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THE REFLECTOR.
MILLEDGEV1LLE, G. TUESDAY, OCTOBER G, 1818.
NO. 43.
HEROK.EE INDIANS.
*T OF THE CHEUOK.EE SCHOOLS.
cuted by Gen. Calvin Jones, to the Edi
tor of the llaleigh Register.
notice which juu have published of
ds in the Cherokee nation, from the
t hints furnished in conversation,
have been well received and to have
nterest, 1 very readily comply with
nest to give. a more circumstantial
of those schools, and of the prospect
rd of civilization to a nation that
ted all my sympathies in its favor :
much gratified to learn that your
id sentiments on this subject are so
in accordance with my own.
t premise, that when 1 visited the
e nation lately, i had no predilec-
'ts favor. I liad known something
cities of Indians, and that all at-
0 civilize one of them had been un-
, and had every where seen the va-
bes recede and melt away at the ap
f the white people, l had always
the enthusiastic zeal ol good men
to expect human means would efl’ei t
been denied by an interdict of na-
t there were physical as well as
jusej which would forever prevent
ation of these savages iiulil the ca
lif their minds were improved, ma
il perfected by tile long continued
of their rare and species. But t
n the nation, and have witnessed tin
of the attempts which are making to
and humanize them, and am nolong-
ical. I renounce my Darwinian cr-
firmly believe, if the efforts now
are duly seconded, the little that re-
f a brave and unfortunate nation will
ued from barbarism, suffering and ut-
iliilation.
itofore there'seems to have been more
* Christianity than knowledge of the.
utmn of the human mind, employed
ionary labors. Little is to he expect
preaching'ahstriisc doctrines to men
ve never been taught the exercise of
lliinking faculties. The American
f Foreign Missions have profited by
pcricnec ; they have anatomised the
ml know its properties and structure
have learned, (to borrow the rxprus-
thc poet) that the twig must be bent
fashion to the tree,
first school in the Cherokee nation
nded by the Moravian Society, of S
North Carolina, about twenty years
d has been continued without inter
but on a limited scale, ever sinee.
Mr. Gamliold is the present mis-
Ile is a plain, worthy man, ami
s his family chiefly by the labor oi
hands, while his wife inst.ru ts ten or
Indian children. On the Sabbath
•reaches. Charles Hicks, the second
minnlly, in the nation, but in ititlu-
first, is a member of his rhtmh.
reputed an enlightened and devout
n, who docs honor to liis profession?
the most considerable school is at
laugh, under the superintendance oi
ifican ljnard of Foreign Missions.—
instructor was the Rev. Cyrus Kin
in went into the nation three years
left it last winter to found a school
le Choctaws. It is due, however,
stinguished merit of the Rev. Giilo-
■tiurn, of Tennessee, to state here,
ms the pioneer in this business, hav-
iis individual exertions, maintained
taught by himself, in that part of the
nany years ago ; which, however,
t tilty of subsisting, and much tin-
obloquy thrown upon his conduct
’ves, made it expedient for him to a-
Thc sclimd is conducted on the Lancastri-\
resent head of the mission is the
d iloyt, a venerable, pious, sensi-
iscreet man, who, with Ins wifi and
sling children, left the pleasant, val-
'yoming, in Pennsylvania, to cu
be difficulties and endure the priva-
wilderness. with the single view ol
the blessings of civilization and
ity among the C'herokees. The
f the school is Mr. William Cham-
of Vermont. T’he steward and
Mr. Moody Hail, of New York, and
two young men learning the Chero-
age with a view to increase the u-
their labors, Daniel S. Bcatrick
»g-
slitution is very creditably patron-
vernment. The expenses of the
for the accommodation of the lam
bed to the mission, ol the Indian
d of the school, are defrayed by
s, the Indian agent, w ho furnishes,
rgc of the government, all the re-
pleme.nis of husbandry. A fertile
ml is loaned to the missionaries so
eir institution exists, which serves
purpose of lessening the burthen
upon the hoard of missions, and
g the Indian youth into the princi-
actice of agriculture.
