The Indian Wars, 1784-1787 281 



to his good faith ; and, moreover, he made no effort 

 to punish the murderer. 



As if to show the futility of the plea that Sevier 

 was powerless, a certain Captain Gillespie success 

 fully protected a captive Indian from militia violence 

 at this very time. He had come into the Indian 

 country with one of the parties which intended to 

 join Sevier, and while alone he captured a Chero 

 kee. When his troops came up they immediately 

 proposed to kill the Indian, and told him they cared 

 nothing- for his remonstrances ; whereupon he sprang 

 from his horse, cocked his rifle, and told them he 

 would shoot dead the first man who raised a hand 

 to molest the captive. They shrank back, and the 

 Indian remained unharmed. 34 



As for young Kirk all that need be said is that 

 he stands in the same category with Slim Tom, 

 the Indian murderer. He was a fair type of the 

 low-class, brutal white borderer, whose inhumanity 

 almost equaled that of the savage. But Sevier must 

 be judged by another standard. He was a member 

 of the Cincinnati, a correspondent of Franklin, a 

 follower of Washington. He sinned against the 

 light, and must be condemned accordingly. He 

 sank to the level of a lieutenant of Alva, Guise, 

 or Tilly, to the level of a crusading noble of the 

 Middle Ages. It would be unfair to couple even 

 this crime with those habitually committed by Sid 

 ney and Sir Peter Carew, Shan O'Neil and Fitz 

 gerald, and the other dismal heroes of the hideous 



84 Haywood, p. 183. 



