said to possess
great abilities and an unlimited influence over the Creeks and part of the Cherokee,
and that it was an object worthy of considerable effort to attach him warmly to the
United States. In pursuance of this policy the Creek chiefs were entertained by
the Tammany society, all the members being in full Indian dress, at which the vis-
itors wen- much delighted and responded with an Indian dance, while McGillivray
was induced to resign Ins commission as colonel in the Spanish service for a commis-
sion of higher grade in the service of the United States. Soon afterward, on account
of some opposition, excited by Bowles, a renegade white man, he absented himself
from his tribe for a time, but wass i recalled, and continued to rule over the Nation
until his death.
Mc( rillivray appearsto have had a curious mixture of Scotch shrewdness, French
love of display, and Indian secretiveness. He fixed bis residence at Little Talassee,
on the Coosa, a few miles above the present Wetumpka, Alabama, where he lived in
a handsome house with extensive quarters for his negro slaves, so that his place had
the appearance of a small town. He entertained with magnificence and traveled
always in state, as became one who styled himself emperor. Throughout the Indian
wars he strove, so far as possible, to prevent unnecessary cruelties, being noted for
his kindness to captives; and his last years were spent in an effort to bring teachers
among Ins people. On the other hand, he conformed much to the Indian customs;
and be managed his negotiations with England, Spain, and the United States with
such adroitness that