an plan, and consists of 53 scholars, of whom
■49 are Indians. I spent a day in the school,
taught and heard every one of the classes rny-
S' If, and I declare that I never saw a better
■dated school, or scholars of more prom
ising dispositions and talents. They were
piick of apprehension, retentive in memory,
lorile and affectionate. The greater nuin-
oer of the scholars were between 8 and 12
years of age: a few were 1G, and one, 1
think, was 18. This last was a young wo-
tian of much merit; she read well, conver
sed sensibly, was grave, dignified and grace
ful in her manners, handsome in her person,
and would he an ornament to almost any so-
iety. I was told that a * heir female socie
ty meetings, when asked to pray, she always
unhesitatingly did so, and in a manner pe-
uliarly fervid and eloquent ; her name is
Katharine Brown. Nut lour years ago she
wore tiie dress, spoke the language, and had
the manners of her nation. Lydia Lowry,
Alice Wilson, and Peggy Wolf, three other
Indian girls that I recollect, of less mature
age, were good scholars and genteel and a-
grecahle in their manners. Edward, a bro
iler of Katharine Brown's, ami too many li
the r boys to he enumerated, would, for their
ipcti. manly countenances, correct manners,
.aid decent school acquirements, obtain res
pect and consideration in any community.
The school is opened and closed by prav -
t, ami all the scholars join in singing hymns
I’hose who merit them, receive, as rewards,
daily and twice a day, for <• Punctual atten
danrtV’ “ Behaviour,” and •• Diligence’
arils or tickets, with the initial letters ol
'■hose words printed on them, which are. val
ued at half a cent, a cent, and three half cents.
These are current money, and are receiviu
in payment for knives, hooks, or whatevr
else they wish to -purchase. For damaging
slates, losing pencils, n -gl'igcm irs, ,Vc. et>.
tiicy are sometimes lined in tckeis. The
children value these tickets Ingnly, hotli for
ihe honor which the. numher of them i outers,
and the substantial profit tnev alfird.
All th o scholars live at the mission house,
where they are both clothed and fed gratuit
ously, unless their parents clumse. to pay
the expense, which is nut often the case. Be
sides the literary, religious, and moral in
struction which they receive, they are taugi.t
practical farming, and are initialed into ha
bits of industry, an art ami virtue unknown
among savages. They all cat in a spacious
iiaii attached to the rear of tiie mansion
house, the girls at one table and the hoys at
another, at w liich the pastor, teacher, and
the ladies of the family preside. The order
uml decency observed at their meals equally
iurprised and pleased me. The boys occupy
several detached cabins as lodging rooms,
which form the right wing of the mission
bouse. The girls a spacious one on the lelt,
a here they are accompanied by a daughter
if Mr. Hoyt. They sit and work in the
main building, where they form busy, inter-
sting and pleasing groups, around some of
i, the ladies of the family.
What is learned in the school room is not
the must considerable, nor, considering the
situation of the nation, trie most important
part of their education. They arc made
practical farmers under the direction of .in
excellent manager, by which means they give
direct support to the institution, and procure
important advantages to themselves.
Every Monday morning the labors for the
week are assigned to cadi, the hoys being
mustered before the house, and the girls be
ing assembled within it. The former accor
ding to their employments, are denominated
hoe-boys, axe-hoys, plough-boys, Kc. and
among the latter arc divided tiie duties of
carding, spinning, cooking, and house work,
ami making and mending the garments of the
scholars. Every morning of the week af
terwards the boys arc summoned into line by
(lie sound of a whistle. After the roll is
called, the classses are designated by nam
ing their avocations, when the members of
each break out of the. ranks at once, and en
ter upon their second employments with
great spirit and alacrity. They remain in
school six hours a day, and work four or
five. 1 went round to visit them at their se
veral labors in the wood and in the field, and
found them every where busy and cheerful.
They seemed by their manner to require no
other recreation. A prudent, well regula
ted sy stem of moral discipline appeared coni.,
pletely to supercede the necessity of ev,. r y
kind of corporeal punishment or physical C( j_
ercion. The utmost harmony reigned thro’-
out. Neither idleness nor games gave them
occasion for feuds or dissentions. Their af
fection for their teachers seemed to he un
bounded, I have seen the hoys, by naif-
dozens surround Mr. Chamberlain, when be
came in fatigue!, clasp him round the neck
and arms, all eager to tell or ask something
and engage his attention ; and when he hail
good humoredly shaken otf one set, he would
tie immediately surrounded by another, cla
morous as blackbirds. A command, howe
ver,.would always reduce them instantly to
order and place. I’lay is occasionally allow-
d. One boy will throw up a gourd or shin
gle, which will come to the ground with a
dozen arrows sticking to it. Bathing in the
fine clear stream of Chickamaugli is permit
ted twice a week. Indeed an Indian would
not dispense with this, for they arc scrupu
lously attentive to cleanliness. An Indian
child runs into the water as naturally as a
duck. I have seen them (particularly in the
Chickasaw county) scarce six years old.
up to their chins in the stream of a hold creek.
