One day while she was on the south bank of the Manatee River, a band of Seminole Indians stepped from the bushes across from Mary Jane Whitaker and the leader motioned for her to bring her boat across to them. The Indians were friendly at the time, so she paddled across. The leader was Chief Billy Bowlegs. He had one of his braves return her to the south side, used the boat to bring his band across the river, and returned the boat to her.
In 1855 a group of Army engineers and surveyors invaded the home area of Billy Bowlegs, cutting down banana trees and destroying property. In retaliation Bowlegs and his warriors conducted sporadic raids on the settlements and the settlers moved to a camp at Branch Fort on the Manatee River for protection.
While living at Branch Fort, Mary Jane's first son, Furman Chairs, was born. He was the first native born Manatee County resident. William, a Captain in a company of volunteers, was away fighting Indians in what has been call the third Seminole Indian War.
The area that is now Sarasota was part of Hillsboro County until 1855 at the time Manatee County was formed. It included the area from south of Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor, and from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Okeechobee.
Although Billy Bowlegs signed the 1832 Treaty, that required the Indians to move to Oklahoma, he refused to leave Florida. The surrender of Oceola and the loss of other Seminole chiefs left Bowlegs and his band of 200 warriors as the most prominent fighters remaining. In May Of 1858, the U.S. paid Billy Bowlegs $7,500 for himself, $500 each for the remaining braves, and $100 for each woman and child in his party in return for which, they all departed for the Indian Reservation in Oklahoma. It was reported that Bill B. got drunk and stayed a happy warrior for a long time.
(To be continued)..
(C) Copyright, 2007 - Leland Desmon. The information on this page may not be reproduced or republished on any other webpage, website, or publication. Please LINK TO US instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment