Letter from the White Lieutenant of the Oakfushees to James Seagrove Upper Creeks . New York 25^th June 1793. Friend and Brother, I have several times received your letters and had them explained to me, I have likewise heard your last talks which myself and all the head men in the Upper towns are determined to stand by and listen to no others; and to convince you I now write you this, that you may know I have you in mind as I hope you have me. I as well as all the head men of the Upper Towns met at the Tuckabatchees and come to a resolution as our beloved man is no more to hold you fast by the hand and see the treaty complied with, and to prevent our young men from stealing, we have come to a resolution to punish them by whipping, therefore I hope no rash steps will be taken by your mad people, but if any dispute arises let it be settled by friendly talks. This and our other talk you may certainly depend on. We now hope to pass and repass into each others land as friends and brothers, now considering ourselves as one people. The satisfaction you now demand shall be granted, as soon as it can be obtained from the guilty; but unreasonable it is to suppose it can be taken on the innocent. The bad men shall be killed as soon as they can be found, but nothing more natural when they heard their doom they fled the nation, but am in hopes our good warriors will soon overtake them; and till then I hope you will wait with patience. The time you allow is very short, but consider it is not so long since one of my bushetah friends was killed in his peaceable camp, and another wounded, their camp plundered, and when we demanded satisfaction it never was given by your people nor taken by ours till twelve moons after the crime was committed. I suppose the murderer was not to be found, and understand by your laws that the innocent cannot suffer for the guilty, therefore as eldest Brother hope you will not so much unman yourselves as to deviate from your own laws and copy ours. I likewise undertake to inform you of a thing you before perhaps have been ignorant of, very no sooner the talks become a little friendly but our paths but our paths are filled with travelling renegado people, and some families that pretend they are going to the Spanish country, others of them are bad men who steal from your people and fly to our land and impose their plunder on us, and we the in a state of ignorance are blamed for it. Our departed friend winked at those proceedings but I hope as you are going to take his place that you will take such steps as will prevent the like in future; the day never was before bad men came among us but we were a happy people but they have learned our young men their bad ways and on account of our not having laws to punish we by bad precedent are become miserable. I have always understood that the Ecoue was the line and that we were both to drink of one stream, if it is otherwise I am kept in ignorance, if so keep your people on our side and we will keep ours on the other, unless from traders going backward and forward that live in our land, and people you may think it proper to send among us on business, unless it should be that some of our hunters should be distressed for some small necessaries and may take a few skins and buy them, that is all the connection we wish to have. I likewise take the liberty to inform you that it is my opinion that bad men that live on the frontiers of your country, do your people and ours great injury by getting our drunken people over the line and buying their property from them particularly, horses (with rum) the people are then on foot, and sooner than remain so, go and steal the first man's horse they come across, this I hope you will prevent by some early step, as if suffered it will tend to bad consequences. My unknown friend, I have very long had a particular desire to see you, and as all our hopes are blasted by listening to bad talks, and by the death of our wise man, I hope you will revive them by your appearance in our land; come forward my friend, and don't be daunted, now is the time you can be of service to us and your country, as we are determined to take your talks and stand by you to the last moment. You now have nothing to contend with but a few vagabonds which by your good advice will soon silence and dismiss. Nine tenths of the land are your friends, therefore come forward and appoint such men as will do you and us justice, give your talks freely and they shall be received by me and my friends as free. Give your orders and they shall be executed, and don't meditate upon a war, for that is out of the question. I and my upper towns friends have been always friendly disposed both now and in the time of the British War, so have been our bushetah friends, therefore should you be backward in advancing and your mad men forward, and by that means bring your friends to the same fate as your enemies then the matter will become general and more serious than you are aware of. What depredations are now committed are entirely out of wanton cruelty, but should your friends share the fate of your enemies nothing can be expected but enemies strengthened by rage and desperation. Your mad men may think that they can tear us up branch and root, but tell them the woods are large and the days are not all gone; for true it is you can overpower us by numbers but your numbers must have food and rainment, as for us we are born in the Ashes, and woods and mountains and swamps are our homes; if it should so happen that your mad men should make war, tell them not to think that we are all fools and mad men, and that we shall stand and let them take our lives with our lands — No, we will retreat as far as convenient, and then advance as we think it convenient. But I hope these things will be all done away and our eyes opened for both our advantages. We that are your friends are men, and tell your great beloved man, that he will find us manly friends, and should it so happen, desperate enemies. I have nothing more to add, yet if you don't come yourself immediately, I hope you will appoint two men one as interpreter and the other as a beloved man, to manage the business for both you and us. Our situation in that particular is now deplorable for we are obliged to apply to both you, and I believe our enemies interpreter, and give out your talks, therefore by that means are kept in the dark, and both parties imposed upon. The bearer of this is a young man but thinks a great deal of him, and can recommend him as a man I have confidence in. Stephen Sullivan is a man who has never spoilt his talk with me nor my friends; him I recommend as a good interpreter if you think good and it is in your heart to do any thing for us appoint them two men, and I will protect them, my house shall be theirs, and my town their town and likewise yours whenever you think well to come forward, which I hope will be shortly but not at the head of your madmen; for I hope you are a man and we are men and can punish our bad people ourselves, and the day shall come that we will do it. I shall make it my business to collect all the stolen horses I can find and send them to the rocklanding as soon as possible. Please send by the bearer my horse I sent down to you by Wattals Alexe as they have been there a long time, but I hope you don't mean to undervalue me by keeping them all this time and sending them back empty; likewise send your talks for me and the towns undermentioned. (Signed) Tushena Atca or White Lieutenant for himself and the Upper Creek towns . . . . . . . . . _ Stephen Sullivan, Interpreter