The Yemassee by William Gilmore Simms
"The Yemassee" by William Gilmore Simms is a historical novel set in early 18th century South Carolina, exploring the complex interactions between English settlers and the Yemassee Native American tribe. The story centers around Sanutee, a Yemassee chief, who grows increasingly wary of the encroaching colonists as they disregard established territorial boundaries. Tensions escalate as Sanutee formulates alliances with other tribes and Spanish forces in an effort to protect Yemassee lands.
The narrative also features Gabriel Harrison, a charismatic new settler who becomes embroiled in the conflict and navigates relationships with both the Yemassee and the colonial community. Themes of loyalty, identity, and cultural clash resonate throughout the novel, particularly as personal and communal struggles unfold against the backdrop of colonial expansion. The story culminates in a dramatic confrontation between the settlers and the Yemassee, highlighting the harsh realities of colonial life and the tragic consequences of the struggle for land and power.
Simms's work is significant for its portrayal of Native American characters and its engagement with historical events from a perspective that invites reflection on the themes of colonization and resistance.
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The Yemassee by William Gilmore Simms
First published: 1835
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Adventure
Time of plot: Early eighteenth century
Locale: South Carolina
Principal characters
Sanutee , a Yemassee chiefMatiwan , his wifeOcconestoga , his sonGabriel Harrison , a young settlerHector , Gabriel’s black slaveParson Matthews , a ministerBess Matthews , his daughter
The Story:
The English settlers, who at first had to accept aid from the Yemassee Indians when they landed on the South Carolina shores, have become quite powerful by 1715. No longer do they have to be careful not to offend the Indians; instead, they continually set up farms on the wrong side of the boundary line between the white and Indian territories. Sanutee, one of the Yemassee chiefs, has become suspicious of the colonists; he is afraid that they will soon take over all the Yemassee land. In order to keep the colonists from occupying Indian territory, he has made treaties with other tribes and with the Spanish, who are willing to help the Indians defeat the English. Sanutee’s life is made unhappy by his son, Occonestoga, who has been tempted by liquor to become a close friend of the whites. Sanutee is too proud of his ancestry and his position to call a drunkard his son, and it is only the constant pleading of his wife, Matiwan, that keeps Sanutee from completely disowning Occonestoga.
One of the recent settlers is Gabriel Harrison, a strange young man whose commanding presence and jolly manner make him both admired and disliked. Among those who like him are Bess Matthews, the daughter of old Parson Matthews, and Walter Grayson, an honorable young farmer. Parson Matthews dislikes Harrison because he finds Harrison too lighthearted and worldly in his manner, and Walter’s brother, Hugh, dislikes Harrison because Hugh is also an admirer of Bess. Harrison has brought with him a fine African slave named Hector, who is his constant companion, and a strong and faithful dog named Dugdale. With these two companions, Harrison wanders about the district.
One day in the forest, Harrison comes upon Sanutee fighting with a stranger over the carcass of a deer. He arrives in time to save Sanutee’s life, but the proud Indian expresses no gratitude. Harrison learns that the man Sanutee was fighting is a sailor named Dick Chorley, who has recently arrived on the coast. Although Chorley claims that he has come to trade, Harrison rightly suspects that he is really a Spanish agent who has come to arm the Yemassee against the English. Harrison sends Hector to spy on Chorley and Sanutee, who have been joined by Ishiagaska, another Yemassee chief.
Hector, hiding in the brush, overhears Chorley’s declaration that he has come to South Carolina to arm the Yemassee. Displaying the wampum belt of an Indian treaty, Chorley asks the Yemassee tribe to join the tribes who are willing to fight the English. Before Hector can return to tell Harrison what he has learned, however, the slave is captured and taken aboard Chorley’s ship. Harrison guesses what has become of Hector; he finds Chorley in Parson Matthews’s cabin and, through threats, forces the seaman to sign an order freeing Hector. His actions anger the parson, who refuses to suspect Chorley of treason, and the parson denies Harrison the right to wed his daughter, Bess.
In the meantime, the Yemassee chiefs are called to a council and asked to sell more land to the English. Most of the chiefs are willing to sell, but Sanutee, who arrives late to the meeting, makes a stirring speech against the sale. Interrupted by his drunken son, the old Yemassee almost kills Occonestoga. When he hears that the other chiefs intend to sell the land over his protests, Sanutee leaves the meeting and goes to arouse the people against their chiefs. With the aid of an Indian prophet named Enoree Mattee, he so infuriates the Indians in the crowd that they repudiate the other chiefs and punish them by having the tribal mark cut from their skins, so that they became outcasts from the tribe. Only Occonestoga escapes this punishment.
