A Forgotten Seminole Leader

In American History, historians have seriously neglected much of the role of African Americans until recently. The Seminole war is no exception to this unfortunate oversight. Some American Indian leaders of the Seminole Indians have become very famous for their brave stand against the United States military. While leaders such as Osceola and Billy Bowlegs have their place in the history books other equally important leaders do not. One of these Seminole Indian leaders is John Horse (Juan Cavallo). He was a mulatto half African and half Indian. His mother had been a slave, while his father was an Indian of Spanish decent.  Johns band of Seminoles lived near lake Thonotasy, (Thonotassa), northeast of Tampa Bay.

When he was fourteen, John Horse would catch gopher turtles and sell them to the military garrison at Fort Brook. Once he brought two large turtles to the officer's quarters to sell. The enterprising young entrepreneur brought two turtles and sold them to the same officer for the next ten days.  The officer had these turtles put in a special pen that they had made to fatten them up before being slaughtered. This venture profited John Horse a total of $2.50. This was a good deal for John because he was making 25 cents for the two turtles each time he sold a set. This was a great deal of money in 1826, especially for a young Indian/African teenager.

At the end of the ten days the officer ordered the cook to go to the pen and see how the turtles were coming along. To their surprise there were only two turtles in the pen when there were supposed to be 20. When the soldiers realized that a Black Indian had scammed them they were furious. The officers ordered that Master John (as they called him) be apprehended immediately. When they captured him they threatened to whip him like a common slave. To avoid this punishment he confessed how he had stolen the same two turtles for ten consecutive days. His confession was so humorous that they let him go. From that day forth the officers no longer referred to him as Master John but called him Gopher John. 

John horse did not disapprove of his new nickname, however. The Seminoles respected and believed in the mystical powers of the turtle "gopher".  To the Seminole this reptile represented a very powerful spirit from the "water world". Later, Gopher John would fight against the very same soldiers at the battle of Okeechobee. John Horse became a defender of liberty and freedom for his people.

During the Second Seminole war he became one of the most militant and uncompromising Indian leaders of his day.  At the age of 26 John Horse was promoted from sub chief to a war chief. He is one of the few African American Indian to ever receive this title from the Seminole Indians. During the Bloody years of the war he earned a war name Hokepekis Hejo or " Crazy Beast". This is an honorary war title that means that his heart is recklessly brave. Chief John Horse was also a tribal doctor as well as a war chief. 

In 1837, the war took a turn for the worse for the Seminole. General Thomas S. Jesup ordered the troops to capture all Indians and Africans during the US Declared Truces. This was done to eliminate a resistance base. During one of the truce violations John Horse was captured. He was held at the military prison at St. Agustine Florida. In late November, he escaped to freedom during the middle of the night.

When he arrived at his village he was told how the crops had been destroyed, and how the Indians who surrendered were being miserably mistreated by the soldiers. John Horse and what was left of his Indians joined forces with the Miccosukki Indians to defend their country against the invaders from the north. They fell back against the northeastern shores of lake Okeechobee. On Christmas day Dec, 25^th 1837 Colonel Zachary Taylor and over 1000 trained military soldiers engaged in battle against 380 Seminole warriors. The overwhelming US Forces won the battle. However when the officers ordered a body count they found over 150 soldiers and only one African resistance fighter among the dead. There were no Seminole Indian bodies found. The Seminole had removed them so that the enemy would not know how many warriors had been killed.

The battle of Lake Okeechobee Had been a costly on for the US military. In the spring of 1938 Chief John Horse concerned for the safety of his family surrendered to his enemy. Later, that same year he and his family was transported by the US military to Indian territory present day Oklahoma. The Seminole wars lasted until 1842, making them the longest Indian wars in the history of the United States. With exceptions of individual groups of Indians, the Seminole nation never surrendered.

From 1838 to 1842 over 4000 Seminole Indians were removed from Florida and sent to Indian territory in Oklahoma.

Today, Seminole Indian tribes exist in only two states, Florida, and Oklahoma.

The Seminole Indians are descendants of the Muskogee Creek Indians. The word Seminole is a Muskogee word that means those who went down and also runaway. The Colonists had encroached on the Muskogee territory since the early 1780's and many of the Muskogee Indians moved to Florida to get away from the colonists. Thus they soon became known as the Seminole.

 RedEagles Review 1995 (c)     Home