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THE INDIANS OT GEORGIA AVING once determined upon war, the great war chief and his warriors set out from their village with many loud whoops, each having w’ith him a little sack of corn, a bow and a quiver of ar rows, a large wooden club, a tomahawk, and a spear. As the army approaches the village of the enemy they get in a single file, following the great war chief, and everything becomes as still as possible. Then they endeavor to draw their foes into an ambush where they are murdered mercilessly, no discrimi nation being made between men, women and chil dren. When they obtain as many trophies as pos sible, they leave for home, where there is great feasting and rejoicing. Peace is always determined upon by the Mico and the councilors. The victorious and the defeated meet each other in a circle under some large tree where they smoke the peace-pipe of calumet in token of their renewed vows. Customs and Habits. The pipe is the constant companion of the In dian. W hether hunting or fishing, whether fighting or sitting lazily in his home, the red man always has the pipe by his side. It is smoked as a token of friendship, and is always used in religious ser vices. In fact, the Indian is so fond of smoking that he believes that the Great Spirit, himself, is addicted to this habit. The principle building in every Indian village is the Mico’s cabin. The Mico lives in the center, and on both sides dwell the councilors. This building faces east. Next in importance is the Warrior’s House. In this live all the warriors. This cabin faces South. The next in importance are the Cabins of the Beloved Men and the Rotenda. These face north and west, respectively. All the old and feeble warriors live in the former and the council, in winter, sits in the latter. When the aborigines are not fighting, they are engaged in hunting or fishing. They are very skilful in the use of their bows and arrows, and when they go on hunting expeditions, it is a very rare thing that they return empty handed. They fish, as a gen eral rule, by means of nets, but sometimes they amuse themselves by throwing darts at the fish. Not infrequently, ihe Indians fish at night. In order to do this, they put a lighted torch on one side of the boat, and the fish, being both frightened and at tracted, jump toward it, and fall in the canoe. Although bears, deer, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, and fish are eaten by the Indians, yet maize is their principle food. Each village has its plot of clear space for the cultivation of this cereal. Their im plements for hoeing were made of stone and fish bone. To thrash their corn they made a hollow in the stump of a tree, and putting the corn in this, they pounded it by means of a large piece of stone. Each autumn they collected their corn and put it in a large, public granary from which all might draw. In the fall of each year the Indians held their annual feast in celebration of their large crop of corn, the Boosketau. It lasted eight days, and on each day theye was dancing and feasting. The beauty of this feast was that all crimes, murder ex cepted, were pardoned, and each person was treated as if he had never done wrong. The Indians had many other feasts, but the Boosketau was by far the most important. Great Gamblers. The aborigines were greatly addicted to betting. All their games w’ere played for this purpose. Af ter an Indian had lost all his posessions he would even sacrifice his personal liberty, in order that he might bet one more time. Chungkee was the great est betting game of all. The marriage rites of the aborigines were very peculiar. In the first place, “No Indian,” says Miss Mitchell, “is allowed to marry a woman of his own tribe.” When a man has fallen in love, he Prize Essay by JAMES JACKSON SLATON, Boys’ High School, Atlanta. The Golden Age for March 8, 1906. sends word to the nearest female relative of his sweetheart. If these agree to the marriage, he im mediately sends them a few blankets and trinkets. Then he may come and get his bride whenever’ he chooses. They divorce by mutual consent, and all the property and children belonging to both of them, are given to the woman. When a prominent Indian dies, all the tribe mourn for him. He and all his treasured possessions are buried with him, and a large tumulus is erected in his honor. This is the cause of the many mounds scattered over Georgia. The Indian women were very skillful in making all kinds of pottery. It seems almost a marvel they w’ere enabled to manufacture the many beau tiful clay vessels found all over the State w’ith the crude implements in their possession. For currency the Indians used shell beads or wampum, which they greatly valued. Their price of exchange was always the same. For two or three of these beads the traders were enabled to get valuable furs and costly skins. Three Great Indian Statesmen. Georgia has produced three great Indians who have played an important part in the history of our Stale. There are Tomachichi, Alexander Mc- Gillivray, and William Mclntosh. At the time of the colonization of Georgia, Tomo chichi was ninety years old. Even at this old age, he w T as erect, and tall, and walked with a light step. He was the Mico of the Yamacraws, a small tribe who lived near Savannah. He was perhaps tne wisest and most influential man among the Creeks. When Oglethorpe with his party of immi grants landed at Savannah, Tomochichi hastened to make friends w T ith him, and it was through his in fluence that the Colony of Georgia was not molested in its babyhood. When Oglethorpe decided to return to England, he