da became a refuge for fugitive
slaves from Georgia and South Carolina.

"Georgians could never forget that the _fugitive_ slaves were
roaming about the Everglades of Florida."(37)

The Seminole Indians welcomed to their wild freedom the escaped
negro from the lash of the overseer, and consequently the long and
bloody Florida Indian wars were literally a slave hunt. The wild
tribes of Indians knew no fugitive-slave law.

In the War of 1812, Spain permitted the English to occupy, for
their purposes, some points in Florida. When the war ended they
abandoned a fort on the Appalachicola, about fifteen miles above
its mouth, with a large amount of arms and ammunition. This fort
the fugitive negroes seized and held for about _three years_ as a
refuge for escaped slaves, and, consequently, as a menace to slavery.
It was during this time called "Negro Fort." At the instigation
of slave owners, it was attacked by General Gaines of the United
States Army.

"A hot shot penetrated one of the magazines, and the whole fort
was blown to pieces, July 27, 1816. There were 300 negro men,
women, and children, and 20 Choctaws in the fort; 270 were killed.
Only three came out unhurt, and these were killed by the allied
Indians."

Thus slavery established and maintained itself, through individual
and national crime and blood, until the day when God's retributive
justice should come. And we shall see how thoroughly His justice
was meted out; how "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,"
measure of blood for measure of blood, anguish for anguish, came
to the dominating white race!

It was not until February, 1821, that notice of the ratification
of a treaty, made two years before, was received, by which Spain
ceded Florida to the United States in consideration of their paying
$5,000,000 in satisfaction of American claims against Spain.

This was not all the Republic paid for Florida. A second Seminole
war (1835-43) ensued, the bloodiest and most costly of all our
Indian wars, in which the Indians were assisted by fugitive slaves
and their descendants, in whom the negro blood was admixed, often
with the white blood of former masters, and again with the
Indian.(38)

At the end of eight years, after many valuable lives had been lost,
and $30,000,000 had been expended, but not until after the great
Seminole leader (Osceola (39)) had been, by deliberate treachery
and bad faith, captured, and the Indians had been worn out rath