Excerpt from The Origin, Progress, and Conclusion of the Florida War
In presenting this volume to my comrades, and to the public, I am aware that I have much to answer for, but I have the satisfaction of feeling that my sins are those of omission, rather than commission.
Frequent interruptions in the preparation of the work have compelled me to pass over incidents and events in too cursory a manner, involving much that is due to a faithful history of the Florida War, as well as to individual reputation and character.
The voluminous correspondence illustrative of the origin of the war, appears at first sight to be a defence of the Seminole Agent, Colonel Gad Humphreys. This is not designed, nor is it necessary. The letters to and from the various parties connected with the General and Territorial Government, as well as the Talks of the Indian chiefs, speak for themselves. They are official papers, records of the times, a part of a nations history, and if they exhibit a state of affairs discreditable and pernicious, it is but right the facts should be known, that the remedy may be applied to the borders of our country, where the evil is liable to exist, thereby obviating bloodshed, sorrow and poverty. The causes of the difficulties in Florida must be apparent to the minds of careful and intelligent readers; causes not springing up in a day, but nourished for years, aggravated as opportunities offered to enrich adventurers, who had the temerity to hazard the scalping-knife and rifle, and were regardless of individual rights or of law. It must be remembered that Florida, at the period referred to, was an Indian border, the resort of a large number of persons, more properly temporary inhabitants of the Territory than citizens, who sought the outskirts of civilization to perpetrate deeds which would have been promptly and severely punished if committed within the limits of a well regulated community. This is the case on all frontiers. It is unavoidable until well disposed citizens become so numerous as to exert the supremacy of law, when the innocent but too often suffer with the guilty. These temporary inhabitants of Florida, rather than its citizens, have had an active participation in the events that have transpired within her limits for twenty years past. They provoked the Indians to aggressions, and upon the breaking out of the war ignominiously fled, or sought employment in the service of the General Government, and clandestinely contributed to its continuance.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге The Origin, Progress, and Conclusion of the Florida War (Classic Reprint) (J. T. Sprague)