asked Tomochichi to go with him. The great chief accepted, and the party were soon on their way to England. When they arrived in England, many inquisitive crowds flocked to see them, and the Indians received many presents. Even the king invited them to a banquet when Tomochichi renewed his vow’s of friendship to the English. Afterwards Tomochichi w’as carried all over England to see the great sights; and as he realized what a mighty nation England was, he was more glad than ever, that he had made friends with this powerful coun try. On his return to America, he distributed his many gifts among the members of his tribe. At the age of ninety-seven the good, great man passed away. At his dying request, he was buried in Savannah where a great boulder was placed on his grave. Had Tomochichi been other than an In dian, he would have gone down in history as one of the greatest men Georgia has ever produced. Tomo chichi believed that the asking of a particular bless ing was like directing God, and if so, it must be a very wicked thing; that, for his part, he believed that everything that happened in the world was as it should be, and that our duty to him was to be content with everything that happened in general, and be thankful for all the good that hap pened in particular. Alexander McGillivray played an important part in the Creek war. Hs was a half-bred, his father being a Scotchman, and his mother a Creek. For years, McGillivray evaded all authorities, and pre vented Georgia from taking possession of the Creek territory. He was the greatest Indian politician that ever lived. When Georgia attempted to move forward towards the west, he hastened to Florida, where he allied himself with the Spanish, and drew a salary as a colonel. About this time Georgia asked for the aid of the Federal government, and the government finally induced McGillivray to come to New York, where the treaty of New York was signed. In this treaty the Creek chief agreed to surrender all of Georgia, [CO.V C L Z) £C ] in their possession, except the Tallahassee country. After this treaty McGillivray rapidly fell into disfavor, and died a few years afterwards. He was a great statesman and diplomat; for at the same time, he was drawing a salary as brigadier general in the United States Army, and a colonel in the Spanish Army. Although McGillivray la bored for his country, unlike Tomochichi, he also la bored for his own gain. William Mclntosh was also a half-bred, his father being Scotch and his mother Creek. He was a great general and was friendly to Georgia. It was on account of this friendship that he was murdered by his own people. Removal of the Cherokees. During the Creek war the Cherokees were allowed to go unmolested, but in this time, many of them had become educated and nearly all were half-breeds. Many plantations had sprung up, and the Cherokees were almost like a new nation. When the last Creek family left the state, the white people of the state began to turn their at tention to their northern neighbors, the Cherokees. The Legislature passed a law saying that the region in charge of the Cherokees was in reality a part of Georgia. The Cherokees, however, were loath to leave the country they had so built up, and they would not for any sum of money leave their coun try. The Cherokees carried their case to the Su preme Court of the United States, who rendered a decision in their favor. Georgia, however, ignored this decision and proceeded to rid the State of the Cherokees. About this time Andrew Jackson was made presi dent, and he fully sympathized with the Georgians in their efforts to rid themselves of the Indians. He, also, ignored the decision of the Supreme Court and sent an officer to take charge of the troops and rid Georgia of the Cherokees. The troops went to each Indian village and drove the inhabitants into a large pen. After all the Indians had been col lected, they were driven at the point of the bayonet on their long march to Indian Territory. Hundreds fell by the wayside and only a few reached their destination. This great suffering could not be helped, for the government did all it could. The Cherokees were paid five million dollars for their lands and were supported for a year in Indian Territory. The United States government also gave its protection to these Indians. It is strange that the Cherokees should have sub mitted to this treatment without striking a single blow, for it was very unlike Indian nature. The Cherokee Rose. Among the beautiful legends of the Indians is that of the Cherokee rose. Once a 'Seminole warrior was made prisoner by the Cherokees and was sentenced to die by torture. But he fell ill, and his enemies had to wait until his recovery. He was nursed by a Cherokee maiden who was very beautiful, and he soon fell in love with her. As he began to grow stronger, the maiden urged him to take safety in flight, but he declared he would rather die than live without her. She soon consented to follow him. She had not gone far in her flight when she thought that she would like to have some memento of her Cherokee home. So, re turning, she plucked a twig from a vine that grew on her father’s house. She took this and planted it in her new Seminole home where it grew and was ever afterwards known as the Cherokee rose. The Indians have given many beautiful names to the mountains and rivers of Georgia. Some of these are Cohuttah (Frog Mt.); Tallulah (the terrible); Toccoa (the beautiful); Okeefeenokee (trembling earth); Amicollulah (tumbling water); Hiawassee (pretty fawn), and Chattahoochee (rocky river.) “The Indians have passed away from the beau tiful land they loved well.” 15