to the said Thomas and Mary, all those tracts of land, known by the names of Hussoope or Ossabaw, Cowleygee or St. Catharine's, and Sapelo islands, with their appurtenances, &c. to the said Thomas and Mary his wife, their heirs and assigns, as long as the sun shall shine, or the waters run in the rivers, forever. Signed on the 4th day of the windy moon, corresponding with the 14th of December.

It has been mentioned that a number of the settlers had become so much dissatisfied with the tenures on which they held their lands, that they had removed to Carolina: Bosomworth taking advantage of this feeble state of the country, by his avarice and ambition the whole colony was brought to the very brink of destruction. As the concerns of these settlements are closely connected with the affairs of Indian nations, it is impossible to attain proper views of the circumstances and situation of the people, without frequently taking notice of the relation in which they stood to their savage neighbors: a considerable branch of provincial commerce, as well as the safety of the colonists, depended on their friendship with Indians; and to avoid all danger from their savage temper, the exercise of a considerable share of prudence and courage was often requisite. This will appear more obvious from the following oc

currence.

It has been observed, that at an early period of the settlement of Georgia, during the time Gen.

Oglethorpe had the direction of public affairs, he had from motives of policy, treated an Indian, or rather half breed woman, called Mary Musgrove, afterwards Mary Mathews, with particular kindness and generosity. Finding that she had great influence amongst the Creeks, and understood their language, he made use of her as an interpreter, in order the more easily to form treaties of alliance with them; allowing her for her services an hundred pounds sterling a year. Thomas Bosomworth, who was chaplain to Oglethorpe's regiment, had married this woman, accepted a tract of land from the crown, and settled in the province. He now determined that his wife should assert her claim to the islands of St. Catharine's, Ossabaw and Sapelo, which had been allotted by treaty to the Indians, as part of their hunting lands. To stock them, this reverend gentleman had purchased cattle from the planters of Carolina, from whom he had obtained credit to a considerable amount. The stock not proving so productive as the proud ambitious clergyman expected, he adopted this extraordinary method of attaining to future greatness and acquiring a fortune: he encouraged his wife into the pretence of being the elder sister of Malatche, and of having descended in a maternal line from an Indian king, who held from nature the whole territories of the Creeks; and Bosomworth now persuaded her to assert her right to them, as superior not only to that of the trustees, but also to

that of the king. Accordingly Mary assumed the title of an independent empress, disavowing all subjection or allegiance to the king of GreatBritain, otherwise than by way of treaty and alli ance, such as one independent sovereign might voluntarily enter into with another: a meeting of all the Creeks was summoned, to whom Mary made a long speech, in which she set forth the justice of her claim, and the great injury shë and her beloved subjects had sustained by the loss of their territories, and urged them to a defence of their rights by force of arms. The In dians were fired with rage at the idea of such indignity, and to a man pledged themselves to stand by her to the last drop of their blood in defence of her royal person and their lands; in consequence of which queen Mary, escorted by a large body of her savage subjects, set out for Savannah, to demand from the president and coun cil, a formal acknowledgment of her rights in the province. A messenger was despatched to notify to the president, the royal family's approach, and that Mary had assumed her right and title of sovereignty over the whole territories of the upper and lower Creeks, and to demand that all the lands south of Savannah river should be relinquished without loss of time that she was the hereditary and rightful queen of both nations, and could command the whole force of her tribe, and in case of refusal she had determined to extirpate the whole settlement.

President Stephens and his council, alarmed at her high pretensions and bold threats, and sensi ble of her influence with the Indians, from her having been made a woman of consequence as an interpreter, were not a little embarrassed what steps to take for the public safety: they thought it best to use soft and healing measures until an opportunity might offer, of privately laying hold of her and shipping her off to England. In the mean time the militia were ordered to hold themselves in readiness to march to Savannah, at the shortest notice. The town was put in the best possible state of defence, but its whole force amounted to only one hundred and seventy men, able to bear arms: a message was sent to Mary, while she was yet several miles distant from Savannah at the head of her mighty host, to know whether she was serious in such wild pretensions, and to try the influence of persuasion to induce her to dismiss her followers and drop her audacious design; but finding her inflexible and resolute, the president resolved to put on a bold countenance, and receive the savages with firmness and resolution. The militia were ordered under arms to overawe them as much as possible, and as the Indians entered the town, captain Noble Jones at the head of a troop of horse stopped them, and demanded whether their visit was with hostile or friendly intentions; but receiving no satisfactory answer, he ordered them to ground their arms, declaring that he had orders not to

suffer one armed Indian to set foot in the town, and that he was determined to enforce the orders at the risk of his own life and that of his troops. The savages with great reluctance submitted, and accordingly Thomas Bosomworth, in his canonical robes with his queen by his side, followed by the kings and chiefs according to rank, marched into the town on the 20th of July, making a most formidable appearance.The inhabitants were struck with terror at the sight of this ferocious tribe of savages. When they advanced to the parade, they found the militia drawn up under arms to receive them, by whom they were saluted with fifteen cannon, and conducted to the president's house. Bosomworth being ordered to withdraw, the Indian chiefs in a friendly manner, were required to declare their intention in paying this visit in so large a body, without being sent for by any person in authority: the warriors, as they had been instructed, answered that Mary was to speak for them, and that they would abide by whatever she said; that they had heard that she was to be sent like a captive over the great waters, and they were come to know on what account they were to lose their queen; that they intended no harm, and begged that their arms might be restored to them; and after consulting with Bosomworth and his wife, they would return and amicably settle all public affairs. To please them their guns were accordingly returned, but strict orders were issued to