their
escape, and wanted to know where they could get something to eat. The
Creeks told them that nine miles up the Conaker, the river they were
then on, there was a large camp of Creeks, and they had cattle and
plenty to eat; and further, that their own camp was on an island about a
mile off, and just below the mouth of the Conaker. They held their
conversation and struck up a fire, and smoked together, and shook hands,
and parted. One of the Creeks had a gun, the other had none; and as soon
as they had parted, our Choctaws turned round and shot down the one that
had the gun, and the other attempted to run off. They snapped several
times at him, but the gun still missing fire, they took after him, and
overtaking him, one of them struck him over the head with his gun, and
followed up his blows till he killed him.
The gun was broken in the combat, and they then fired off the gun of the
Creek they had killed, and raised the war-whoop. When we reached them,
they had cut off the heads of both the Indians; and each of those
Indians with us would walk up to one of the heads, and taking his war
club would strike on it. This was done by every one of them; and when
they had got done, I took one of their clubs, and walked up as they had
done, and struck it on the head also. At this they all gathered round
me, and patting me on the shoulder, would call me "Warrior--warrior."
They scalped the heads, and then we moved on a short distance to where
we found a trace leading in towards the river. We took this trace and
pursued it, till we came to where a Spaniard had been killed and
scalped, together with a woman, who we supposed to be his wife, and also
four children. I began to feel mighty ticklish along about this time,
for I knowed if there was no danger then, there had been; and I felt
exactly like there still was. We, however, went on till we struck the
river, and then continued down it till we came opposite to the Indian
camp, where we found they were still beating their roots.
It was now late in the evening, and they were in a thick cane brake. We
had some few friendly Creeks with us, who said they could decoy them. So
we all hid behind trees and logs, while the attempt was made. The
Indians would not agree that we should fire, but pick'd out some of
their best gunners, and placed them near the river. Our Creeks went down
to the river's side, and hailed the camp in the Creek language. We heard
an answer, and an Indian man started down towards the river, but didn't
come in sight. He went back and again commenced beating his roots, and
sent a squaw. She came down, and talked with our Creeks until dark came
on. They told her they wanted her to bring them a canoe. To which she
replied, that their canoe was on our side; that two of their men had
gone out to hunt their horses and hadn't yet returned. They were the
same two we had killed. The canoe was found, and forty of our picked
Indian warriors were crossed over to take the camp. There was at last
only one man in it, and he escaped; and they took two squaws, and ten
children, but killed none of them, of course.
We had run nearly out of provisions, and Major Russell had determined to
go up the Conaker to the camp we had heard of from the Indians we had
killed. I was one that he selected to go down the river that night for
provisions, with the canoe, to where we had left our regiment. I took
with me a man by the name of John Guess, and one of the friendly Creeks,
and cut out. It was very dark, and the river was so full that it
overflowed the banks and the adjacent low bottoms. This rendered it very
difficult to keep the channel, and particularly as the river was very
crooked. At about ten o'clock at night we reached the camp, and were to
return by morning to Major Russell, with provisions for his trip up the
river; but on informing Colonel Blue of this arrangement, he vetoed it
as quick as General Jackson did the bank bill; and said, if Major
Russell didn't come back the next day, it would be bad times for him. I
found we were not to go up the Conaker to the Indian camp, and a man of
my company offered to go up in my place to inform Major Russell. I let
him go; and they reached the major, as I was told, about sunrise in the
morning, who immediately returned with those who were with him to the
regiment, and joined us where we crossed the river, as hereafter stated.
The next morning we all fixed up, and marched down the Scamby to a place
called Miller's Landing, where we swam our horses across, and sent on
two companies down on the side of the bay opposite to Pensacola, where
the Indians had fled when the main army first marched to that place. One
was the company of Captain William Russell, a son of the old major, and
the other was commanded by a Captain Trimble. They went on, and had a
little skirmish with the Indians. They killed some, and took all the
balance prisoners, though I don't remember the numbers. We again met
those companies in a day or two, and sent the prisoners they had taken
on to Fort Montgomery, in charge of some of our Indians.
I did hear, that after they left us, the Indians killed and scalped all
the prisoners, and I never heard the report contradicted. I cannot
positively say it was true, but I think it entirely probable, for it is
very much like the Indian character.