Speech #530158753

After wandering in the wilderness thrice forty years they fell under the oppression. thepelrsecution. and the power of amighty nation. which boasts of Its justice. its honor. and love of liberty. We lament the sad fate of those who died in that struggle. but with deeper anguish. and far keener mortification. we deplore the unhappy lot of those who were doomed to drag out a miserable existence amidst chains and wretchedness. surrounded by that moralidarkess whc abroodsoever the enslaved portionoftour fellow beings Trhere are yet remainingInurloriduarew descendanits ofthe pioneer exiles. They are itermnarried with the bands of Billy Bowlegs" and of "Sanm Jones." sometimes called Aripeka: they are now mostly halfbreeds. and .are rapidly becoming amalgamated with the Indian race. .7954 Besides these. there are a number of Spanish refugees. or colored people who fed from Spanish masters and took up their residence with those called Spaulsh Indians. Thesedid not engage- in the war until 1840. nor did they then engage in any of the battleswith our Army. they contented themselves with plandering ships wrecked ontheir coast. and the forays upon Indian Key. They refused to send. delegates to the council summoned by Gen.