15 U.S.-Chickasaw treaties of 1832 and 1834, Kappler, ed., Indian Affairs, 2:356- 62, 418- 23.
16 James Colbert to Lewis Cass, June 29, 1835, LR, OIA, reel 136, frame 614, M- 234, NA; William S. Colquhoun to Lewis Cass, Sept. 20, 1833, CSE, 4:566; Statement of Gordon D. Boyd, Mar. 7, 1837, LR, OIA, reel 146, frame 548, M- 234, NA (“cholera cases”); Statement of Samuel Ragsdale, May 17, 1838, LR, OIA, reel 146, frame 581, M- 234, NA (“very poor”); U.S. Censuses of 1830 and 1840.
17 Records Relating to Indian Removal, Records of the Commissary General of Subsistence, Chickasaw Removal Records, Reports of Land Sales and Deeds, 1836- 39, RG 75, entry 255, box 1, NA; William S. Colquhoun to Lewis Cass, Sept. 20, 1833, CSE, 4:566; David Hubbard to Lewis Curtis, June 2, 1837, box 1, NYMS; Benjamin Reynolds to C.A. Harris, June 2, 1837, LR, OIA, reel 146, M- 234, NA.
18 地政事务办公室在一八三六到一八四○年间卖掉大约四千四百平方英里的契卡索土地;剩下的土地大部分都在一八五○年以前拍卖完。31st Cong., 2nd sess., S.Exec.Doc. 2, p. 14; “Chickasaw Fund,” 29th Cong., 1st sess., H.Doc. 8, p. 75(“residue”); Richard Bolton to Lewis Curtis, Sept. 8, 1835, p. 67, letter book, NYMS; Isham Harrison to James T. Harrison, July 27, 1835, folder 4, James T. Harrison Papers #02441, SHC (“speculation”); Article 7, U.S.- Chickasaw treaty of 1832, Kappler, ed., Indian Affairs, 2:358- 59; Richard Bolton to Lewis Curtis, July 27, 1835, p. 55, NYMS; John Bolton to Lewis Curtis, July 16, 1835, NYMS; Statement of Gordon D. Boyd, March 7, 1837, LR, OIA, reel 146, M- 234, NA (“capitalists”).
19 “Chickasaw Fund,” 29th Cong., 1st sess., H.Doc. 8.
20 “Chickasaw Fund,” 29th Cong., 1st sess., H.Doc. 8.
21 “Chickasaw Fund,” 29th Cong., 1st sess., H.Doc. 8, pp. 75- 86.
22 我用聘雇一个非专业劳工的费用来换算。Samuel H. Williamson, “Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1774 to Present,” MeasuringWorth, 2019, www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/; Exceptions to the Account stated, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, exhibiting in detail all the moneys which from time to time had been placed, in the Treasury to the credit of the Chickasaw Nation (Washington, D.C., 1869), 1, 2, 3, 7.
23 Memorial of the Chickasaw Chiefs to the President of the United States, LR, OIA, reel 136, M- 234, NA.
24 B.M. Lowe to Levi Woodbury, May 3, 1836, Correspondence of the Secretary of Treasury Relating to the Administration of Trust Funds for the Chickasaw and Other Indian Tribes, S Series, 1834- 72, RG 56, M- 749, NA; J.D. Beers to Elbert Herring, Mar. 4, 1836, LR, OIA, Stocks, reel 853, RG 75, M- 234, NA (“Under the circumstances”); J.D. Beers to Levi Woodbury, Mar. 21, 1836, no. 29, Correspondence of the Secretary of Treasury Relating to the Administration of Trust Funds for the Chickasaw and Other Indian Tribes, S Series, 1834- 72, RG 56, M- 749, NA (“this pressing time”); “Chickasaw Fund,” 29th Cong., 1st sess., H.Doc. 8, p. 67; Richard E. Sylla, Jack Wilson, and Robert E. Wright, “Price Quotations in Early United States Securities Markets, 1790- 1860,” Inter- university Consortium for Political and Social Research (New York: New York University, Stern School of Business, 2002), table DS5; Robert J. Ward to F.P. Blair, Oct. 27, 1836, p. 130, Correspondence of the Secretary of Treasury Relating to the Administration of Trust Funds for the Chickasaw and Other Indian Tribes, S Series, 1834- 72, RG 56, M- 749, NA.
