l Scott had a
large acquaintance with the people of Charleston; he was their friend;
but his situation was such that many of the people--the great majority
of them--looked upon him as a public enemy.... He thought, as I
thought, that the first drop of blood shed in civil war--in civil war
between the United States and one of the States--would prove an
immedicable wound, which would end in a change of our institutions. He
was resolved, if possible, to prevent a resort to arms, and nothing
could have been more judicious than his conduct. Far from being prone
to take offense, he kept his temper under the strictest guard, and was
most careful to avoid giving occasion for offense; yet he held himself
ready to act if it should become necessary, and he let it be known
that he strictly understood the situation. He sought the society of
the leading nullifiers, and was in their company as much as they would
let him be, but he took care never to say a word to them on the
subject of political differences; he treated them as friends. From the
beginning to the end his conduct was as conciliatory as it was firm
and sincere, evincing that he knew his duty and was resolved to
perform it, and yet his principal object and purpose was peace. He was
perfectly successful, when the least imprudence might have resulted in
a serious collision."

CHAPTER V.

Events that led to the war in Florida--Treaty of Camp Moultrie and its
stipulations--Complaints of Indians and whites--Treaty of Payne's
Landing--Objections of the Indians to complying with the latter
treaty--Councils and talks with the Seminoles--Assiola--Murder
of mail carrier Dalton--Murder of Charley Amathla--Dade's
massacre--Murder of General Thompson and others--General
Clinch--Depredations by the Indians on the whites and by the
latter on the Indians--Volunteers--Military departments of Gaines
and Scott.

It is proper to give as brief a _resume_ as the subject will permit of
the events that led to the outbreak of hostilities in Florida.

General Jackson, when Governor of Florida in 1821, urged upon the
Government the necessity of adopting measures to send back to their
own reservations the large number of Creek Indians who had left their
nation and settled with other tribes in Florida. He argued that this
was an encroachment by the Creeks, and that an increase of Indians in
this territory would lead to unhappy results. Colonel Joseph M. White,
the delegate from the terri