pioneers of the old southwest-第7部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


han　he　saw　in　the　log　cabin　raised　by　his　hands；　its　structure　held　together　solely　by　his　close　grooving　and　fitting　of　its　own　strength。　Though　the　walls　he　built　for　himself　have　gone　with　his　own　dust　back　to　the　earth；　the　symbol　he　erected　for　us　stands。



Chapter　III。　The　Trader

The　trader　was　the　first　pathfinder。　His　caravans　began　the　change　of　purpose　that　was　to　come　to　the　Indian　warrior's　route；　turning　it　slowly　into　the　beaten　track　of　communication　and　commerce。　The　settlers；　the　rangers；　the　surveyors；　went　westward　over　the　trails　which　he　had　blazed　for　them　years　before。　Their　enduring　works　are　commemorated　in　the　cities　and　farms　which　today　lie　along　every　ancient　border　line；　but　of　their　forerunner's　hazardous　Indian　trade　nothing　remains。　Let　us　therefore　pay　a　moment's　homage　here　to　the　trader；　who　firstto　borrow　a　phrase　from　Indian　speechmade　white　for　peace　the　red　trails　of　war。

He　was　the　first　cattleman　of　the　Old　Southwest。　Fifty　years　before　John　Findlay；*　one　of　this　class　of　pioneers；　led　Daniel　Boone　through　Cumberland　Gap；　the　trader's　bands　of　horses　roamed　the　western　slopes　of　the　Appalachian　Mountains　and　his　cattle　grazed　among　the　deer　on　the　green　banks　of　the　old　Cherokee　（Tennessee）　River。　He　was　the　pioneer　settler　beyond　the　high　hills；　for　he　built；　in　the　center　of　the　Indian　towns；　the　first　white　man's　cabinwith　its　larger　annex；　the　trading　houseand　dwelt　there　during　the　greater　part　of　the　year。　He　was　America's　first　magnate　of　international　commerce。　His　fursfor　which　he　paid　in　guns；　knives；　ammunition；　vermilion　paint；　mirrors；　and　clothlined　kings'　mantles；　and　hatted　the　Lords　of　Trade　as　they　strode　to　their　council　chamber　in　London　to　discuss　his　business　and　to　pass　those　regulations　which　might　have　seriously　hampered　him　but　for　his　resourcefulness　in　circumventing　them！

*　The　name　is　spelled　in　various　ways：　Findlay；　Finlay；　Findley。


He　was　the　first　frontier　warrior；　for　he　either　fought　off　or　fell　before　small　parties　of　hostile　Indians　who；　in　the　interest　of　the　Spanish　or　French；　raided　his　pack…horse　caravans　on　the　march。　Often；　too；　side　by　side　with　the　red　brothers　of　his　adoption；　he　fought　in　the　intertribal　wars。　His　was　the　first　educative　and　civilizing　influence　in　the　Indian　towns。　He　endeavored　to　cure　the　Indians　of　their　favorite　midsummer　madness；　war；　by　inducing　them　to　raise　stock　and　poultry　and　improve　their　corn；　squash；　and　pea　gardens。　It　is　not　necessary　to　impute　to　him　philanthropic　motives。　He　was　a　practical　man　and　he　saw　that　war　hurt　his　trade：　it　endangered　his　summer　caravans　and　hampered　the　autumn　hunt　for　deerskins。

In　the　earliest　days　of　the　eighteenth　century；　when　the　colonists　of　Virginia　and　the　Carolinas　were　only　a　handful；　it　was　the　trader　who　defeated　each　successive　attempt　of　French　and　Spanish　agents　to　weld　the　tribes　into　a　confederacy　for　the　annihilation　of　the　English　settlements。　The　English　trader　did　his　share　to　prevent　what　is　now　the　United　States　from　becoming　a　part　of　a　Latin　empire　and　to　save　it　for　a　race　having　the　Anglo…Saxon　ideal　and　speaking　the　English　tongue。