25 The total Chickasaw investment in the Decatur bank was $750,000, but only $500,000 was loaned out in the form of specie certificates. 35th Cong., 2nd sess., S.Misc.Doc. 8, pp. 8- 9; Levi Woodbury to Charles Macalester and J.D. Beers, Jan. 28, 1836, no. 13, J.W. Garth to Levi Woodbury, March 25, 1836, no. 39, and Levi Woodbury to Andrew Jackson, June 30, 1836, Correspondence of the Secretary of Treasury Relating to the Administration of Trust Funds for the Chickasaw and Other Indian Tribes, S Series, 1834- 72, RG 56, M- 749, NA; James Durno to Levi Woodbury, July 28, 1836, 24th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rpt. 194, pp. 79- 80; “State Bonds created for the Branch Bank at Montgomery,” Bank of the State of Alabama, Branch Bank at Montgomery, General Financial Statements, 1839- 1848, Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery; Charles C. Mills to Farish Carter, Sept. 11, 1836, folder 12, Farish Carter Papers #2230, SHC (“decided advantage” and “There has never been”).
26 Opinion of Alfred Balch on the contract of Aug. 28, 1836, LR, OIA, reel 243, frame 320, M- 234, NA (“On one side”); Creek chiefs to the President, May 21, 1831, LR, OIA, reel 222, frames 441- 43, M- 234, NA; William Moor to Nehah Micco, Dec. 6, 1831, CSE, 2:710 (“an old helpless”); List of white intruders living in the Creek Nation, Dec. 13, 1831, LR, OIA, reel 222, frames 549- 51, M- 234, NA; Neah Micco and Tus- Ke- Neah- Haw to the Secretary of War, Dec. 20, 1832, CSE, 3:565- 66.
27 John B. Hogan to Uriah Blue, Apr. 3, 1835, CGLR, box 8, Creek, NA; U. Blue to George Gibson, Dec. 21, 1835, CGLR, box 8, Creek, NA; Extract of a letter from Jeremiah Austill to the Secretary of War, July 26, 1833, CSE, 4:487; Jeremiah Austill to Lewis Cass, July 31, 1833, CSE, 4:493; Copy of bond and oath, 1836, LR, OIA, reel 243, frames 908- 09, M- 234, NA (“indenture” and “highly respectable”); Opothle Yoholo et al. to the President of the United States, Jan. 7, 1836, LR, OIA, reel 243, frame 505, M- 234, NA.
28 Opothle Yoholo et al. to Dr. McHenry, Mar. 23, 1835, box 3, correspondence of certifying agents, entry 293, RG 75, NA; Eli S. Shorter to Lewis Cass, May 2, 1834, “Documents Relating to Frauds,” 129; Deposition of John Taylor, Jan. 16, 1837, The New American State Papers (Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 1972), 10:58- 61 (“it made no difference”); John B. Hogan to Uriah Blue, Apr. 3, 1835, CGLR, box 8, Creek, NA (“white proof”).
29 “Documents Relating to Frauds,” 181(“malefactors”), 182, 222, 228, 236.
30 Elijah Corley to Scott and Cravens, Mar. 25, 1835, New American State Papers, 9:513- 514 (“rogued”); Eli Shorter to John S. Scott and M.M. and N.H. Craven, Jan. 28, 1835, New American State Papers, 9:510- 11 (“Give up” and “Swear off”); Eli Shorter to John S. Scott and E. Corley, and M.M. and N.H. Craven, Mar. 1, 1835, New American State Papers, 9:511- 13 (“Stealing”); Benjamin P. Tarver to M.A. Craven, Mar. 1, 1835, New American State Papers, 9:513 (“Hurrah”).
31 J.W.A. Sanford to George Gibson, Sept. 30, 1835, CGLR, box 8, Creek, NA; Christopher D. Haveman, Rivers of Sand: Creek Indian Emigration, Relocation, and Ethnic Cleansing in the American South (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2016), 138- 39.
32 William Hunter to John B. Hogan, Aug. 12, 1835, CGLR, box 8, Creek, NA (“would die”); Opothle Yoholo et al. to the President of the United States, Jan. 14, 1836, LR, OIA, reel 225, frames 38- 41, M- 234, NA; George Gibson to John B. Hogan, Jan. 25, 1836, CGLS, vol. 3, p. 426, NA; Cass quoted in Haveman, Rivers of Sand, 139.
