Billy Bowlegs

"Billy Bowlegs" Bolek (Holata Micco, Halpatter-Micco, Halbutta Micco, and Halpuda Mikko in Seminole, meaning "Alligator Chief") (ca. 1810 – 1859 [ [http://everglades.fiu.edu/reclaim/bios/bowlegs.htm "Chief Billy Bowlegs"] , Florida International University] [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=NSwEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=billy+bowlegs+birth&source=web&ots=iZvqlWsdA4&sig=1E4_QuklTsZ-V8JZcLVH703wE7g&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result google books online] ] was a leader of the Seminoles in Florida during the Second and Third Seminole Wars against the United States. One of the last Seminole leaders to resist, he eventually moved to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).

Early life and Seminole Wars

Bowlegs was born into a family of hereditary chiefs descended from Cowkeeper of the Oconee tribe of the Seminole in the village of Cuscowilla on the Alachua savannah (present-day Micanopy, Florida). His father's name was Secoffee, while it is thought that the chief Micanopy was his uncle. The name "Bowlegs" may be an alternate spelling of Bolek, a preceding Seminole chief; a story that he had bowlegs from riding horses is unsubstantiated.

Although Bowlegs signed the Treaty of Payne's Landing of 1832, he refused to leave Florida. While not particularly well-noted at the beginning of the Second Seminole Wars (roughly, 1835 to 1842), the surrender of Osceola and the death of Micanopy, amidst the loss of other prominent Seminole chiefs, left Bowlegs and his band of 200 warriors one of the most prominent fighters remaining by the time an end to hostilities was agreed to on 14 August 1842. As part of an effort to impress and awe the Seminole chiefs, the Federal government brought Bowlegs to Washington, D.C. to underline the power of the United States.

Bowlegs and his band lived in relative peace until 1855 when a group of army engineers and surveyors invaded his home area in southwestern Florida, cutting down banana trees and destroying other property. These brazen actions are often seen as an intentional provocation to make Bowlegs react so the settlers would have a reason to force the Seminole out. The provocation worked; Bowlegs led his warriors in sporadic attacks for the next few years in what is known as the Third Seminole War. The Army once again proved unable to stop his guerrilla tactics.

In early 1858, Chief Wild Cat of the Western Seminole was brought back from Indian Territory to try to convince him to relocate voluntarily and the government offered Bowlegs $10,000 and each of his followers $1000 if they did so. They initially refused, apparently in fear of government retaliation, but the band of 123 agreed to relocation later that year. In May, Bowlegs and his followers arrived in New Orleans, enroute to Arkansas and then on to their new home in the Indian Territory. A news correspondent described him as having "two wives, one son, five daughters, fifty slaves, and a hundred thousand dollars in hard cash." ["Harpers Weekly," June 12, 1858. [http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/Florida/docs/b/bowlegs.htm on-line version] ] Upon his eventual arrival in Indian Territory, Bowlegs became a leading chief. He and his daughters became prominent land holders and slaveowners.

Shortly after arriving in Indian Territory, Bowlegs died. His name was adopted by several other Seminoles, one of which, Sonuk Mikko, gained fame as a captain in the American Civil War. [John D. Spencer, [http://books.google.com/books?id=QhdBmtT5a7kC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=So-nuk-mek-ko&source=web&ots=ichZMXhIR7&sig=WwaWUZCwzzv710ZJAX317t0oMA0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA46,M1 "The American Civil War in the Indian Territory"] , Osprey Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1846030005, p. 46] Holato Micco and Sonuk Mikko, both referred to as "Billy Bowlegs", were subsequently conflated into a single person in several historical sources. [Porter, Kenneth, " [http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=fhq;idno=SN00154113_0045_004;sid=2ceaee55345672c1d41e93b0fe3700e0;rgn=div1;view=text;cc=fhq;a=45;node=SN00154113_0045_004%3A6 Billy Bowlegs (Holata Micco) in the Civil War] ," "Florida Historical Quarterly", Volume XLV, No. 4, April 1967.] [ [http://www.npg.si.edu/col/native/bowlegs.htm Billy Bowlegs] , National Portrait Gallery]

References

External links

* [http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0921270.html "Billy Bowlegs"] , infoplease.com