Cm. Meigs, the Indian aged asked a Che
rokee girl why she did not marry a white
man who paid his addresses to her. She re
plied, that she could lint endure white men,
they were so dirty, never as she understood,
bathing in creeks as the red people did.
I have seen the girls at tltciv several em
ployments, forming circles round some of
the ladies of the family, beguiling the time
by singing and conversation, and seeming
as no doubt they really were, very happy.—
The white children of the mission family are
treated in all respects as the Indian children
are. Indeed, an exemption from any part
of the routine of duty and labor would he no
favor. To the Indians this course is iudis
pensihly necessary to their civilization and
future welfare, and 1 am not sure hut the
plan of the Chickamaugli school, in all its
details, is the best that could he devised for
children in any community. During the
week of my i isit it fell to the lot ol a girl (a
young lady 1 might with propriety style her)
to wait at table, as a part of the household
laborers, and she performed the • .ties will
equal propriety, cheerfulness and grace.—
It was felt to be, as it really was, perfectly
proper and honorable, because it was a place
tiiat. each one in torn was destined to fill, and
no ideas of servitude could of course he at
tached to it. This young woman was th.
daughter of a wealthy, high minded chief
w ho kept a good table and servants, at wlios-
U >use 1 have been handsomely entertained
mil wiio spoke of the economy of this school
in terms of high commendation.
f The Indians are mostly favorable to th
mission. Mr. Hoyt is known among them
oy the appellation of the. good man : Ksoun
profess to love to hear the good book talk,
•*.s thyy term reading the hililc. Eve:
'- here the mission family are treated by the
Indians with great respect and affliction, and
they will rurely receive pay from them ioi
what they are accustomed to consider as
suurcos of profit, and subjects of charg
upon travellers. This is not the unmeaning
politeness with which Indians have been
barged. It is a very emphatic expression
of their scnse"of the disinterested and use
ful lab.irs of the missionaries. At a lati
niitioir.il council, two men were appointed
as spend safeguards of the persons am
properties of the missionaries. A little cir
cumstance which took place a few days be
fore Uwas at the school, speaks very distinct
ly the sentiments * oicli prevail. An old
Indian woman who seemed not to have
v;stigeof civilization, brought a little sav
go, her grandson, to place at the school
When the former was about to depart, sli
wept so much over her child, who cried t.
much ol'tener a word, of which I have now
forgotten the Indian, that signified bad. At
night the boy distinctly remembered s -. .-a
letters of the alphabet.
A little girl by the name of Jenny Reeco
had been six weeks in the school and could
spell very well in words of three letters, and
yet had never in conversation been heard to
utter a word of English. It is remarkable
of the Indians that when they commence ex
pressing their ideas and wants in English
they in a time surprisingly short speak it
very distinctly. But they can not be per
suaded to speak, until conscious of their a-
bility to do it well; afraid, I suppose of
drawing upon themselves ridicule ; and in
deed their first essays are calculated to ex
cite laughter in many, when the ardor of
their anxiety to he understood prompts them
to premature efforts. Like the Greeks and
Romans, they place the object before the a-
gent. 1 heard this from a hoy anxious to
go to the store on mail i.iy.
Store go to who? Want some to me.”
It was predicted, from their usual progress,
that this hoy would speak correct in a
month.
The mention of Jenny Reece brings her
father’s name and merit before me, and [
hope to be pardoned for a passing notice of
him, though apparently very remotely, if at
all, in connection with the. school. This
Clearly Reece, was a dist.inguiscd warrior,
Mid uno of the three Indians who at the battle
if the Horse. Shoe swam the. river in sight
•f the contending armies under showers of
arrows and bullets, and brought over the ca
noes which contributed so essentially to the
disl.i.'lirment and defeat ofthc Creek Indians.
Gen.Jackson mentioned him most honorably
hi his dispatches and general order, and
president Madison wrote him a letter, and
presented him with a superbly mounted ri
fle, with suitable inscriptions. This onc6
liis boast, is his pride no longer. I bad
some conversation with him, and he spoke
»f his military exploits with evident reluct
ance.—This once haughty warrior is now a
humble and devout professor of the religion
of Jesus.—The wild hunter, who could not
endure the restraints of home Kluit one wife,
is now the industrious A prosperous farmer*
and the respectable head of a happy family.