33 Christopher D. Haveman, ed., Bending Their Way Onward: Creek Indian Removal Documents (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2018), 118- 76.
34 George F. Salli to Lewis Cass, May 13, 1836, LR, OIA, reel 225, frames 151- 52, M- 234, NA (“There was no garbage”); David Hubbard to Lewis Cass, May 1, 1834, LR, OIA, reel 237, frames 425- 28, M- 234, NA (“clotted”); John Page to C.A. Harris, May 8, 1836, LR, OIA, reel 243, frame 1327, M- 234, NA (“I talk to them”).
35 Columbus Enquirer, May 1, 1835, 2; Copy of petition drafted by Eli Shorter, Feb. 14, 1836, LR, OIA, reel 243, frame 744, M- 234, NA (“insolent”); John B. Hogan to George Gibson, Jan. 23, 1836, CGLR, box 9, Creek, NA (“contemptible”).
36 George Gibson to Jacob Brown, Oct. 20, 1835, CGLS, vol. 3, pp. 307- 11, NA (“perfectly”); George Gibson to Lewis Cass, Nov. 12, 1835, CGLS, vol. 3, pp. 338- 50, NA (“uncertain”).
37 This small contingent of Cherokees was about half of what Harris had expected. The rest remained in their cabins or took refuge in the mountains. Joseph W. Harris to George Gibson, Mar. 8, 1834,CGLR, box 1, Cherokee, NA; March 23 and 31, Journal of Occurrences of a Company of Cherokee Emigrants, for the months of February, March, April, May, 1834, CGLR, box 1, NA.
38 April 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10, Journal of Occurrences of a Company of Cherokee Emigrants, for the months of February, March, April, May, 1834, CGLR, box 1, NA.
39 Joseph W. Harris to Drs. Alders Sprague and Bushrod W. Lic, Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Settled Indian Accounts, RG 217, entry 525, box 274, account 1109- A(13), NA (“a proper police”); April 11 and 12, Journal of Occurrences of a Company of Cherokee Emigrants, for the months of February, March, April, May, 1834, Records of the Commissary General of Subsistence, Letters Received, 1831- 36, RG 75, entry 201, box 1, NA.
40 April 14, 15, 16, and 30, May 5 and 6, Journal of Occurrences of a Company of Cherokee Emigrants, for the months of February, March, April, May, 1834, CGLR, box 1, NA.
41 Joseph W. Harris to Drs. Alders Sprague and Bushrod W. Lic, Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Settled Indian Accounts, RG 217, entry 525, box 274, account 1109- A(13), NA; Joseph W. Harris to George Gibson, May 9, 1834, CGLR, box 1, Cherokee, NA; Journal of Occurrences of a Company of Cherokee Emigrants, for the months of February, March, April, May 15, 1834, CGLR, box 1, NA (“easy journeys”); Joseph W. Harris to George Gibson, June 5, 1834, CGLR, box 1, Cherokee, NA.
42 J.W. Harris to Wiley Thompson, Aug. 23, 1835, CGLR, box 15, Creek, NA.
43 J.W. Harris to Wiley Thompson, Plan of Operations in Detail for the Removal of Florida Indians, Aug. 23, 1835, CGLR, box 15, Creek, NA.
44 J.W. Harris to Wiley Thompson, Aug. 23, 1835, CGLR, box 15, Creek, NA.
45 George Gibson to Lewis Cass, Nov. 12, 1835, CGLS, vol. 3, pp. 338- 50, NA; J.P. Simonton to George Gibson, Sept. 2, 1834, CGLR, box 12, Creek, NA (“hard and flinty” and “sickly”).
