eople have done
justly in this we wish our big father to let us know. We were promised
presents for twenty-one years; we have received nothing but a few
promises. It seems that they have disappeared before they reached us, or
that our big father did not intend to give them to us. We were promised
money, but we have not received a cent for this year. What has become of
it? We wish our big father to ask the Governor. The white people say
that we owe them, which is not true. We did take some goods of an Indian
trader, Mr. Marsh, to whom the Governor had promised part of our money.
We took the goods because we were afraid we should never get what was
ours in any other way; they amounted to fifteen hundred dollars. We
understand that Mr. Bellamy has received from the Governor sixteen
hundred dollars; what is it for? The Indians do not owe him
anything,--he has lost no property by us,--we have taken none of his
cattle. If a tiger has killed one, it is charged to the Indians. If they
stray away and are lost for a time, it is charged to the Indians. He has
lost nothing by us; but my people have suffered loss from him. He has
taken all the Indians' hogs that he could lay his hands on. * * * He has
taken hogs--one hundred head--from one man. We can not think of giving
away sixteen hundred dollars for nothing. According to the white man's
laws, if a man takes that which does not belong to him, he has to return
it and pay for the damages. Will our great father see that this man
restores to us what he has unjustly taken from us, for we look to our
big father to fulfill his promises and give us the presents and money
that are due to us. We understand that Colonel Piles has received some
of the money that is due to us; he is a good man; when we were perishing
with hunger he gave us to eat and drink. He is entitled to what he has
received. It appears that the Seminoles who have done no mischief, have
to suffer, as well as the few that have been guilty--this does not
appear to be right to us. By stopping our money, the Governor has
prevented our paying just debts, the debts we owe to the licensed Indian
traders, who have trusted us under the expectation that we would pay
them when we received our money. Our father has put two agents to look
over us; our agent, Colonel Humphries, has not seen any of the money or
presents that belong to us. * * *

"I am getting to be very old, and I wish my bones to be here. I do not
wish to remove to any