Chương 45: Cherokees and War Belts
Savannah, Georgia
July 26th, 1776
"Sir, there is a large party of Indians that is waiting towards the northern limits of the town," Colonel Poor stated as he walked into his general's tent.
General Kim frowned as he eyed the colonel warily, "Are they hostile?"
"No, sir. Apparently, their leader wants to speak with you."
"Tell them that I'm on my way," The general replied.
The colonel saluted and walked out of the tent. Meanwhile, the general stood up from his seat and gathered any valuable gifts he could offer to the Amerindian leader. He knew that gifts were an important aspect of diplomatic exchange with the Native Americans (or at least, realized that now after speaking with the American Indians under his command) and prepared accordingly. He placed a significant amount of gold into a pouch and walked towards the temporary armory situated in the camp. Once he arrived, he grabbed three rifled muskets and some ammunition for the exchange. Afterward, he walked to the town's northern limits and immediately spotted the large contingent of the Native American group waiting for his arrival. The 1st Marine Regiment, 6th Company was observing the newcomers, along with the Native Americans that were part of the Continental Army. When the officer arrived at the scene, the soldiers and marines of the Continental Army stood at attention and faced their leader. The visitors eyed the Asian man intensely as he stood out from the rest of his men due to his unusual features.
An elderly man with a weathered face stepped forward to greet the Asian officer. Immediately, General Kim bowed deeply and presented the gifts he had in hand to the person he assumed was the leader of the delegation, "Welcome to Savannah, sir. I was made aware of your presence just moments ago, so I had little time to prepare a proper gift for your visit. Please, take these items as a sign of friendship and peace from myself and the colonies."
The Native American elder looked surprised but smiled warmly as he spoke through a translator, "I am Skigausta Oconostota, the First Beloved Man of the Cherokee tribe. I have traveled for several weeks to meet you, but you and your men were constantly on the move, so I followed as best as possible. Thankfully, you stopped in this town so I could finally speak with you face to face."
"I'm honored to welcome one of the leaders of a prominent tribe such as the Cherokee," General Kim replied, "May I ask why you sought to speak with me?"
"I have spoken with the leaders of the tribes of the North. They have told me stories about you and your men: how you vouched for them highly despite being a foreigner and how your men fought alongside their tribesmen throughout the war. You have even managed to convince the white men to stop infringing in their territory and protect their homeland for the time being. Tell me, why did you support them?"
"Because I hope to create a new nation, a nation founded on equality and liberty," The general answered, "I am not naive enough to believe that the people of the colonies will accept the tribes of the north or your own tribe right away. However, if I can ensure that the tribes are treated as fairly as possible, I will do everything to do so. There will be dissent in some of the northern colonies due to the recent treaty with the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy. Still, the tribes now have a voice in the colonies and have been accepted as equal to any of the other colonies. A nation that believes in the ideas of equality and liberty can not use those ideas selectively."
Ocononostota looked thoughtful upon hearing the general's remarks and nodded, "Wise statements. I did not expect less. If our tribes were to work together with your "nation," then would we receive the same treatment as the tribes of the North?"
"As a representative of the colonies, I believe I can say "yes."
"Your ideals and actions are promising, but unlike our brethren to the north, we have not seen it for ourselves. Believe me when I say this; I do not wish to bring war upon my people. My people have suffered enough, and the fact that there are still white men settling on our lands will make many of my people hesitant to join your cause. But you have my word that there will be no raids to your colonies."
"What of the British and Loyalist settlements?"
The Cherokee elder smiled, "Since the British are weakened here, I am willing to entertain the idea of raiding their settlements. Of course, if you would provide us with weapons as you did with the tribes of the North, then that idea will be more appealing."
General Kim glanced at his troops, "That can be arranged. I can also provide some specie and training for your tribes as well."
"I will speak with the others and consider our options," Onoonostota promised, "But before we depart this meeting, I also have a gift for you."
One of the Native Americans brought forth a colorful belt made of wampum. The belt was handed to the elderly Cherokee before it was handed to the general, "It is a war belt, for yourself. Even if we do not intervene in your cause, may you and your men find success on the battlefield."
With that, the delegation departed, leaving General Kim a bit more confident than before.
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