In Their Own Words
September 14, 1797
Attack on Indian Recorded in Letter
Benjamin Hawkins was the United States agent for Indian affairs south of the Ohio River. His headquarters was at Fort Wilkinson, on the Flint River. Hawkins had a genuine interest in the welfare of the Indians, but many other Americans did not, as evidenced by the following letter Hawkins received on this day:
“… I was in hopes that I should not hear of any more bloodshed on this frontier. On the 12th of this month two imprudent men crossed the Oconee from near the mouth of sandy Run, went up Little River, and wounded one of the chiefs of the Cusseta. It is yet uncertain whether the chief will die; he has sent to me and I have afforded him such assistance as he required. If your neighbors will conduct themselves well toward the Indians, they will have nothing to fear from this outrage… .”
Source: Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol. IX, Letters of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796-1806 (Savannah, Georgia Historical Society, 1916), p. 194.