The　colonial　records　of　the　period　contain　items　which；　taken　singly；　make　small　impression　on　the　casual　reader　but　which；　listed　together；　throw　a　strong　light　on　the　past　and　bring　that　mercenary　figure；　the　trader；　into　so　bold　a　relief　that　the　design　verges　on　the　heroic。　If　we　wonder；　for　instance；　why　the　Scotch　Highlanders　who　settled　in　the　wilds　at　the　headwaters　of　the　Cape　Fear　River；　about　1729；　and　were　later　followed　by　Welsh　and　Huguenots；　met　with　no　opposition　from　the　Indians；　the　mystery　is　solved　when　we　discover；　almost　by　accident；　a　few　printed　lines　which　record　that；　in　1700；　the　hostile　natives　on　the　Cape　Fear　were　subdued　to　the　English　and　brought　into　friendly　alliance　with　them　by　Colonel　William　Bull；　a　trader。　We　read　further　and　learn　that　the　Spaniards　in　Florida　had　long　endeavored　to　unite　the　tribes　in　Spanish　and　French　territory　against　the　English　and　that　the　influence　of　traders　prevented　the　consummation。　The　Spaniards；　in　1702；　had　prepared　to　invade　English　territory　with　nine　hundred　Indians。　The　plot　was　discovered　by　Creek　Indians　and　disclosed　to　their　friends；　the　traders；　who　immediately　gathered　together　five　hundred　warriors；　marched　swiftly　to　meet　the　invaders；　and　utterly　routed　them。　Again；　when　the　Indians；　incited　by　the　Spanish　at　St。　Augustine；　rose　against　the　English　in　1715；　and　the　Yamasi　Massacre　occurred　in　South　Carolina；　it　was　due　to　the　traders　that　some　of　the　settlements　at　least　were　not　wholly　unprepared　to　defend　themselves。

The　early　English　trader　was　generally　an　intelligent　man；　sometimes　educated；　nearly　always　fearless　and　resourceful。　He　knew　the　one　sure　basis　on　which　men　of　alien　blood　and　far　separated　stages　of　moral　and　intellectual　development　can　meet　in　understandingnamely；　the　truth　of　the　spoken　word。　He　recognized　honor　as　the　bond　of　trade　and　the　warp　and　woof　of　human　intercourse。　The　uncorrupted　savage　also　had　his　plain　interpretation　of　the　true　word　in　the　mouths　of　men；　and　a　name　for　it。　He　called　it　the　〃Old　Beloved　Speech〃；　and　he　gave　his　confidence　to　the　man　who　spoke　this　speech　even　in　the　close　barter　for　furs。

We　shall　find　it　worth　while　to　refer　to　the　map　of　America　as　it　was　in　the　early　days　of　the　colonial　fur　trade；　about　the　beginning　of　the　eighteenth　century。　A　narrow　strip　of　loosely　strung　English　settlements　stretched　from　the　north　border　of　New　England　to　the　Florida　line。　North　Florida　was　Spanish　territory。　On　the　far　distant　southwestern　borders　of　the　English　colonies　were　the　southern　possessions　of　France。　The　French　sphere　of　influence　extended　up　the　Mississippi；　and　thence　by　way　of　rivers　and　the　Great　Lakes　to　its　base　in　Canada　on　the　borders　of　New　England　and　New　York。　In　South　Carolina　dwelt　the　Yamasi　tribe　of　about　three　thousand　warriors；　their　chief　towns　only　sixty　or　eighty　miles　distant　from　the　Spanish　town　of　St。　Augustine。　On　the　west；　about　the　same　distance　northeast　of　New　Orleans；　in　what　is　now　Alabama　and　Georgia；　lay　the　Creek　nation。　There　French　garrisons　held　Mobile　and　Fort　Alabama。　The　Creeks　at　this　time　numbered　over　four　thousand　warriors。　The　lands　of　the　Choctaws；　a　tribe　of　even　larger　fighting　strength；　began　two　hundred　miles　north　of　New　Orleans　and　extended　along　the　Mississippi。　A　hundred　and　sixty　miles　northeast　of　the　Choctaw　towns　were　the　Chickasaws；　the　bravest　and　most　successful　warriors　of　all　the　tribes　south　of　the　Iroquois。　The　Cherokees；　in　part　seated　within　the　Carolinas；　on　the　upper　courses　of　the　Savannah　River；　mustered　over　six　thousand　men　at　arms。　East　of　them　were　the　Catawba　towns。　North　of　them　were　the　Shawanoes　and　Delawares；　in　easy　communication　with　the　tribes　of　Canada。　Still　farther　north；　along　the　Mohawk　and　other　rivers　joining　with　the　Hudson　and　Lake　Ontario　stood　the　〃long　houses〃　of　the　fiercest　and　most　warlike　of　all　the　savages；　the　Iroquois　or　Six　Nations。

