Untitled - the Digital Library of Georgia

102 GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
"What Stranger this? and from what Region far?
This wondros Form, majestic to behold ?
Uncloath'd but arm'd offensive for the War,
In hoary Age and wise' Experience old ? * * *
Thine with thy Oglethorpe's fair fame shall last,
Together to Eternity consigned,
In the immortal Roll of Heroes placed,
The mighty Benefactors of Mankind.''
Tomo-chi-chi was, of course, the bright particular star among the
Indians; but all of these savages were objects of curious interest. Great
crowds flocked to see them at the Georgia office in London; they were
also given mimerous handsome presents. On August 1, Sir Clement
Cotterill was sent to conduct them to Kensington Palace, where they
were to be presented to. the king. Indian-like these warriors desired to
appear at court in scant clothing; but Oglethorpe dissuaded them from
this intention. However, adorned with imperial feathers and gorgeously
arrayed in bright colors, they presented a most impressive spectacle: one
to which London with its strange sights was wholly unaccustomed.
Tomo-chi-chi, giving the king a bunch of eagle feathers, said: "These
are the feathers of the eagle, which is the swiftest of birds, and which
flieth all around our nations. These feathers are a sign of peace in our
land, and have been carried from town to town there, and we have
brought them over to leave with you, 0 great king, as a sign of ever
lasting peace.'' *
While on this visit to London, Tomo-chi-chi's portrait was painted
by Verelst and for many years hung in the Georgia rooms, an object
of deep interest to all visitors. It represents the old mico in a standing
posture, his left arm resting lightly upon the shoizlders of Toona-howi,
his adopted son, while the latter held in his arms an eagle. Engravings
from this portrait Avere subsequently made by well-known artists, among
them Faber and Kleinschmidt.
It was a matter of universal regret that on this visit one of the
Indian chiefs died of small-pox. His companions, deeply affected and
greatly depressed, wished to take the body back to Georgia for sepul
ture, but finally in deference to Oglethorpe's wishes consented to an
interment in St. John's Cemetery, Westminster, where as nearly as cir
cumstances would permit the customary funeral rites were observed.
Sewed up in two blankets, with deal boards, one over and one under, both
lashed together with a cord, the corpse was carried to the grave on. a
bier. On lowering the body into the earth, some of the dead Indian's
clothes, a quantity of glass beads, and some pieces of silver were thrown
into the grave with him, thus ending a ceremony full of deep pathos.
Considerate always, Oglethorpe, to divert the minds of the Indians,
carried them for a visit of two weeks to his country seat, where, under
the boughs of ancestral oaks, they found balm amid scenes which called
to mind their own beloved forest in the wilds of Georgia. Tomo-chi-chi
always bore himself well, whether at. the royal court, or in- the pres
ence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, or on a visit to Lady Dutry. His
own noble blood put him on a conscious equality with the proudest aris-
* Gentleman's Magazine, Thursday, August 1, 1734.