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[[underline]] Private. [[/underline]] 
Tampa Fla Dec 21. 1852

Col. D Province
State Senator Tallahassee, 

    Dr Sir, About Dec. 8. I wrote to you with the Ind. news to Dec 1. Yesterday Major Bowman & Collins came up from Ft Myers - the former [[underline]] en route [[/underline]] to Washington and the latter going [[underline]] home [[/underline]] to Alabama.
    They bring the definite intelligence that the Indians refuse to emigrate with Blake & Co. & he has so reported to Washington. He has also officially reported his failure to the Comdg Officer.
    Thus ends this disgraceful business [[underline]] for the present. [[/underline]]
    A friend has lent me the Governor's Message & Doc for a few hours. As I notice some errors of fact and one important omission of a fact - both of which I [[underline]] must [[/underline]] presume were entirely [[underline]] unintentional [[/underline]] on the part of Gov Brown, I have addressed a note to the paper, and must request you to have it inserted in the Democratic organ at Tallahassee. It is strange that the Gvner should carefully keep back so important a fact that [[underline]] as soon as the Seminole chiefs found out that "the outsiders" had killed young Hubbard, they informed me of it & promptly sent in for execution all those who were present. [[/underline]]Would it not be proper for you, in the Senate, to call for copies of my letters to the Governor dated May 20 May 26. 1851 [[underline]] to complete the true History. [[/underline]] About the time of this transaction it was carefully & falsely reported in a Tallahassee paper that the 3 murderers were surrendered to the new Agent (Blake) and not to me, but as this lie was anonymous I did not notice it
   It was by the Tampa correspondent of the Journal (I believe [[underline]] John Darling [[/underline]] an employee of Kennedy's)
   This little matter but shows the system of misrepresenting the Army Agent & withholding from me (& the Indians) any possible credit for any thing.
   The [[underline]] suppression [[/underline]] of this [[underline]] truth [[/underline]] was unworthy of a Gov. of any State and any one reading the "Document" published with his message, - some trifling & some scurrilous - can hardly say the matter in question was too unimportant.
   Again, the Gov. without due inquiry should not have said that Gen. Twiggs removed only old men, women and children. I saw them all & took down their ages, and but one man was at all infirm, and [[underling]] the proportion [[/underline]] 

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of warriors was above the average-and prime warriors nearly all were.
    I beg that you will send me one or [[underline]] two [[/underline]] coopies of the Mes. & Doc. & send one to Gen. Twiggs at N.Orleans.
    Should the Editor insert my communication I would thank you to send me slips from 1/2 a dozen copies containing my letter.
    Excuse me for giving you so much trouble with my affairs.My apology is that I have suffered not a little for Florida & you are a Florida Senator & know that my labors - successful labors too - have been repaid by calumny & abuse. 
    I regret much that I should have allowed myself- when you & Mr. Scott were at my house - to descend to a defense of my character against such a fellow as Blake - but his official position & my feeble health & irritability will account for it.
    I see that Mr. Cabell is again venting his spleen on the Army. Would he not have been better employed in using his influence to stop the speculative & useless operations of Blake & Co made for 18 months back at the risk of this frontier? He complains that the Army officers propose no plan to remove the Indian! He knows that the army is to execute orders & not direct the Cabinet. [[underline]] That, [[/underline]] he Mr Cabell, should have done.
    Besides [[underline]] when asked [[/underline]] the army [[underling]] has [[/underline]] spoken very decidedly. I reported to Mr Gen Lea and to the Sec. of War both early in 1851 that [[whenever the Gov wanted to move these Indians [[/underline]] an ample force must be thrown in and the severest measures adopted. I believe you read (while here) my letter on the subject. Well, I assert most positively that had that plan been adopted last minute all but some 20 (men) would have gone West [[underline]] last March [[/underline]] or earlier.
    Before closing this letter I have a word to add in relation to one error of the Governor in his letter to Gen. Blake. He says - [[underline]] "the agent [[/underline]] & the army officer contradicted their statements, & charged the settlers with a desire of provoking another [[strikethrough]] Ind [[/strikethrough]] war with the Indians" !!
   This is utterly untrue! but as Mr. Secty. Conrad [[underline]] stated [[/underline]] in his Annual Report for 1850 that the Agent Capt. C. was satisfied that the Indian had no agency in the matter" - Gov. Brown may (excusably) have thence derived his statement (error)