This man’s example, the. happiness he has
conferred on a wife and amiable children, is
surely enough to overturn infidelity in tho
heart of obstinacy itself, and make the most
heedless anxious to promote the diffusion of
principles, capable of such happy influence.
I belong to no church or sect, hut l
have seen too much of the benign effects
of religion, to withhold from it this testimo
nial in its favor. I am convinced of the ve
ry great and essential importance of itsprin-
ciples and doctrines to civilization. The
Chinese can make pots and the Turks car
pets, hut they are barbarians ; and neither
science nor manners will ever obtain there
until the domestic fireside becomes the place
where confiden.cc can repose itself, where
the best and holiest affections of our nature
can find their solace, and where the infant
mind will he. formed under thr influence of
precept and example. Polygamy is at eter*
accompany her. that Mr. Uovt apprehended ; 11,1,1 irreconcilable war with civilizati in.
she would not leave him, and through an in- 1 l,iul - almost forgotten to say that there is
one cr.rtainly, and I believe two schools in
the uuti m supported and patronized exclu
sive], by the Indians. I visited one of the
terpreter assured her that he would in a few
days he reconciled to his situation. Site re
plied that she had no intention lint to leave
him ; that the parting was very painful to her. P llt,, ’" s * llc complained much of the 11101*-
but she too well knew what was for the cliV’id’s! al character ol tho master, and said he had
good. An Indian who had once been to vis ■ set5n 1,1111 ,1|- unk even on the Sabbath, and
it the president at Washington, told, me that
-ivilzation had made the white people great
hut ignorance had made the Indians dw indle
away to nothing. Most of th'osci with whom
l conversed seemed to feel t!,e sentiment of
patriotism strong in their Lusoms, to deplore
the fall of their once wide extended and!
powerful nation, and to lie anxious that the
little of it which remained should be saved
from annihilation.—Who that himself enjoys
the comforts of t ivi.iized life, and the conso
lations of religion, and knows the wants and
capabilities of these people, would withhold
a conlrihutior, to a purpose so beneficent and
full of merit?
Oncol* two facts will enable all to judge
for themselves of the teachableness of their
dispositions, and their rapacities for acquire
ment. A wild naked legged hoy, eight years
old, named Chees-quan-ee-tah, or a Young
Bird, who could speak nothing but Cherokee
came for the first time in the school on the
day on which I visited it, end 1 taught him
the letters of the alphabet hut three or four
times over, using some device to impress
them more strongly on the memory, in one
of which 1 was assisted by a beautiful and
sprightly little girl, who told me she was the
black warrior’s daughter. This was, to
place the letters 0 C U together, the pro
nunciation of which, in the Cherokee tongue
signifies good, which I made him understand
was applicable to him. The little girl, wh i
spoke English tolerably, in a playful man
ner, with a look full of arch simplicity, told
me her mother seldom applied it to her, but
threatened to iljsmiss him. This teacher, a
native of Europe, had the common stipend
of country schoolmasters allowed, was al
lowed to cultivate as much land as he pleased,
and had a good number of scholars, but the
Indians Were qcandalized at his irregulari
ties, und I expect, if they failed to civi
lize him, they would as they threatened, dis
charge him. 1 neither saw the teacher nor
his school. It would swell this article to a
size too great for a newspaper, were I to
speak of the character and manners of the
Indians; and it would besides be foreign to
the object fiu* with I commenced it. I will
therefore only say in a few words, that
found them every where kind and obliging in
their deportment and correct in their con
duct; that in their houses, and I entered
not a few, 1 observed a general appearance
of order and neatness that indicated com
fort. The women seemed very industrious
in various domestic employments, and tho
men much more so in their agricultural pur
suits than in any Indian nation I had ever
visited. Many of them had considerable
plantations, and two at whose houses 1 was
iwned several negroes, and employed white
men as overseers ; and all had horses and
cattle. Every thing, I thought, manifested
flu* progress of civilization and the practica
bility of its soon attaining the ordinary de
grees ol' perfection.
Possibly this brief exposition of facts and
circumstances, new to most of the readers of
the Raleigh Register, will excite in t!;e be
nevolent a desire to strengthen the hand* ojf
