Palladium Of Virginia And The Pacific Monitor

From the Columbus (Geo) Enquirer, July 18.

INDIAN AFFAIRS.

Much alarm has been excited in this place by some recent movements of a hostile character among the Indians. Several secret Councils have been held in the Creek Nation, with a view, it is believed, of concerting warlike operations against the Frontier Settlements. In consequence of the general apprehension of danger, some of our citizens on Wednesday last visited the Creek Agent at Fort Mitchell, for the purpose of obtaining whatever information he might possess in relation to the anticipated difficulties. The following is the information which he afforded. The statement is furnished us by one of the gentlemen who held the conversation with him.

"The agent stated that there had been several secret councils held by the chiefs; that he had been informed by several Indians; that they, the Indians, in these councils, had resolved to stay and die upon their soil; that they had also resolved to kill him the agent and wage a war of extermination upon the frontiers, & assassinate every white man west of the Flint river: & when troops, should be sent to fight them, they would retire to the swamps and die to a man fighting for the soil of their fathers. The agent, not putting sufficient confidence in these reports, felt no alarm, until an old, respectable chief, in whom he had always put the utmost confidence, and who had always manifested for him the greatest friendship, came to him & told him in confidence that the report was true, and that he himself was a member of the secret council which passed the aforesaid resolution, and that he voted for it, but that he had so great friendship for him the agent, that he could not reconcile it to his conscience so far to violate his faith as to see him sacrificed without apprising him of his danger. Thus much having heretofore become public, no injury can accrue from the repetition of it; but some other communication which the chief made to the agent, for prudential reasons, perhaps had best not be made too public, as they appertain to the safety of the agent.

The chief also stated that deputations had been sent to the Cherokees, the Choctaws and Seminoles, to solicit their concurrence in sentiment and action with them, the Creeks, but that none but the Cherokees had been heard from, and that they concurred; that Ross, the President, was preparing a talk for his nation, advising them never to give up their land, but to kill every white man who crossed the line."

From the same gentleman who furnished the above we also learn, that Col. Crowell has written to the War Department concerning the affair, and that he would also have apprised the Governor of Georgia of the same, but that he (the Agent) does not apprehend any immediate danger to the citizens of Georgia; by which we infer that no information will be communicated to the authorities of this state, by his humane officer, until immediate danger comes upon the people. But whether near at hand or not, if he is sincere in his opinion that the Indians are meditating war upon the whites, we humbly conceive it to be his duty as an officer and most certainly as a man, to make known the fact to the Governor of Georgia, and also the Governor of Alabama. He may possibly have communicated with the latter and if he has declined to correspond with the former, because of hostility which he may have contracted against our state in consequence of her efforts to obtain her rights, which he so actively opposed, we can only say that it is high time that such enmities should give place to better feelings.

Inasmuch as the Agent has not thought proper to disclose to the Governor the indications of hostility among the Indians, the colonel of the county (U. Lewis) has acted with praiseworthy promptness in communicating the information. In compliance with the wishes of many of the citizens of this place, he forwarded last Thursday an express to Milledgeville, with a request that his excellency the Governor would cause a deposit to be made in this place of public arms and ammunition, sufficient for its protection in the event of hostility.

At present the Town is in a very defenceless situation, not one man in ten being provided with arms.