46 S. Grantland to Farish Carter, Apr. 3, 1836, folder 12, Farish Carter Papers; Samuel Gwin to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, May 7, 1835, Report from the Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Cong., 1st sess., S.Doc. 69; John B. Hogan to Andrew Jackson, Apr. 22, 1836, LR, OIA, reel 243, frame 892, M- 23
PART 5 从驱离到歼灭
chapter 9 一八三六年:充满战火的南方世界
这些猎人原以为猎犬闻到了逃跑奴隶的气味。一八三○年代,在塔拉哈西(Tallahassee)及其周遭地区,美国人口几乎翻倍成长,到了该年代末期,这个县总共有超过七千名奴隶,由大约三百三十个家庭持有。这些家庭主要是让这些无薪劳工在棉花田里工作。有时,当地的蓄奴主也会把奴隶租给塔拉哈西铁路公司(Tallahassee Railroad Company),协助他们将一捆捆棉花放上马车,并在不稳固的铁路上运送到最近的港口圣马克斯(St. Marks),整段距离约三十英里。奴隶逃跑是常有的事。然而,猎人是在围困逃犯后,才发现他原来是个原住民,没有必要保他一命。于是,他们举起步枪,瞄准好,然后发射。当他们接近受伤的逃亡者时,他的身分也渐渐明朗。他大约十九岁,看起来是克里克族的村民,肯定是在情急之下,从乔治亚州南部逃到佛罗里达领地的狭长地区,并想着要躲起来。其中一位猎人拿出一把刀,把男子的头发拉紧,然后割下他的头皮。1
情势很快就陷入这个暴力的深渊,而最剧烈的转折点是发生在一八三六年,也就是杰克森任期的最后一年。在一八三○年代前半段,政治领袖虽然很虚伪,却仍保持慈善姿态,但这情况逐渐被扭曲,以合理化后半段的灭族暴力行为。当然,无论是近期或遥远的过去,其实都有许多发动战争攻打这座大陆原始居民的先例。有时,殖民者似乎意图将所有的原住民彻底消灭。2自一八一○年以来,短短二十五年内,美国便发动了一八一二年之战(War of 1812,有一部分是要讨伐特库姆塞[Tecumseh])、一八一三至一八一四年的第一次美国与克里克人战争(the First U.S.-Creek War of 1813-14)、一八一七至一八一八年的第一次美国与塞米诺尔人战争(the First U.S.-Seminole War of 1817-18),以及一八三二年的美国与索克人战争(the U.S.-Sauk War of 1832)。可是,尽管美国对原住民怀有根深蒂固的种族歧视,且双方的冲突历史悠久,但在一八三○年代中叶以前,这个国家也不曾制定任何政策,目的是要发动多重阵线的战争,以消灭密西西比河以东的原住民。
驱逐和歼灭这两者的差异,从来就不像美国官员所希望的那样清楚。将原住民迁至这个国家最边境的地区,即便他们据称是有一个慈善的目标存在,但这个目标仍变成动用武力将原住民驱离,或杀害他们的借口。在一八三○年,乔治亚州议员兰普金表示,许多「显赫人士」相信驱离是将原住民从「毁灭和灭绝」当中拯救出来的唯一希望;但在三年后,在一八三三年,已经当上州长的兰普金重申,假使原住民继续留在自己的家园,就有被「迅速歼灭」的可能;又过了五年,也就是一八三八年,兰普金坐在参议院的席次上表示,他先前的预测就要成真了。他把问题转向问责。他说,既然原住民拒绝迁移,必然造成的「恶果」,将会是他们自己应负的「责任」。说这句话时,这位乔治亚州的参议员针对的是他的契罗基对手,约翰.罗斯。3但,在这十年的下半部,整个南方的美国士兵、州义勇军和白人自卫队,他们都认为自己应当杀死原住民。他们的行为验证了杰克森主义者(Jacksonian)一直以来的预测:留在东部的原住民会遭到歼灭。
