In October 1774, the South Carolina Gazette reported that the Creeks
had complied with most of the terms set forth by Georgia for the resto-
ration of the trade after the White-Sherrill affair and seemed entirely
peaceable. The author of the piece noted that there was therefore little need
for the royal troops that the governor of Georgia had repeatedly requested,
and that Georgians, freed from the fear of Indian attack, had no reason to
refrain from "such Resolves and Measures as appear[ed] to be absolutely and
indispensable for the Restoration and Preservation of the common Rights
of His Majesty's subjects in America." ¹ Many Georgians were beginning to
see the wisdom of such sentiments, and events far removed from Creek
square grounds were soon topics of conversation not only in Charleston,
Savannah, and Augusta but in the Indian country as well.

The growing revolt pitted the southern colonies not only against the
home government but also against each other as loyalists and rebels vied for
control of the backcountry. Both sides quickly eyed the Creeks and the other
southern tribes and began sizing them up as either allies or adversaries. Both
the British and the Americans courted the Creeks, and the contest divided
the Indians as sharply as it did their white neighbors. As with other things
Muscogulge, trade dependence determined the Creek course--although
not all Creeks could agree exactly what that course should be. The war
reordered the Creek world. By the end of the conflict, Creek commerce ran
in new channels and was directed by new trade partners. But the Creeks were
left to contend with the same problems as before, as well as many new ones
presented by the growth and development of the American nation.

With the peaceful settlement of the White-Sherrill affair, the Creeks ea-

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