Letters of Lydia Maria Child, with a biographical introduction by John G. Whittier and an appendix by Wendell Phillips.

LETTERS. 219
ture, and had established a friendly relation with
their neighbors. But the slave-holders of Georgia
wanted to drive them out, because they coveted their
lands, and still more because their slaves were prone
to take refuge with them. This had been going on
for generations, and the fugitives had largely intermarried with the Indians. The slave-holders not only
clainmed their slaves that had escaped, but their children and grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren,
on the ground that "the child follows the condition
of the mother." It was to satisfy them that Jackson
got up the war. It was not Osceola's wife and children only that were seized and carried into slavery.
Multitudes of their wives and children were carried
off; and you may easily conjecture that no very nice
care was always taken to ascertain whether they had
descended from slaves in the United States or not.
The pages you send contain the cool remark that
"'the seizure of Osceola's beautiful wife was an unfortunate affair." God of heaven grant me patience t
What would he call it if the Indians had seized and
carried off his beautiful wife, to sell her in the market for a mistress. I hope the writer is no relation
of yours, for I have a vehement desire to cuff his
ears. As for the Seminoles not removing after they
had by treaty agreed to, I do not know the real facts
of the case; but this I do know, that General Jackson was in the habit of making nominal treaties with
any Indians who could be brought by grog to sign a
paper, which was forthwith declared to be an official
treaty concluded with the government of the tribe.
Just the same as if the government of France or
England should enter into negotiations with General
Butler, or Boss Tweed, and then claim that the ar