The　Indians　along　the　English　borders　outnumbered　the　colonists　perhaps　ten　to　one。　If　the　Spanish　and　the　French　had　succeeded　in　the　conspiracy　to　unite　on　their　side　all　the　tribes；　a　red　billow　of　tomahawk　wielders　would　have　engulfed　and　extinguished　the　English　settlements。　The　French；　it　is　true；　made　allies　of　the　Shawanoes；　the　Delawares；　the　Choctaws；　and　a　strong　faction　of　the　Creeks；　and　they　finally　won　over　the　Cherokees　after　courting　them　for　more　than　twenty　years。　But　the　Creeks　in　part；　the　powerful　Chickasaws；　and　the　Iroquois　Confederacy；　or　Six　Nations；　remained　loyal　to　the　English。　In　both　North　and　South　it　was　the　influence　of　the　traders　that　kept　these　red　tribes　on　the　English　side。　The　Iroquois　were　held　loyal　by　Sir　William　Johnson　and　his　deputy；　George　Croghan；　the　〃King　of　Traders。〃　The　Chickasaws　followed　their　〃best…beloved〃　trader；　James　Adair；　and　among　the　Creeks　another　trader；　Lachlan　McGillivray；　wielded　a　potent　influence。

Lachlan　McGillivray　was　a　Highlander。　He　landed　in　Charleston　in　1735　at　the　age　of　sixteen　and　presently　joined　a　trader's　caravan　as　packhorse　boy。　A　few　years　later　he　married　a　woman　of　the　Creeks。　On　many　occasions　he　defeated　French　and　Spanish　plots　with　the　Creeks　for　the　extermination　of　the　colonists　in　Georgia　and　South　Carolina。　His　action　in　the　final　war　with　the　French　（1760）；　when　the　Indian　terror　was　raging；　is　typical。　News　came　that　four　thousand　Creek　warriors；　reinforced　by　French　Choctaws；　were　about　to　fall　on　the　southern　settlements。　At　the　risk　of　their　lives；　McGillivray　and　another　trader　named　Galphin　hurried　from　Charleston　to　their　trading　house　on　the　Georgia　frontier。　Thither　they　invited　several　hundred　Creek　warriors；　feasted　and　housed　them　for　several　days；　and　finally　won　them　from　their　purpose。　McGillivray　had　a　brilliant　son；　Alexander；　who　about　this　time　became　a　chief　in　his　mother's　nation　perhaps　on　this　very　occasion；　as　it　was　an　Indian　custom；　in　making　a　brotherhood　pact；　to　send　a　son　to　dwell　in　the　brother's　house。　We　shall　meet　that　son　again　as　the　Chief　of　the　Creeks　and　the　terrible　scourge　of　Georgia　and　Tennessee　in　the　dark　days　of　the　Revolutionary　War。

The　bold　deeds　of　the　early　traders；　if　all　were　to　be　told；　would　require　a　book　as　long　as　the　huge　volume　written　by　James　Adair；　the　〃English　Chickasaw。〃　Adair　was　an　Englishman　who　entered　the　Indian　trade　in　1785　and　launched　upon　the　long　and　dangerous　trail　from　Charleston　to　the　upper　towns　of　the　Cherokees；　situated　in　the　present　Monroe　County；　Tennessee。　Thus　he　was　one　of　the　earliest　pioneers　of　the　Old　Southwest；　and　he　was　Tennessee's　first　author。　〃I　am　well　acquainted；〃　he　says；　〃with　near　two　thousand　miles　of　the　American　continent〃a　statement　which　gives　one　some　idea　of　an　early　trader's　enterprise；　hardihood；　and　peril。　Adair's　〃two　thousand　miles〃　were　twisting　Indian　trails　and　paths　he　slashed　out　for　himself　through　uninhabited　wilds；　for　when　not　engaged　in　trade；　hunting；　literature；　or　war；　it　pleased　him　to　make　solitary　trips　of　exploration。　These　seem　to　have　led　him　chiefly　northward　through　the　Appalachians；　of　which　he　mu