184 The Winning of the West 



killed many bears by the aid of their "great gangs 

 of dogs." 63 This could hardly be called a legiti- 

 mate objection on the part of the Creeks, however, 

 for their own hunting parties ranged freely through 

 the lands they had ceded to the whites and killed 

 game wherever they could find it. 



Evil and fearful deeds were done by both sides. 

 Peaceful Indians, even envoys, going to the treaty 

 grounds were slain in cold blood; and all that the 

 Georgians could allege by way of offset was that the 

 savages themselves had killed many peaceful whites. 

 The Georgia frontiersmen openly showed their sul- 

 len hatred of the United States authorities. The 

 Georgia State Government was too weak to enforce 

 order. It could neither keep the peace among its 

 own frontiersmen, nor wage effective war on the 

 Indians; for when the militia did gather to invade 

 the Creek country they were so mutinous and disor- 

 derly that the expeditions generally broke up with- 

 out accomplishing anything. At one period a mi- 

 litia general, Elijah Clark, actually led a large party 

 of frontiersmen into the unceded Creek hunting 

 grounds with the purpose of setting up an indepen- 

 dent government; but the Georgia authorities for 

 once summoned energy sufficient to break up this 

 lawless community. 64 



63 American State Papers, Timothy Barnard to James Sea- 

 grove, March 26, 1793. 



64 American State Papers, IV, pp. 260, 295, 365, 394, 397, 

 410, 412, 417, 427, 473, etc.; "Knoxville Gazette," Sept. 26, 

 1794. For further allusion to Clark's settlement, see next 

 chapter. 



