sentences:  Wildcat and John Horse formed an alliance and went on to lead the remnants of the shattered Seminole bands, including members of the Mikasuki, Tallahassee, Appalachee and Yamassee bands (many of different ethnic backgrounds in what was by then a highly mixed grouping of Indians and Africans) to safety in the south-central part of Florida, ahead of Jesup's forces.In the Battle of Lake Okeechobee on Christmas Day in 1837, Halpatta Tustanagi (Chief Alligator), an ally of the captured Osceola, and the Seminole medicine man Abiaka (Sam Jones) led the escaping Seminole with Wildcat and John Horse playing leading roles in holding off the assault of Zachary Taylor, then in hot pursuit.They successfully effected the escape of most of the fleeing Seminole who had joined with them by crossing Lake Okeechobee to take refuge in the Everglades.