XVI. CHAPTER XVI. COLONIZATION OF GEORGIA. Founded in Benevolence.-Oglethorpe.-First Emigration.-Savannah.➡ Encouragements.-Germans from the Western Alps.-Augusta.-The Moravians. Scotch Highlanders.-The Wesleys.-Whitefield, his Or phan House.-War with Spain; its Cause.-Failure to Capture St. Augustine. Repulse of the Spanish Invaders.-The Colony becomes a Royal Province. CHAP. WE have seen some colonies founded as asylums for the oppressed for conscience' sake, and others the off1732. spring of royal grants to needy courtiers,—bankrupt in fortune, and sometimes in morals, seeking in their old age to retrieve the follies of their youth. It is now a pleasure to record the founding of an asylum not alone for the oppressed for conscience' sake, but for the victims of unrighteous law-a colony the offspring of benevolence; the benevolence of one noble-hearted man;-one who, born in affluence, devoted his wealth, his mind and his energies to the great work. James Edward Oglethorpe, "the poor man's friend," "a Christian gentleman of the Cavalier school," had sympathy for the unfortunate who were immured within prison walls, not for crime, but for debt. He labored to have repealed the laws authorizing such imprisonment, and to reform the entire prison discipline of England. His efforts did not end here; he desired to provide in America an asylum for those who were, while in their own land, at the mercy of heard-hearted creditors, as well as A TRUST FOR THE POOK 157 XVI. a place of refuge for the poor, where comfort and happi- CHAP ness might be the reward of industry and virtue. There were, at this time, in England, more than four thousand 1782. men in prison for debt, with no hope of relief. Through his exertions, "multitudes were restored to light and freedom, who by long confinement were strangers and helpless in the country of their birth." Others became interested in his schemes of benevolence, and a petition numerously signed by men of influence and family was presented to the king. They asked a charter to colonize the territory south of the Savannah river, then included in Carolina, with unfortunate debtors, and with Protestants from the continent of Europe. A grant was given by George II. of the region lying between the Savannah and the Altamaha, and from their head springs west to the Pacific. The territory was to be known as Georgia. It was given "in trust for the poor' to twenty-one trustees for the space of twenty-one years. The trustees manifested their zeal by giving their services without any reward. The climate of this region was thought to be very favorable for the raising of silk-worms, and the cultivation of the grape. Merchants, therefore, who could not be otherwise influenced, were induced to favor the cause by hopes of gain. The "free exercise of religion" was guaranteed to all "except papists." Under no conditions was land to be granted in tracts of more than five hundred acres. This was designed to enable the poor to become owners of the soil, and to prevent the rich from monopolizing the best lands. Much interest was taken in this new field of benevolence, and donations were made by all classes of society. What a transition for the poor debtor! He was to exchange the gloomy walls of a prison for a home in that delightful land, where grim poverty never would annoy him more! It was determined to take as colonists only CHAP. the most needy and helpless, and, as far as possible, exclude those of bad morals. XVI. 1732. 1783. Thirty-five families, numbering altogether one hundred and fifty persons, embarked for their new homes. While others gave to the enterprise their substance and influence, Oglethorpe volunteered to superintend the colony in person. They took with them "a clergyman with Bibles, Prayer-books, and Catechisms," and one person who was skilled in the raising of silk. The company landed first at Charleston; by a vote of the Assembly, they were welcomed, and presented with supplies of rice and cattle. Oglethorpe hastened to explore the Savannah. On a bluff twenty miles from its mouth he planted his colony. This bluff was already in the possession of a small band of Indians, from whom it was named the Yamacraw. Through the efforts of Mary Musgrove, who acted as interpreter, the bluff was purchased. This woman was a daughter of a Uchee chief, and had been sent to school in Charleston, where she had married an English trader. The colonists immediately began to build and fortify their town, which they named Savannah, the Indian name of the river. The town was regularly laid out, with wide streets and spacious squares. A garden of some acres was inclosed for a nursery of mulberry-trees to feed silkworms; and here also experiments were made, in order to introduce European fruits. The aged chief of the little band of Indians wished protection. He presented to Oglethorpe a buffalo skin, on the inside of which was painted an eagle. "The eagle," said he, "signifies speed, and the buffalo strength; the English are swift as the eagle, for they have flown over vast seas; they are as strong as the buffalo, for nothing can withstand them; the feathers of the eagle are soft, and signify love; the buffalo's skin is warm, and signifies protection; therefore, I hope the English will love and protect our little families." The hopes of poor old EMIGRANTS; LUTHERANS. 159 Tomochechi and his tribe were doomed to be sadly dis- CHAP. appointed. XVI. The genial climate delighted the colonists, and they 1733. went cheerfully to work, building their houses. The chiefs of the lower Creeks came and made a treaty; they acknowledged the English rule from the Savannah to the St. John's, and west to the Chattahoochee, and gave them permission to cultivate the lands not used by their own people. Then came a messenger from the distant Cherokees, pledging the friendship of his tribe. Soon after came a Choctaw chief saying, "I have come a great way; I belong to a great nation; the French are among us; we do not like them; they build forts and trade with us; their goods are poor, and we wish to trade with you." Thus the way was opened for a profitable traffic with the tribes north of the gulf, and west to the Mississippi. These The fame of this delightful land reached Europe, and penetrated even into the fastnesses of the western Alps. There, long ages before the Reformation, a pure gospel had been taught. Now a persecution was raging, and the sufferings of these Christians, now become Lutherans, deeply enlisted the sympathies of the English people. Germans were invited by the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel," to emigrate to Georgia, where they could be free from their persecutors, and lands were offered them; but they rejoiced more than all in the opportunity given them to carry the gospel to the Indians. Money was subscribed by the benevolent in England to enable them to travel from Augsburg, across the country to Frankfort on the Main. Nearly one hundred set out on their pilgrimage; they took with them, in wagons, their wives and children; their Bibles and books of devotion. The men as they travelled on foot beguiled the toils of their journey by singing praises to God, and offering prayers for his guiding hand, and his blessing on their enterprise. XVI. CHAP. They passed down the Main to its junction with the Rhine, and thence floated down to Rotterdam, where they 1733. were joined by two clergymen, Bolzius and Gronau. They sailed to England, and were there met and encouraged by a committee of the trustees, and thence to their distant home across the ocean. The faith that had cheered them on their native mountains, sustained them amid the storms of the Atlantic; when, during a terrible tempest, the waves broke over the ship, and caused an outery of alarm from the English, they continued their devotions and calmly sung on. When one of them was asked, "Were you not afraid?" "I thank God, no," was the reply. "But were not your women and children afraid ?" "No, our women and children are not afraid to die." A passage of fifty-seven days brought them to receive a hearty welcome at Charleston from Oglethorpe, and in 1734. less than a week they were at their journey's end. A suitable place had been chosen for their residence, they founded a village a short distance above Savannah, and significantly named it Ebenezer. In gratitude they raised a monumental stone as a memento of the goodness of God in thus bringing them to a land of rest. They were joined from time to time by others from their native land. By their industry and good morals they secured prosperity, and also the respect of their fellow-colonists. At the head of boat navigation on the Savannah the town of Augusta was now founded. This soon became an important trading post with the Indians. Oglethorpe gave himself unweariedly to the work of benefiting those he governed. The success of the enterprise may be safely attributed to his disinterested labors. "He," said Governor Johnson, of South Carolina, "nobly devotes all his powers to save the poor, and to rescue them from their wretchedness." After the residence of a year and a half he returned to England, taking with him |