270
TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
No. 852
1838 Oct. 25, H. McLEOD TO M. B. LAMAR
Nacogdoches October 25th 1838
Dr General
I write in haste at the request of General Rusk to give you an outline of his views in relation to our [Indi] an policy- He has just returned from San Augustine, where he went to call out the militia, & stimulate public feeling. they did not require it, he found them ardent & they will by tonight or early on tomorrow [morning] have upwards of 200 men at this point- The time he says has arrived for a general, prompt & vigorous campaign against the Indians-temporizing will only weaken [us] among .ourselves, and render us contemptible to the enemy-At every hour we hear of fresh depredations, and each petty success, leads to bolder efforts.- It may do for those at a safe dis- tance who have no interest at stake, to prate the sickly sentiments of a mistaken humanity, but the man whose cabin is in ashes, whose family are wanderers and himself hunted down like a wild beast, must answer blow by blow, and take,blood for blood- that time has come, and General Rusk proposes to concentrate the effective force of the Ea[sternJ Section of the Country, upon the Indi[an] terri- tory, and exterminate the race - ( with the exception of those who are unequivacally friendly, towit-the Shawnees, Delawares, Chero- kees, Kickapoos & Choctaws) For this purpose he will order Genl Baker to move up the Trinity & Brazzos with 200 men, destroy the Coshatees, and move on towards the three forks of Trinity & the cross timbers- Genl Dyer on Red River will move Southwest. across the prairies towards the Brazzos-- and he Genl Rusk will move from this point in the Same direction passing thro the Indian Country- I think you will approve the plan- You can easily foresee what would be our condition with a large Mexican army on our western frontier, during these Indian incursions- During the paralysis of the moment, confusion & terror would begin, and before either enemy could be efficiently met, the Country would stampede- The General is making every exertion to bring this force into [the field] but he is crippled for want of means- The act passed at the last Session "for the protection of the frontier,"- appropriated $100,000 for the purpose- And yet we have never had one dollar from the Treasury, 2 or $3000 was procured from the land commissioners here, on personal security, and that is all we have had- 'l'he merchants here refuse the Govt credit for one dollar- For God's sake cannot the money that is lying idle, & which can only as far as law is concerned be used for this purpose be sent to us- Genl Houston has been called upon for it several times- The Cherokees say that 24 of the Enemy have died since the battle at the Kickapoo Town, making in all 35 killed- and ,a large num- ber they say wounded- Your friend H McLeod
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