Occonestoga hides in the woods, where, one day, he saves Bess Matthews’s life by killing a rattlesnake that is about to strike her. For this deed, Harrison rewards the young Yemassee with his friendship. Soon afterward, he sends Occonestoga back to the Indian stronghold to learn what the Yemassee are planning. Occonestoga secretly makes his way to his mother, Matiwan, who hides him in her tent. By chance, Sanutee discovers the boy and orders that he be killed after having the tribal mark cut from his skin. In desperation, Matiwan kills her son before the sentence can be carried out, for the tribal mark cannot be cut from a dead man.
Harrison, realizing that Sanutee is about to lead the Yemassee against the whites, does his best to get all the settlers to go to the blockhouse for protection. Parson Matthews insists that the Yemassee have never been more friendly, and he refuses to leave his cabin. Harrison, while scouting in the woods, is captured by Yemassee, but with the aid of Matiwan, who knows of Harrison’s kindness toward her son, he escapes. When he attempts to save Bess before the Yemassee can seize her, he is almost recaptured, but Hector and his dog, Dugdale, arrive just in time to save him.
Meanwhile, Chorley has led a party of Yemassee and sailors to the Matthews’ cabin and has captured both Bess and her father. Harrison is able to rescue them, however, and he leads them to the blockhouse before the Indian attack begins. A furious struggle then takes place, with men and women fighting side by side to hold off the Yemassee. Both the Grayson brothers have become friendly with Harrison because of the bravery he has shown in saving their families, and together they fight valiantly to save their community. At last, the Yemassee are forced to withdraw.
Harrison makes plans to send many of the settlers to Charleston, where they will be safe until troops can be mustered to defeat the Yemassee permanently. After winning the parson’s permission to marry Bess—consent freely given after his heroic defense of the colony—Harrison astonishes the group by announcing that he is in reality Charles Craven, the new governor of the province. He had come to the region in disguise so that he could see for himself the true state of affairs on the frontier. He makes Hugh Grayson commander of the garrison forces. When he offers Hector his freedom, the old slave refuses to be parted from his kind master.
In Charleston, Craven raises a considerable fighting force before returning to do battle with the Yemassee on the banks of the Salkehatchie River. When the Yemassee attack the camp of the white people, the governor’s troops, firing from ambush, defeat them. Sanutee falls, mortally wounded, and Craven sees Matiwan run onto the field of battle and fall, weeping, by her husband’s body. The last of the Yemassee warriors is dead.
Bibliography
Busick, Sean R. A Sober Desire for History: William Gilmore Simms as Historian. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2005. Describes Simms’s efforts to record and comprehend American history and to preserve the past, arguing that the author is best understood as a historian. Addresses Simms’s ideas about the relationship of fiction to history.
Frye, Steven. “Metahistory and American Progressivism: Cultural Dialogics in Simms’s The Yemassee.” In Historiography and Narrative Design in the American Romance: A Study of Four Authors. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2001. Part of a larger work that analyzes romances by Simms and three other nineteenth century American writers, describing how these novels employ various techniques and models for writing history.
Guilds, John Caldwell. Simms: A Literary Life. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1992. Provides an account of Simms’s life and writing, and asserts that Simms’s historical fiction provides an “epic study” of the United States and should be recognized as the work of a major writer. Guilds has attempted to rescue Simms from obscurity by editing several twentieth century editions of Simms’s novels as well as collections of essays about the author.
Guilds, John Caldwell, and Caroline Collins, eds. William Gilmore Simms and the American Frontier. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1997. Collection of essays focuses on the use of the frontier motif in Simms’s works.
Rubin, Louis O., Jr. “The Romance of the Colonial Frontier: Simms, Cooper, the Indians, and the Wilderness.” In American Letters and the Historical Consciousness, edited by J. Gerald Kennedy and Daniel Mark Fogel. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1987. Discusses the genre of frontier romance and evaluates Simms’s portrayal of Native Americans.
Watson, Charles S. From Nationalism to Secessionism: The Changing Fiction of William Gilmore Simms. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1993. Closely analyzes Simms’s work to demonstrate his changing political opinions. From 1825 until 1848, Simms was a nationalist, creating patriotic romances; however, as the United States edged closer to civil war, he became an uncompromising secessionist, as evidenced by his later works. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Wimsatt, Mary Ann. The Major Fiction of William Gilmore Simms: Cultural Traditions and Literary Form. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989. Discusses the backgrounds and traditions of the romance genre, influenced by Sir Walter Scott, that Simms used for his long fiction.