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140 GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS
As a sequel to this latter exploit, he- claimed for France two-thirds
of the land ceded to Georgia by the Crown of England. Had Oglethorpe
failed, therefore, at this critical moment to enlist the friendship of the
powerful Muscogee or Creek Confederacy of Indians and to confirm by
treaty agreement the English right of ownership to the land described
in Georgia's charter, there would have been an altogether different story
for the future historian to tell. It is quite certain that the Indians
would have come under the spell of the French diplomacy, for the
Jesuits, a noble band of missionaries, were not slow in finding the key
to the savage heart; and, in such an event, not only would the territory
today embraced within Alabama and Mississippi have been lost to Eng
land but, from the additional strength gained by this alliance, another
result might have been given to the French and Indian wars. In the
light of this somewhat rapid survey, therefore, it is not difficult to trace
BOULDER OP GRANITE MARKING THE BURIAL PLACE OF TOMO Cm-Cm
IN SAVANNAH
an intimate logical connection between the treaty of friendship con
cluded at Coweta Town on the Chatta.hoocb.ee and the final overthrow
of the French power in North America on the Heights of Abraham!
The masterful mind of Oglethorpe, with almost prophetic ken, fore
saw at once the danger which confronted the Colony of Georgia; and,
in good season, he struck a blow for England, which was destined to
echo down the centuries. The great philanthropist and soldier had
already in the fall of 1738 met at Savannah the chiefs of four of the
Creek towns with whom he had sealed a pact of friendship. But Georgia
was begirt by enemies. To the south were the Spaniards in Florida
and'to the west were the' French in Louisiana; and, in order to circum
vent any covert designs on the part of these powers to seize the territory
of Georgia, he sought by means of larger co-operation with the Indians
to confirm the English right of occupation to the Georgia lands and to
bind the savage tribes more securely to him, in the event of an outbreak of
hostilities.