随着离开家园的压力越来越大,原住民陷入绝望之中。彼得.皮奇林的亲戚表示,「白人」现在是如此死缠烂打又难以逃避,使他把原住民面临的困境喻作《圣经》里的祸害。殖民者会制造出「五花八门的困难,以便成功让印地安人搬出这里」。他最后说,从美国过去对待原住民的方式来看,「我永远不相信原住民能拥有可以说永远属于他们的土地,或是只要做为一个国家存在,就能一直拥有的土地」。4
在乔治亚州,骚扰契罗基人的祸害,跟寄生虫的肆虐或血流成河的景象无关,反而是跟抽中土地大奖的幸运儿有关,因为这些彩券将契罗基族的领土分送给该州的白人了。在一八三四年五月,约翰.罗斯和其他四名契罗基代表写了请愿书给国会,在请愿书中,他们把入侵者的出现直接怪到杰克森头上。他们说,总统的权力「被用来帮助迫害他们的人,跟那些人一起合作摧毁他们。」他们举了两个例子。第一,杰克森坚持把契罗基人的土地信托基金(美国贩卖土地后应该给契罗基族的钱),发给个别的契罗基人,而不是契罗基族的政府。他们表示,这个双面政策的目的,是要「逼他们沦落到贫穷与绝望之中,再从他们的悲惨处境进行敲诈,要他们让出他们所获有的权利」。第二,美国雇用了「不适合的人」,致力让契罗基人的生活「难以忍受地凄惨」。5
他们讲的不是别人,正是班杰明.柯里(Benjamin F. Currey)。柯里来自杰克森的家乡田纳西州,因为支持总统而被聘用,唯一符合印地安专员这个职位的资格条件,就是他在纳士维曾经拥有的小小政治职务。柯里在一八三一年,他年仅三十一岁时受雇,是一个脾气差、没道德、不圆滑又热忱过了头的人。他逮捕那些反对他的契罗基人、提议聘请间谍(战争部长很明智地拒绝了这项建议)、贿赂契罗基族的主要律师,并要求更多美国军队,以及宣布戒严的权力(也遭到拒绝)。一八三四年初,他组了一批由骑着马的武装份子组成的准军队,包围了报名西迁的契罗基人,并威胁其中一名契罗基男子说,他如果不泄露他的小孩在哪里,就要鞭打他一百下,甚至还恐吓另一人,要是敢跟朋友说话,就开枪射他。其中一个家庭的女性奋勇还击,却在打斗中被卫兵咬断一根手指。约翰.罗斯只用一个字形容柯里:「邪恶。」6
跟柯里气味相投的,是一个来自纽约州斯克内克塔迪(Schenectady)的约翰.谢尔莫恩(John F. Schermerhorn),他是一名毕业于安多佛神学院(Andover Seminary)的荷兰归正教会(Reformed Dutch Church)神职人员。谢尔莫恩曾表达想要「成为海外传教士」的愿望,甚至想象自己在把福音传给「可怜的异教徒」时,遭受「残酷地杀害而殉教」。然而,他没有冒险让自己落得那么可怕的命运,而是在一八一六年,跟着太太到纽约上州的舒适乡下教区(离他的出生地二十英里)落地生根,而此地则是一个广读《圣经》的「过度觉醒区」。但是,富有上进心的谢尔莫恩,并不满足只当个「乡下的教士」。一八一三年,他在俄亥俄河与密西西比河航行时遇见杰克森,并运用这层人脉进入了政坛。一八二四年,他在杰克森竞选总统(后来竞选失败)期间,大力鼓励人们投给杰克森,并提醒这位恩人「你的老朋友约翰.谢尔莫恩」,对于你在河上之旅「所展现的善意与关心永远不会忘记」。一八二六年,谢尔莫恩转到教会行政部门,参与了一场激烈的教义辩论,将「黑暗中」(in the dark)的譬喻攻击,比拟成「印地安人之战」。显然,他最接近殉教的经历就是这样。7
在一八二八年杰克森当选后,谢尔莫恩开始跟总统和战争部长卡斯通信,希望能将自己的政治野心和宗教热忱结合。在一八三一年,他写了一封阿谀奉承的信给总统,声称未来的世代将认为老山核桃的政府(意旨杰克森政府),「仅有开国元首能超越之」。8一年后,杰克森便任命他为西部印地安人专员。这个职位大部分是因为他懂得跟总统培养私交而得来的。
谢尔莫恩跟麦考伊一样,在政府的驱离政策上,涂上了一层虔诚基督徒的慈善色彩,但是他跟浸信会的麦考伊相反,谢尔莫恩残忍无情又不择手段。此外,他也觉得这个时期要用到极端手段,或许是因为他跟其他许多福音传道者一样,认为最后的末日将在未来几十年内来临。再怎么样,福音至少得传给「所有种族」,且「犹太人要改信基督教」。把原住民带到西部隔离,并更有效地监督与教化他们,可以部份实现这个目标。谢尔莫恩希望,或许他还可以在末日时代,透过管理自己积极创造的土地,而得到一些好处。9
谢尔莫恩有个了不起特点,便是能够让所有遇到他的人都不喜欢他。一名政府职员说他「冥顽不灵、固执己见」,甚至还更不厚道地主张「地球上找不到比他诡计多端、邪恶、恶毒、不开明的人」;传教士指控谢尔莫恩是表里不一的伪君子,哀叹他竟然是一名神职人员;一个联邦官员则说,他「滥用了自己高尚的职位」;就连麦考伊也不喜欢这个人,觉得他事事都要管,更羞辱他是个「老笨蛋」。10
谢尔莫恩的诡计所瞄准的目标群,也十分轻蔑他。塞尼卡酋长马里斯.皮尔斯(Maris Pierce)嘲讽地说,他是「那个恶名昭彰的教士,喜欢宣扬杰克森将军迁移印地安人的人道政策」。契罗基人拿他的名字开玩笑,叫他「Sginuhyona」,意为「恶魔的号角」。约翰.罗斯一如往常描述得最精确,说谢尔莫恩是「穿着教士长袍的热内,有卫兵随侍」。热内(Genet)是一七九○年代干预美国政策的法国神职人员,他曾企图中伤华盛顿总统和国务卿约翰.亚当斯(John Adams)。11
令人震惊的是,在一八三○年代跟二十个不同原住民族协议条约的场合中,谢尔莫恩都出席了,其中包括奥沙吉人、夸帕人、迈阿密人、齐佩瓦人、渥太华人和帕塔瓦米人。他所参与的协商中,最具爆发性的两次,分别是跟塞米诺尔人和契罗基人进行的协议。自一八二○年代以来,美国官员致力限缩塞米诺尔人的生活空间,当时负责签订该条约的詹姆斯.盖兹登(James Gadsden),是一名在查理顿出生、毕业于耶鲁大学,且在佛罗里达领地拥有棉花田的人。如果用盖兹登的话来说,塞米诺尔人被逼到了「生存所需的最小范围里」。(盖兹登后来成为铁路企业家和扩张主义者,负责从墨西哥手中购买大片土地,被称为盖兹登购地[Gadsden Purchase]。他也是把奴隶制看作「社会福佑」的分离主义者)。联邦政府的策略,使塞米诺尔家庭变得一贫如洗,逼他们往南进入不适人居的地带,同时利用制定条约的过程,成功掩饰了真正的意图:把塞米诺尔人饿到离开该地区。佛罗里达领地的州长说:「塞米诺尔人的领土中,有二十分之十九的地区,是我目前为止看过最穷困悲惨的地区。」在一八三二年,盖兹登收获了成果,他成功跟塞米诺尔人会面,并协商驱逐条约。此时,许多塞米诺尔人都已「饿到剩下半条命」,只能靠树根和甘蓝椰子树的果实维生。在佩恩登陆处(Payne's Landing)签订的条约指出,如果塞米诺尔人在造访西部后,对那个地方的「性质」很满意,他们就会西迁。12
打从一开始,这个条约就充满争议。一位军官控诉其「严苛不合理的条款」,是从「处境困苦」的人身上「逼迫」出来的。参议院整整两年没有正式批准这份文件,以至于其中的一些应该要执行的条文,过期了很久。曾任战争部长的佛罗里达领地总长约翰.伊顿,他不禁对条约究竟成不成立感到疑惑,但杰克森的司法部长仍判定它成立。塞米诺尔人坚称那是「白人的条约」,其内容违反了一八二三年《穆尔垂溪条约》(Treaty of Moultrie Creek),而该条约承诺了塞米诺尔人可持有土地二十年。伊森.希区考克(Ethan Allen Hitchcock)少校也同意:「塞米诺尔人在这个地区任何一处都拥有所有权,只有对该条约一无所知的那些人,才会提出质疑。」希区考克博学又有节操,他是一个独立战争英雄的孙子。一名驻佛罗里达领地的军官说,他在「这个粗俗的环境下难以适应」,所以把自己关在房间里研读康德的《道德形上学》(Metaphysics of Morals)和「其他艰涩难懂的作品」。但是,希区考克只不过是在陈述塞米诺尔人也知道的事实。霍拉塔.米柯(Holata Micco)也响应其他塞米诺尔酋长的想法,他坚称《穆尔垂溪条约》承诺的二十年还没有到期。他说:「我从来没有同意去西部。白人或许是这么说,但我可从来没有答应。」13
谢尔莫恩虽然没参与一八三二年的协商,却仍协助实行了盖兹登这个备受争议的条约,他用说服或强迫的方式,让前往西部的塞米诺尔代表团同意「那片土地令人满意」。代表团的成员坚称这位教士「迫使」或「逼迫」他们同意,而待在东部的塞米诺尔人,则否认代表团有权为他们做主。尽管遭到抗议,谢尔莫恩仍为自己的成就喝采。反之,希区考克认为后果会「用血写下」。14